TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
George Gabriel, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consider Increasing City Sponsorship Funding for the TEDxManhattanBeach Event From $1,500 to $5,000 (City Manager Moe).
DISCUSS AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss and provide direction regarding the amount of funds dedicated toward city sponsorship of the TEDxManhattanBeach event, and consider increasing the funds provided from $1,500 to $5,000.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
The Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Adopted Budget provides for $1,500 in sponsorship funding toward the TEDxManhattanBeach event. Should City Council provide direction to increase the sponsorship amount to the $5,000 amount requested, the City Council must appropriate $3,500 from the General Fund unreserved fund balance.
BACKGROUND:
TEDxManhattanBeach is a community-organized event that features short, carefully prepared talks, demonstrations and performances that are idea-focused. The presentations cover a wide range of subjects to foster learning, inspiration and provoke important conversations. The event is typically held annually at Mira Costa High School in October and attendance reaches 500-1000 people. In order to ensure a multi-generational audience that reflects the Manhattan Beach community, the event places a high priority on accessibility and affordability by offering discounted tickets for older adults and high school students.
During the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 budget review process, the City Council reviewed budgeted expenditures in an effort to achieve budget savings. As part of those cuts, the City Council directed staff at the May 23, 2019, meeting to reduce the TEDx budgeted expenditure to $1,500. TEDx representatives were advised of the reduction at the time the budget was being adopted.
Subsequent to budget adoption, TEDx representatives contacted City Council members to request reinstatement of the funds reduced during the FY 2019-2020 budget. At the September 17, 2019, meeting, City Council directed staff to provide a report regarding the City sponsorship funding amount dedicated toward the TEDxManhattanBeach event.
DISCUSSION:
Since 2012, the City of Manhattan Beach has sponsored the TEDxManhattanBeach event with the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation, Chevron and the Manhattan Beach Unified School District as the primary sponsors. As an event sponsor, the City typically receives recognition on all marketing materials, a space to feature a step-up banner in the event lobby, acknowledgement by organizers during the event and is highlighted on videos where the TEDxManhattanBeach talks are posted to TED.com.
In sponsoring the event in the past, the City has provided a $5,000 cash contribution and staff resources to assist with holding the event. Parks and Recreation staff typically assist TEDx with promoting the event on digital channels, hanging banners, picking-up/dropping-off and delivering materials, and clean-up of the event. Staff estimates that these efforts require 68 hours of time, equating to approximately $1,500 in staff costs.
Admission to the TEDxManhattanBeach event ranges from $35-$148. The event organizers have indicated that the low-cost tickets for students and older adults (65+), priced at $35, were subsidized utilizing the City’s sponsorship funding.
The next TEDxManhattanBeach event will be held on November 2, 2019, at 9:00 AM at Mira Costa High School.
CONCLUSION:
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss and provide direction regarding the amount of funds dedicated toward city sponsorship of the TEDxManhattanBeach event. Currently, the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 budget accounts for $1,500 in sponsorship funding toward the TEDxManhattanBeach event. Should City Council increase funding, the City Council must appropriate additional funds from the General Fund unreserved fund balance.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.