LEWISTON  — New events would have to prove their value before getting financial help from the city, and existing events would be limited to getting up to a quarter of their annual budgets, city councilors said Tuesday.

Four existing events — Festival FrancoFun, Liberty Fest, the Great Falls Balloon Festival and the newly created Dempsey Challenge — would be put in a category of their own. They’d be limited to getting the amount of money from Lewiston they received the previous year, unless councilors agree to increase it.

“We know what we’re getting for our dollar for each of these events,” Councilor Robert Reed said. “We know the value they have to our community, so I don’t have a problem supporting them.:”

Councilors at a Tuesday night workshop discussed creating a new policy to control how community groups and event organizers ask for financial support. They’re scheduled to vote on the new policy at their Dec. 15 meeting.

“We can’t pay for everything, and this is going to be a really difficult budget year coming up,” Councilor Nelson Peters said. “These groups need to be prepared to not get as much as they’d like.”

Councilors agreed on some guidelines but said future councils could override those limits. Established events could get up to $2,500 in cash from the city, or 25 percent of their operating budgets.

“That’s a good number for a community event, because if they get 25 percent from us and 25 percent from Auburn, that’s half of their budget,” Reed said. “But they have to get the rest from someplace else to prove that they are worth it.”

Those events would also be eligible for $5,000 worth of in-kind support, such as police, public works or other city staff.

Events and groups that are asking to
use city spaces but not seeking cash would not have
to file a formal application. Organizers would have to show that they
have support from the city, or from county, state or national
organizations.

Councilor Nelson Peters balked at paying for new events.

“I don’t think they should get a dime until they’ve proven that they’re a good value for the entire community,” Peters said.

Councilors agreed to provide some in-kind support for first-time events, as long as councilors at the time agree.

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