GOVERNMENT
Page offered a few suggestions for improvement. “Add the Salsa Fest to the community day for all the whiners,” she said. “Also have the vendors stay open later after the concert.”
“Parking, safety and cleanliness were great,” she said, also noting appreciation for the $75 alcohol band that included a meal. Page said she enjoyed the secondary country music performances over the rap headliners, “although I’m glad they offered different types of music.”
familiar with our city and our demographics versus contracting out to another [company]. But to be quite frank, that decision hasn’t yet been made.” Lessons learned Smith said last year’s challenges will be addressed this year. “The city learned a lot from the first event, mostly in the area of inefficiencies,” she said. Lackluster ticket sales on the final day of last year’s three-day festival means this year’s affair is likely to be trimmed by a day, Horst said. “A two-day event is likely,” Horst said. “It’s still a little premature, but it certainly will not be a three-day event. I anticipate a Friday to Saturday event. Sunday was our weakest showing at the last event and we learned from it.” “I think this time, we have to use a broader marketing approach to attract people from outside of the community, and at the same time, we want to make sure that we use our local marketing resources to better attract and communicate with our own community,” he said. Differing opinions While last year’s event saw considerable challenges in financing, marketing and transparency, the people who attended were generally pleased with the experience and most council members said they felt it was a good representation of the city. Goettl said he feels there are solid economic and quality-of-life justifications for bringing the festival back this year. “Part of the small-town charm Maricopa has enjoyed over the past two decades has been made possible by our community events,” he said. “The old Stagecoach Days, Salsa Festival and Copa Cultural are examples. The Wild West Music Fest is the next generation of these types of events that will not only be enjoyed by our residents but will also attract individuals outside our community to Maricopa.” Although he opposes bringing the festival back annually, Manfredi understands an event is likely to happen this fall. “I’d be happy canceling it altogether,” Manfredi said. “But if the council put it to a vote, I’d lose that vote 6-1.” Manfredi went to the festival on the last day with his wife. “It was nice,” he said. “We had a good time. But the reality of it to me is that I don’t think it was worth the money, even if it was for a celebration or anniversary party. But it is what it is. You can’t win every vote.”
Manfredi now wants to focus his energy on encouraging financial restraint. “I’m going to push for more oversight than we had last time,” Manfredi said. “I don’t want to spend anywhere near what we spent last year on the event. I just don’t have the appetite for it.” From a fiscal standpoint, unlike the producers and city staff, Manfredi didn’t have high expectations to begin with. “Last year’s event was an anniversary party — and who expects to make money off a party? I thought we’d break even, but obviously we didn’t,” he said. Smith, the third member on the council’s budget committee, said the festival has internal and external potential. “The event is part of our tourism strategy to bring outsiders into our city and to showcase our city, adding revenue benefits for our businesses,” she said. “It’s also an entertainment opportunity for our own residents.” Rancho El Dorado resident Bejean Page attended the festival and said she had a blast. She was impressed with the way the event was operated. Proposed 2024 Wild West Music Fest Funding
Editor’s Note: Vincent Manfredi is an owner of InMaricopa.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE BEDS
goes to the county and state. The lowest bed tax in Arizona is Huachuca City at 8%. The highest rate is in Colorado City at 20%. Eric Goettl, a Maricopa City Council member who sits on the council’s budget finance committee, prefers the new funding mechanism. “One of my most important responsibilities is to be fiscally responsible in how our city spends the taxpayer’s dollar. Finding a way to self-fund this event so it will have little impact on our general fund is important to me,” Goettl said. He noted the bed tax was created for events like the Wild West Music Fest. “The state of Arizona legislates that the bed tax is to be spent to support tourism,” he said. “It is
appropriate that these monies go to support the Wild West Music Fest.” Maricopa Chief Operations Officer Rick Horst added this tax has no effect on Maricopans’ tax bills. “This is a tax that only applies to visitors who spend the night in a hotel in the city limits,” Horst said. “No one who lives in Maricopa will ever pay this tax.” Goettl is hopeful the event will sustain itself for years to come. “This will make this event self-funding while infusing thousands of dollars into our local economy,” he said. Horst said the bed tax only funds the Wild West Music Fest. All other events the city organizes, like the night markets, would come from the general fund.
