City Council pays grant for promotion in full

Press, 13 May 1986, Page 4

City Council pays grant for promotion in full

In a generous mood yesterday, Christchurch City councillors not only reinstated the full $119,000 grant sought by the Canterbury Promotion Council — the official regional tourist organisation — but added a further $25,000. With a $48,000 shortfall from the $250,000 sought from local councils, the Promotion Council yesterday went back to the City Council to again ask for $119,125, and an extra $25,000 so that the Promotion Council’s information centre could be open at week-ends.

Earlier, city councillors had declined a request by the Promotion Council, for a grant of 73c a head, $119,125 in all, and offered $105,920 instead. Yesterday, on a motion by Cr Vicki Buck, the

policy and finance committee of the council agreed to both sums, taking the City Council grant (if the council ratifies the approval) to $144,125 — more than 25 per cent of the Promotion Council budget.

The Promotion Council’s president, Mr David Watson, told councillors that if the $25,000 was not forthcoming the information centre would not open at week-ends. Opening the centre on Saturdays and Sundays had been at the request of the City Council two years ago.

“You gave us a job to do, so we have come back to you for the money to do it,” he said. Mr Bruce Dunstan, the executive officer, said about 180 people a day made inquiries at the

centre during the weekend, but this varied with the seasons. The 1.7 million visitors expected to come to Christchurch this financial year would generate $1 billion, he said. More than 320 companies were subscribing members of the Promotion Council. Mr Martin Hadlee, the Promotion Council’s treasurer, said after the meeting that the pledge of $144,125 was gratifying, but was also a duplication of effort when the Canterbury United Council was supposed to organise the Promotion Council finance.

“We plan to talk to the other councils about their donations. We have already talked to Waimairi, and they brought their grant back to what we

sought, but talking to the councils is time consuming. The United Council levy was supposed to take care of things,” he said.

Christchurch was not the only council to reduce the amount sought by the /Promotion Council through its parent body, the Canterbury United Council, which set levies on each member council. The United Council also came in for criticism from the City Council’s local government working party. The party reported that now was “precisely the wrong time” to complete a questionnaire sent out by the United Council about future regional government. The time for such a questionnaire was after the present restructuring was completed.