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Gig Harbor council weighs charging more for city‑sponsored events after staff outlines six‑figure staff costs
Summary
Staff told council that recurring events impose rising staff and police overtime costs (one example estimated at $45,000 across repeated half days for the Maritime Gig). Council asked staff to return with detailed cost data and a rubric to decide which events receive fee waivers or city sponsorship.
City staff asked Gig Harbor’s council to give guidance on whether event organizers should cover more of the city’s costs after the parks and public‑works teams described growing staff time and police overtime for recurring events.
Parks Manager Jennifer Harrow told the council the city has supported many events through fee waivers, lodging‑tax grants, donated staff time and equipment. For a recent pilot run staff logged about 32 public‑works hours and the police supplied limited volunteers; larger legacy events require considerably more staffing, Harrow said.
City finance and police staff described examples of significant operational costs. A police estimate for a recent parade and festival put the department’s cost in the single event range of several thousand dollars; staff put the Maritime Gig total staff cost across multiple half‑day segments in the neighborhood of $45,000. A city finance official said some events previously used a tourism fund to cover officers’ overtime, and that lost or changed funding has left the police and public works budgets strained.
Miriam Batson, president and CEO of the Gig Harbor Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber and waterfront alliance contribute marketing and promotion and value the city partnership but noted surprise at the full scale of staff donations. "From a Chamber perspective, we are always looking at the economic vitality for the community," she said.
Council members discussed equity between long‑standing "legacy" events that may merit ongoing support and new or private events that should pay full costs. Several members urged staff to compile more precise cost data and to draft an objective rubric or scoring matrix to determine fee waivers, seasonality considerations, and cost‑recovery schedules. Council did not adopt a policy at the study session; instead members directed staff to return with cost data, sample policies from comparable cities, and draft criteria for council consideration.
