[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6557067,"mediaKeyId","3327360-85c9ba69c6b1734163fc584f0850182c","parentId",3327360,"title","Dozens of Marietta arts and heritage groups request tourism grants; Visit Marietta seeks marketing and rent support","audioSeconds",6225,"startMs",2196000,"endMs",8421000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3327360-85c9ba69c6b1734163fc584f0850182c&start=2196&end=8421","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3327360-85c9ba69c6b1734163fc584f0850182c/thumbnail_2196000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6557067/Marietta/Cobb-County/Georgia/Dozens-of-Marietta-arts-and-heritage-groups-request-tourism-grants-Visit-Marietta-seeks-marketing-and-rent-support","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6557067-a72035cac3c7a06167941febc98d1fe8/orig.mp4?Expires=1770436912&Signature=ih1SbyMz1ClcVpnOkTbNkj5fLeMoWq1RvaaOMrJtCRHukcQz0txcKc0v06PESAeEqaheL4pbcSu6JoBYICIGihvUnvHSfLNtdScCyrkQKANovwSYd~TiA8M-icETiuQmCHhAAFzI5BjDURgiUQZR3eoYafFzm7f1uhT-iBRLon2zikjD8rIar-0HO8AYORT484XYaFwIGbnFozDfpCjAo9dTvlcc4KecSzhVcoViJbF7ReQ~3TOkRBXZLyowMi65nlYhUF5VKztqLwMJ63pR1uzGWndNl0oajaMkgSfDxke71mG7pjVM9xxjp8aFpSbIZLb4AgyIuh6nC0sPX2PFcw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Marietta","date","2025-05-13T13:00:00Z","article","Marietta council and staff heard presentations from a large slate of arts, cultural and heritage organizations seeking tourism‑grant funding for fiscal year 2026. The hour‑long session featured organizations describing how grant funds would support performances, festivals, museum exhibits and visitor marketing that organizers say draw visitors and restaurant and retail spending to the Marietta Square.

Why it matters: tourism‑grant awards fund events and operating costs that, presenters said, attract non‑local visitors and generate hotel stays, restaurant sales and other local economic activity. City staff and the Visit Marietta destination organization requested funds for marketing, analytics and the Welcome Center rent.

Presentations and requests (amounts as stated in the hearing or noted as “not specified” when not mentioned):

- Alley Stage Foundation (Colt Chambers, founder): requested $25,000 to fund three programs (monthly Cabaret Series, monthly Shakespeare series and a homegrown holiday cabaret). Chambers said the Alley Stage welcomed more than 40,000 patrons since opening and that more than 40% traveled from outside Marietta.

- Brumby Hall and Gardens / Gone with the Wind Museum (Jessica Giancola, director): reviewed program growth, expanded gift‑shop sales and increased marketing reach; a FY26 grant amount was not specified in the presentation.

- City staff (Maggie, events staffing): requested $221,169.53 to underwrite city staff costs for events (overtime/security) and described a rise in holiday‑lighting costs (from previous $15,000 to $19,000) needed to reconfigure holiday orbs on the Square.

- Cobb Landmarks (Trevor Beeman, executive director): requested $50,000 in general operating support to fund programs, marketing and accessibility at the William Root House Museum and related activities; Beeman reported the Root House welcomed 6,400 visitors in FY2024.

- Georgia Metro Dance Theater (Beth Hughes, executive director): requested $25,000 to support hiring guest artists and costume work; Hughes said the company sold over 5,500 tickets this season and attracted patrons from multiple states.

- Georgia Symphony Orchestra (Suzanne Tucker, executive director): requested $95,000 as presenting sponsor support for its 75th season, saying the funds would expand performances and pay for a regional marketing campaign to draw visitors to Marietta for anniversary programming.

- Historic Marietta Square Branding Project (Stephanie Costin, director): requested $6,000 to continue social media promotion and Saturday artisan markets that Costin said draw roughly 2,000 visitors per Saturday.

- Lemon Street Classic (John, organizer): requested $35,000 (up from $29,000 in the prior year) to support the youth basketball tournament that has drawn out‑of‑state teams; John said the tournament has helped college coaches identify players and that organizers provide hospitality and hotel rooms for visiting teams.

- Marietta Arts Council (Abby Smith, executive director): requested $20,000 for marketing arts programming and community projects including TrailFest and the traveling fence gallery.

