The Emporia City Commission continues to look at funds ahead of budget season and spent time Wednesday looking at allocations in the 5-year budget.
While many of the funds for 2019 are flat versus the year before some funds are being looked at more cautiously moving forward. For example, commissioners voiced concerns about the amount of funding Corner House is receiving in the city’s special alcohol fund. In 2017, Corner House received $55,000, which increased to $75,000 in 2018 and 2019. City Commissioner Bobbi Mlynar says it shouldn’t be just Emporia and Lyon County footing 100 percent of the bill to support the program, which also serves neighboring counties.
Elsewhere, city commissioners discussed doubling the Emporia Granada Theatre’s yearly allocation from $10,000 to $20,000 in 2019 in the convention and tourism fund based on the amount of transient guest tax dollars they’ve tracked coming to Emporia from 35 miles or farther. Mlynar says overall the city commission is in good financial shape.
The commission also fielded a request from Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Susan Rathke for new software called Arrivalist, which tracks customers buying habits and what ads lured them to the city, based on cookies and location services in mobile devices. Mlynar supports the idea of the program as a benefit, however, voiced concerns that it may impede on personal privacy.
The software costs $5,000 to implement and an additional $2,400 for additional advertising. Commissioners gave direction that the funds could be pulled from the CVB’s reserves to pay for the software this year rather than waiting until 2019 to implement.
The Emporia City Commission will next meet in an action session Monday at 1:30 p.m.
