St. Petersburg considers new fees for public events

ST. PETERSBURG -- The city is considering a $1 surcharge for every ticket sold for special events at city parks. Also, a user fee would be imposed on free events at the parks.

The new surcharge, to be discussed by the City Council on Thursday, would apply to such popular events as the Tampa Bay Blues Festival, Ribfest, American Stage, the Crawfish Festival and A Taste of Pinellas. The tax would be on top of the security and clean up fees the city charges event organizers.

Organizers said they are not happy because the city already cut funding in recent years, prompting higher ticket prices to cover the reduced revenue.

"The city should be nurturing special events, not trying to take advantage of us," said Charles Ross, President of the Tampa Bay Blues Foundation, the non-profit that produces the Tampa Bay Blues Festival. "This is a moral issue. If we are doing special events to benefit charity we should not be required to also give huge amounts of money to the city."

The Blues Fest benefits the Pinellas Association for Retarded Children. Tickets were up $5 this year to make up for a loss of city funding, but Ross said he will not continue to increase admission fees.

If the city approves the surcharge, Ross said he would consider holding the Blue Fest elsewhere.

"Even a $1 surcharge will impact our bottom line and is going to essentially mean the Blues Festival will probably be unprofitable," he said. "The city shouldn't’t be doing things to hurt special events that the citizens enjoy every year."

For decades, the city subsidized expenses such as police detail and clean up costs. But statewide budget cuts prompted the city to cutback this year, and in 2008, all city funding for special events was completely eliminated.

Cristina Silva, Times Staff Writer