Report back on Council meeting: St Kilda Festival

For a long time I have been concerned about the growing cost of the St Kilda Festival. However, no report has been brought to Council that put those figures before you in the form of a publicly accessible Council report.
In response to a question from Councillor Frank o'Connor at Tuesday's meeting, the following information was provided:
The net cost of the St Kilda Festival to council has increased from $533,171 in 2008/09 to $1,180,703 in 2011/12. The cost to Council over 5 years can be accessed here. These costs are projected to increase significantly into the future. This year, considerable effort went into trying to secure a major sponsor. The arrangement yielded a mere $4,000. Council has been advised that up to 80% of the expenditure goes towards the physical infrastructure of the event such as toilets, security, and cleaning.
In response to the presentation of these figures, Councillor o'Connor put this motion which was passed unanimously:
That Council

• Confirms its strong support for live music in this municipality
• Receives an urgent report at its meeting on 24 September 2012 which includes
• identification of strategies for containing the 2013 St Kilda Festival expenditure within the budgeted amount for 2012/13
• an update on progress with sponsorship for the 2013 Festival
• information on the option not to proceed with the 2013 Festival Sunday
• a process for community consultation to determine alternate approaches to deliver Council's objectives regarding live music and cultural development within current budget allocations.

The discussion will continue at the meeting on 24 September.