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Goldsboro Council agrees to underwrite MLK event up to $85,100; commission to seek sponsors
Summary
The council authorized staff to prepare a budget ordinance to underwrite the Martin Luther King Jr. event up to $85,100, after the Community Relations Commission asked the city to guarantee costs while it solicits sponsorships. Council voted unanimously to have staff prepare the appropriation for the Jan. 6 meeting.
Goldsboro — The City Council voted Dec. 16 to have staff prepare a budget ordinance that will underwrite the city’s Martin Luther King Jr. program by up to $85,100, the amount requested by the Community Relations Commission. The council’s action directs staff to prepare an appropriation from available funds (staff will identify the source) so the commission and event organizers may reserve venues and finalize plans.
Interim City Manager Matt Livingston told the council the commission wanted to avoid charging admission and planned to raise sponsorships; the underwriting is intended as a guarantee so organizers can contract venues and vendors while they solicit sponsors. Commission chair Carol Battle (referred to in the meeting) is leading sponsorship efforts, Livingston said. Council members discussed the event’s history and budgeting; several said the commission previously achieved a break‑even result on ticket sales and sponsorships and that underwriting would allow the commission to move forward without ticket revenue.
Finance staff said the city tracks MLK and the interfaith breakfast in a special revenue fund and that staff would return a formal budget‑amendment ordinance at the Jan. 6 regular meeting. Council discussed the timing for deposits and staff said the Jan. 6 ordinance would permit payment schedules; sponsors already committed to the event and some deposits were expected to be small or timed after the holiday check run.
Why this matters: The underwriting guarantees the event will happen without mandatory ticketing and signals city support while organizers pursue private sponsorships. Council members also discussed whether, in future budgets, the city should set a recurring allocation for the MLK program and other community relations events.
Votes and outcome Staff was directed to prepare a budget ordinance to appropriate up to $85,100 to the Community Relations special revenue line for MLK and related events. The motion passed unanimously.
Quotes "They plan to work to try to offset that cost by sponsorships...they had a priority that they really wanted to avoid having to charge for tickets this year," Interim City Manager Matt Livingston said of the commission.
"I want to dispel any misinformation — the commission did not go in the hole last year," Councilwoman Matthews said, noting last year the committee reached a breakeven point through ticket sales and sponsorships.
Ending Staff will return a formal budget‑amendment ordinance for council consideration at the Jan. 6, 2025 meeting; council members asked staff to explore a longer‑term line item in future budgets to support recurring community events.
