CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Charlotte City Council parsed out just one month’s worth of funding for its biggest booster organization Monday night amidst what an audit called a “crisis of credibility.”
Instead of fully funding the organization, council allocated $1.7 million for the CRVA’s business development expenses and another $800,000 for organizational needs.
“This measure will allow the CRVA to operate as normal through the end of July,” Councilman Michael Barnes said in explaining his motion.
Concerns about the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority, or CRVA, had been swirling for several months. Earlier in June, the council removed the CRVA from its regular budget discussion and delayed a vote on more than $10 million dollars in funding.
At the time, council and the CRVA were awaiting the written version of a report from Price Waterhouse Coopers, commissioned to examine questions over issues including an incorrect attendance projection for the NASCAR Hall of Fame and lavish spending intended to attract and keep major events in Charlotte.
Shortly before their Monday meeting, councilmembers got that report, but some expressed concerns about the time they had to digest it. Mayor Anthony Foxx was among those who wanted more. “I would like to see, as much as possible, an actual plan. Not the plan to have a plan in 6 months,” he said. “I think the purpose of the motion isn’t to choke the CRVA to death.”
Councilman Andy Dulin called it a good plan. “It’s not our money. It’s not the CRVA’s money. It’s the taxpayer’s money,” he said. “I get one vote on this council, and I’m going to use it to hold it up until I get comfortable.”
Councilmen Patrick Cannon, Warren Cooksey, Edwin Peacock, and Warren Turner dissented, arguing the message wasn’t clear.
“To me, we basically have continued to muddy the water,” Turner said.
“If it’s answers we are still looking for, which I am also, it doesn’t come by hurting citizens here in the city of Charlotte,” Cannon said.
The move puts the issue up for another vote July 25, when council will consider the full funding request, and ask for more details on an operational plan the CRVA has put into place. “We’ll certainly try to accomplish whatever we need to accomplish over the next month,” CRVA CEO Tim Newman said.
Newman, whose job is under pressure, is considered the front man for the organization and is widely credited with its successes.
However, council also voted on appointments to the CRVA’s governing board, and ousted an incumbent member. Privately, several councilmembers have speculated that move is intended to signal a desire for change at the top of the CRVA.
