Council goes against officer's recommendation, grants 'one-off' $4000 to festival

The arts festival committee typically receives $14,000 funding from Break O'Day Council, which is split between the arts festival ($10,000) and the arts market ($4000).

However, the Bay of Fires Winter Arts Market won't go ahead this year due to venue complications.

The festival committee requested the council reallocate the market's $4000 funding package to the 12^th Winter Arts Festival for additional running costs.

"We are the third most lucrative art prize in the state", a letter from the festival committee to council said.

"We do believe that our rationale is indeed convincing and respectively and graciously ask for our normal $14,000 to be granted to us for this year," the letter said.

The majority of councillors voted against the officer's recommendation to not reallocate the funds in a May 20 meeting in St Helens.

Councillor Kylie Wright said there was "validity" to the festival committee's request to support additional festival activities.

Councillors discussed the matter further and moved a new motion to approve the $4000 reallocation.

The Bay of Fires festival committee were granted the additional funds, but councillors agreed that stronger communication was needed.

"This is a one-off; unless there is communication to a higher level, [applications] won't be accepted," Mayor Mick Tucker said.

Councillor Janet Drummond said the festival committee needed to "take control of their applications for funding".

"We're being asked to give $4000 to a market that wasn't taking place," Cr Drummond said.

"When this comes to us next year, they [need to] very specifically state what the money is to be used for."

Deputy mayor Kristi Chapple was the only councillor to vote against the new motion and said the festival committee should have been more organised.

"My decision will be no because ... they need to look at the grant funding and they need to be a bit more organised in regards to that," Cr Chapple said.

Though Councillor Ian Carter abstained from the vote, he hoped "in the future, we have an overarching body of the arts that furthers this conversation when these specific submissions come to council".