- Marietta Educational Garden Center (Kate Milholland, executive director): requested $6,000 to replace and relight signage on Kennesaw Avenue to increase walk‑in visitation and bookings for events.

- Marietta History Center (presenter; name not specified in transcript): reviewed exhibitions, family programming, and a traveling co‑curated exhibit; no specific grant amount was stated in the record.

- Marietta Theatre Company (Katrina Stroup, president and co‑founder): described producing Broadway‑style musicals in residence at Marietta’s Theater in the Square and asked for council support (no specific dollar amount stated in the public remarks recorded here).

- Old Zion Heritage Museum (Angela Sperlock, board chair): reviewed programming and education for school groups and seniors and described plans for increased video and digital content geared to students; request amount not specified in the spoken record.

- Strand Theatre (Andy Gaines, executive director): summarized regional attendance, economic impact and programming; the Strand thanked the council for prior support and noted that earned revenue accounted for roughly 75% of its income; a specific FY26 grant ask was not recorded in the transcript excerpt.

- Georgia Ballet (Monica Eisenheim, development director): requested $20,000 to underwrite a 60th anniversary season, guest‑choreographer residencies and accessible performances; presenters said company patrons came from 17 states.

- Marietta’s Theatre in the Square / Theatre Square Art Alliance (Emile Thomas, artistic director): presented expanded outreach and the new Sage Ensemble; the presentation described an increased funding ask but the transcript did not record a specific dollar figure.

- Visit Marietta (Britney Gray, Visit Marietta): reported on a rebrand and marketing campaign (“Meet Me on the Square”) and requested funding to continue paid campaigns and brand work; the transcript also recorded a separate request to fund the Welcome Center rent of $20,867 for 4 Depot Street (the city‑owned Welcome Center) to be paid to Visit Marietta for FY26.

- City communications (Rachel, city communications): requested $30,000, primarily to continue a Placer AI subscription used to measure visitor patterns and support destination marketing analytics and new wayfinding signage.

- Cobb County NAACP (representative): asked for increased funding to brand Juneteenth, expand programming including an oratorical competition for schools and to position Marietta’s Juneteenth celebration as a regional draw; a dollar amount was not specified in the public remarks.

- Marietta Cobb Museum of Art (presenter): outlined exhibitions, education and Chalktoberfest impacts and listed specific asks for museum program areas: $45,000 for education programming, $15,000 for exhibitions and $85,000 for Choctoberfest in FY26 (amounts stated in the presentation).

What presenters emphasized: many organizations cited out‑of‑town attendees, marketing to regional drive markets, partnerships with Kennesaw State University and other cultural venues, and direct economic spillovers to restaurants, hotels and retail on the Marietta Square. Several presenters noted past city tourism grants had increased advertising reach, elevated program quality and produced measurable attendance growth.

Next steps: the committee thanked presenters and said staff would deliberate on allocations and follow up with organizations with funding decisions. No awards or votes were taken at the hearing itself.

Ending: Council and staff closed the session after thanking the presenters; staff will return with tourism‑grant recommendations and next steps for allocation.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Marietta - FINANCE/INVESTMENTS COMMITTEE SPECIAL MEETING on 2025-05-13 - May 13, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","More than two dozen arts, heritage and tourism organizations presented to Marietta officials asking for FY26 tourism grant funds — requests ranged from a few thousand dollars for signage to six‑figure sponsorship requests — with presenters stressing the visitor and economic impact of events on the Marietta Square.","taxTitle","Marietta, Cobb County, Georgia","taxId",3937,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6557072,"Marietta finance staff warn FY25 general fund pressure from insurance and flat revenues",2144,2000,2146000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3327360-85c9ba69c6b1734163fc584f0850182c&start=2&end=2146","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3327360-85c9ba69c6b1734163fc584f0850182c/thumbnail_2000.jpg","/articles/6557072/Marietta/Cobb-County/Georgia/Marietta-finance-staff-warn-FY25-general-fund-pressure-from-insurance-and-flat-revenues","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6557072-de09d2132ad4c9a2232e3d3397c56818/orig.mp4?Expires=1770436912&Signature=CTtzbNkEUOERFP5ENwvEyLq8APEHA1CweC37vFiIf5aZbMFn~GZjlvxplDyEqvIbi3Fr6PEkppGAt9cN5O6ZLPQ~RGRGcXRzl0u8pFwZ8r~8MT3y7X3h60cDr9yAfFs3fnPF4yjqGDnwIsIkw51srWCQJ8h20cgOPV0q9fhEUI5KsXLFhxI~1oFfkf8cxFTdK2sIo4~Cb1JS01TQYnFNUL9m-Y523p-~dXmyQO3fS~Mde8B~VNaPAop0WTWmtvPUxTMMQUd4Z7SL-f6H2E6WmLmbGAUd9c6YJdPn~dC6VaGmY30FVt8Jl5ueOYUNlrEOFa5DpMHtmd6DvuOFXg~4Rw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Bettina, a city finance presenter, told the Finance and Investment Committee that the city’s fiscal-year 2025 financial picture is tightening as insurance costs rise and many revenue lines are flat or declining.

