Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Events Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mid‑year review: East Point staff find event spending higher than budgeted; propose single GL and project codes
Summary
City staff told council they found approximately $546,000 spent on two Wednesday Wind Down concerts so far (above a $400,000 allocation) and noted event costs were scattered across multiple departmental accounts; staff recommended consolidated GL/project codes and monthly reconciliation to improve transparency.
East Point — In a mid‑year review presented Jan. 12, city staff said they discovered dispersed accounting for events and recommended a unified project/general ledger (GL) code to track all event spending.
Interim Finance Director Elizabeth Cartwright and economic development staff said a deep file review showed the Wednesday Wind Down program alone had drawn significant city contributions: about $546,000 year‑to‑date for two major concerts, against a $400,000 line item. Staff explained many departments — police, fire, parks, and economic development — charged event‑related expenses to their own budgets, creating hidden overspending when the council budget book is read in single line items. Cartwright proposed creating a single project code per event and a program‑level GL for public arts so all departments post related expenses consistently.
Public arts and events staff described attendance analytics (Placer.ai) showing thousands of attendees and a mix of local and nonlocal visitors; councilmembers asked for clearer breakdowns by event and better ROI measures. Council directed staff to return with a detailed by‑event expense and funding status for the next meeting and to include reconciled totals before additional events are carried out.
Next steps: staff will assemble a by‑event expense report (itemized GL reconciliation by department) and a proposed system of project GL codes to centralize event accounting and improve monthly monitoring.
