Mt. Crested Butte council grants out admission tax funds

$325,000 in grants made

The town of Mt. Crested Butte is expecting over $200,000 in admissions tax revenues to come in by the end of January 2010, but several groups and businesses that made grant requests for the funds to support their winter marketing programs were counting on getting their grants by the end of the year.

The deadline for submitting an admissions tax grant request for winter marketing efforts was on August 15. Three entities submitted grant requests for a total of $416,000, and each requested the funds by the end of the year.
After two meetings the Mt. Crested Butte Town Council decided to partially fund each of the grant requests and to have staff assist in the timing of the money distribution.
Crested Butte Mountain Resort (CBMR) made the largest request, for $300,000 to support advertising for their Friends and Family Fly Free promotion, through which visitors can buy two airline tickets and receive a third one free. The town contributed $150,000 to the program last winter.
The Gunnison/Crested Butte Tourism Association requested $78,628 to support general winter marketing efforts, including print, radio, and Internet advertisements.
Crested Butte Lodging and Property Management requested $37,380 to support a specific marketing campaign that targets consumers who are actively shopping for a ski vacation, rather than a broad-based marketing effort.
During a regular Town Council meeting on August 18, each of the applicants had a chance to make a presentation and answer any of the council’s questions.
But the biggest question was one the council members had to ask themselves—how to fairly distribute the admissions tax funds when the applicants were asking for more than the town coffers could provide.
Mt. Crested Butte Mayor William Buck noted that before granting any of the funds, the council and the applicants “need to have a clear understanding of the timing and flow of funding coming into town.”
According to town manager Joe Fitzpatrick the town has about $70,000 in admissions tax funds currently in the bank.  The town is expecting approximately $217,000 in admission tax revenues to come in by the end of January.   The 2010 budget is anticipating a total of $350,000 to come in over the course of
next year.   
Council member Dave Clayton said it was an interesting situation because the town did not have a full year’s worth of admission tax collections to spend as it has in the past. Last year the town decided to create an admissions tax grant request committee to handle the grant applications and to divide the funding cycle into winter and summer efforts. Previously the requests were made on a first-come, first-served basis.
Clayton said the council also needed to consider the benefit of having an admissions tax reserve, “so if that golden bullet type of project comes along we have some flexibility.”
In the meantime, Clayton said, “all three of [the applicants] have long histories of being able to make a product. We just have to find some equitable means of funding all three of them.”
During an hour-long work session on September 1 the council decided to partially fulfill each of the grant requests, allocating $225,000 to CBMR, $25,000 to Crested Butte Lodging, and $75,000 to the Tourism Association.
Furthermore, the council directed staff to work with each of the applicants regarding the date at which grant monies will be distributed, as not all of the money will be available on the dates the applicants had anticipated.
The broader topic of restructuring the way admissions tax funds are allocated was also discussed during the work session, but no definitive changes were made. The council is interested in keeping an admission tax fund reserve, as well as changing the timing of the two grant cycles. Those discussions are ongoing.
The town normally collects about $350,000 to $400,000 a year in admissions tax, which is a tax on lift tickets, season passes, concert tickets and other activities that involve “admissions.”