Board approves 2027 operating budgets; forwards requests to city and county review

Jeff Underwood presented two budget requests for the board’s approval.

First, Underwood reviewed the construction‑related "soft cost" request funded from food and beverage receipts covering half a year of construction and related services. He summarized the $4,538,616 request, broken out by legal, owner representative, insurance and a large "other" category that includes commissioning, AV/IT, security, signage, furniture and contingencies. Underwood said food and beverage collections have remained strong and that the request will be included in the city controller’s office budget and reviewed by the Food and Beverage Tax Advisory Committee (FABTAC).

The board voted to approve the request and to forward it to the city for inclusion in upcoming hearings.

Second, Underwood presented the CBC operations budget for 2027 — a full year of operations for the new building and six months for the existing facility while it undergoes renovation. Revenue lines include space rental, services (catering/AV/IT) and a county innkeeper contribution requested from the CVC of $1,397,423 (not yet approved by the CVC board). Expense categories include comprehensive insurance, utilities, building maintenance and a professional management fee for the convention center operator. The projected break‑even operating budget total is $3,287,597.

Underwood emphasized the interlocal agreement requires the CIB to seek approval of the budget from the city and county fiscal bodies; the board voted to submit the CBC budget for those reviews and to request the CVC consider the proposed county innkeeper contribution at its upcoming meeting.

Both budget actions were approved by roll call votes.