City cracks down on fee waivers

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The City Council just made it harder for charities to

get a free ride for fund-raising events.

Council members set up guidelines for waiving the cost of city-owned

facilities, equipment and staff time at Monday night’s meeting. Since

August, the city has been developing a form that judges waiver applicants

based on a point system.

Until now, the city’s community services director, Ron Hagan, has had

free reign to determine which groups get a break and how much of a break

they get, according to a Feb. 22 memo.

While no one questioned Hagan’s judgment at Monday’s meeting, Councilman

Dave Sullivan said the $51,500 the city gave up in 1998 seemed

surprisingly high.Hagan will still give approval, but his descision can

be appealed to the council, which by a 6-0 vote has made the selection

process more fair and transparent, Sullivan said. Councilwoman Pam Julien

was absent.

“That way, there’s a rationale that anybody can look at for why fees are

waived,” he said.

Out of a possible score of 100, an applicant for a waiver can receive up

to 25 points if the group’s work improves the quality of life in the

community. As much as 10 points can be earned depending on how long the

organization has been in existence. The more points a group receives, the

less money it has to pay.

To make doubly sure the benefits stay close to home, fund-raising

organizations will receive additional points if they are based in the

city.

In the past, event promoters have claimed they were working on behalf of

a local charity, but the city later found out that most of the money

raised did not benefit the community, Hagan said.

“They were only using the organization to get fees waived,” he said.

Donna Cross, the president of one of the city’s most prominent

fund-raising organizations, the Huntington Beach Community Clinic Support

Group, agrees with the new policy.

“We worked so hard to build a big base right here,” she said.

But Cross worries that her organization might lose points for

fund-raising drives that also benefit neighboring cities.

“We might lose some strong support for our people doing things in

Fountain Valley,” she said.