It's a common refrain heard in city council this time of year: Funding needs go up as revenues decline.
Council members' decisions can impact everything from where people go to catch a bus to the number of magazine writers coming to the area to draft travel articles.
The Ketchum City Council discussed the final allocation of funds for the fiscal year 2012 budget Monday. A sum of $94,256 remained in the unrestricted fund balance from local-option tax collections. The council could leave the as reserves or distribute to them various entities.
Successfully asking for additional funds from that kitty were Sun Valley Marketing Alliance, Mountain Rides and Fly Sun Valley Alliance.
"We're all telling a similar story here," said Jason Miller, Mountain Rides' executive director. Each group, he said, works to help keep the community vibrant and the tourist economy strong.
Miller said cuts in funding for Mountain Rides would result in cuts in transit service in Ketchum. Likewise, cuts by Sun Valley would impact service there.
Eric Seder, president of Fly Sun Valley Alliance, said he felt like his group was a "ragged little orphan," even though reliable funding for air service has been identified as an important focus for a tourist area. The alliance seeks to support and improve air and ground access to the valley from key markets and raises funds to contribute to minimum revenue guarantees to airlines.
Although reserves will dwindle to almost nothing once minimum revenue guarantees are paid this fall, Seder asked Ketchum for just $35,000. "That's not even a drop in the bucket" of what's needed, he said.
He went home with $25,000 and a directive to work on folding the alliance into the Sun Valley Marketing Alliance.
"Your business model is not only precarious; it's out of your control," Councilman Larry Helzel said to Fly Sun Valley Alliance. "This just doesn't make a lot of sense to taxpayers."
Airlines control what flights serve the valley. If seats aren't full, agreements call for large guarantees to be paid to the airlines.
Jake Peters, president of the board of the Sun Valley Marketing Alliance, made the plea for marketing dollars.
"If you don't fix the resort economy ... the rest of the items in the budget don't matter," he said.
Helzel urged the council to put more resources into marketing.
"I'm very, very much afraid what will happen to this community if they (Sun Valley Marketing Alliance) are not adequately funded," he said.
The council agreed to allocate $90,000 of the reserves, boosting previous figures to the three agencies in the following amounts: Sun Valley Marketing Alliance, an extra $50,000 for a total allocation of $450,000; Mountain Rides, an extra $25,000 for a total of $522,600; and Fly Sun Valley Alliance, an extra $15,000 for the total of $25,000—possibly its last allocation.
City Administrator Gary Marks reminded the council that the money may or may not be replaced, depending on how LOT revenue comes in over the next months.
"That's my caution," Marks said. "We need to make it clear to recipients this is one-time money."
Mayor Randy Hall was betting on a better year.
"I'm banking on what I'm hearing on the street," he said. "There are people out there who are saying they had a great July and are having a great August."
Based on a positive outlook, he said, "We're going to end up with more than $4,000 in our (LOT) fund balance."
A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Sept. 6 in City Hall.
Rebecca Meany: rmeany@mtexpress.com