Maricopa’s bed tax collections last year were $263,000. Of the 5.5% the city collects, 5% will go to the Wild West Music Fest with the remaining
Hold ya horses, partner Earlier this year, a flutter of headlines announced the return of the Wild West Music Fest, maybe a little prematurely. Mayor Nancy Smith signaled its return at her State of the City address Jan. 31, when she said, “The overwhelming positive response has fueled our determination to bring back this epic festival.” Smith’s statement came despite the event being not yet on the budget and not being approved. At a closed-door budget meeting two nights before Smith’s address, City Councilmembers Vincent Manfredi, Eric Goettl and Smith, all members of the budget committee, discussed bringing back the event this year. “The budget won’t be approved until June,” said Manfredi, who opposes another Wild West Music Fest. “But if they want to do it in October, they’ve got to start talking about it now.” Discussion is one thing, but Smith’s announcement sent things into overdrive as news outlets reported it was a done deal. Horst said while there’s a will, the way hasn’t yet been set. “I want to emphasize that the city council has not formally agreed to move forward, although it seems to have postured that they are interested in moving forward,” Horst said. “There are decisions that still have to be made.” Those decisions include everything from the duration of the event to selecting a promoter. While it’s likely SLE will repeat as the event’s promoter, the city could still choose a new promoter, Horst explained. “It could very well be SLE,” Horst said. “There’s certainly a benefit to having a producer
InMaricopa for fear of retribution from the city. Most, however, were willing to confirm they remained cashless after the event. Much of the outrage came on the city’s Facebook page under a posting “Calling all vendors.” Jill Schrupp, a Maricopa resident who runs a handmade crafting business and frequents other events said, “It’s not affordable and it’s not financially acceptable in my opinion to line the pockets of a promoter based off of my hard work and sales.” Schrupp blamed the promoter. “I do not hold it against the city, and I look forward to being a vendor at city of Maricopa- run events in the future, but this is not an event I will partake in or promote,” she said. “They are pushing out the little people.” Schrupp explained after the deposit and rental fees, she’d be down $700 before selling her first item. Michael Franz, who runs the Sofritos Tan Rico food truck in Maricopa, said his upfront costs would be higher than that once the $375 electric and $500 placement fees were added. As a result, he decided the event wasn’t for him. “I figured that it was going to cost me $1,500 up front,” he said. Local woodworker Brian Hussey said, “They want an arm and a leg. You have to use their point-of-sale system and give them 20% of all your sales, plus you have to rent the POS system from them. A joke!” There were 39 vendors at the Wild West Music Fest. On average, each paid $728 just for the privilege of being there.
half percent going to fund arts initiatives.
The bed tax is a relatively new revenue stream for the city, which saw its first hotel open only a few years ago. It goes by many names — occupancy tax, travel tax and lodging tax. Arizona’s travel board refers to it as a transiency tax. The tax is aimed at visitors instead of residents. In Arizona, bed tax rates vary. In Maricopa, it’s set at 12.4% with 5.5% going directly to the city. The rest
Bed Tax $242,000 (83%)
Total Funds $290,000
Sponsorships $25,000 (9%)
General Fund $23,000 (8%)
2023 Wild West Music Fest
$826,3055 Revenue
$1,077,754 Expenses
$482,981
$370,000
400,000
$500,000
300,000
$375,000
$230,253
$271,007
200,000
$250,000
$202,752
$102,750
$76,793
100,000
$125,000
$69,048
$28,375
$34,883
$18,134
$17,083
0
$0
City contribution
Tickets
Sponsorships
Bar
Vendors
Parking
Musical acts, rides Staging, audio, bar
Personnel
Operations
Marketing
Donations
InMaricopa.com | April 2024
April 2024 | InMaricopa.com
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