The report, delivered in a special-call meeting, previewed assumptions being built into the FY26 recommended budget, including a 4% midyear salary increase (subject to council approval), no built-in employee health‑care premium increases and planned use of reserves to cover higher self‑insurance costs.

Why it matters: higher insurance premiums, uncertainty from pending state legislation and an unsettled court ruling could sharply increase the city’s liability costs; at the same time many revenue sources that fund operations and capital — property tax assessments, hotel/motel and auto‑rental excise taxes, business licenses and permit revenues — show only modest or uneven growth, constraining options for FY26.

Bettina said the FY26 draft includes a built‑in 4% midyear salary increase for all funds, noting that midyear increases are reviewed and approved by council. She also said the draft does not include employee health‑insurance cost increases for employees, though employer-side self‑insurance and other health costs remain a significant budget pressure.

On self‑insurance, city staff have budgeted about $2,000,000 of reserve from the self‑insurance fund to smooth health‑care costs this year and reported the fund holds roughly $6,000,000 in total reserves for insurance needs. Bettina described a long COVID-era spike in claims that pushed city payouts near $15,000,000 annually at the peak and said claims, rebates and refunds have since helped normalize that figure toward roughly $12,000,000 per year.

Property and casualty insurance premiums rose sharply after the city changed insurers in 2024 and revalued assets; Bettina said premiums moved from about $1,000,000 to roughly $1.8 million. She warned the city is monitoring current and proposed state legislation that would raise liability limits (described in the meeting as proposals moving limits from $1,000,000/ $3,000,000 toward $3,000,000/ $5,000,000 in some versions) and said the city is also watching a high‑profile lawsuit described in the presentation as the “Milton” case, where a court judgment of more than $30,000,000 could reshape insurer pricing and municipal liability exposures if subsequent appeals do not reverse it.

The city expects to rely on reserves in the near term but said the premium outlook is uncertain because insurers have little actuarial experience pricing at the higher per‑occurrence limits that have been discussed in the legislature. Bettina noted Zurich exited the municipal insurance market, reducing the pool of insurers willing to underwrite government risks and limiting market options.

On utilities and the Board of Light and Water (BLW), the draft budget incorporates wholesale cost pass‑throughs agreed with Cobb County (2.5% wholesale water and 3% wholesale wastewater increases) and a 2.5% electric retail increase enacted last August — the first electric retail rate increase in 11 years, the presentation said. The BLW also has a proposed 7% pay increase for line workers to address retention and recruitment at intermediate skill levels; staff described that as a targeted adjustment to keep employees beyond apprenticeship stages from being poached by private and public competitors.

Salary savings that previously helped fund capital projects have narrowed: staff reported salary savings assumptions fell from about $2,800,000 in the prior year to 1.75% for FY26 due to improved hiring. To preserve year‑end capital funding staff have instituted a managed hiring slowdown (new hires are being delayed by a four‑week processing period), and the presentation said the slowdown has begun to boost the year‑end salary‑savings projection.

Capital items discussed included the final fire‑truck payment (about $750,000, being split across two years) and vehicle purchases for police that typically consume a large portion of year‑end capital. Staff said capital allocations were trimmed given personnel and insurance pressures.

On taxes and assessments, Bettina said the city millage rate remains at 2.788 mills. The county digest is expected to increase about 2%, and staff estimated the city’s digest may rise roughly 3% because of local assessment patterns; the actual bill amounts will be available from the county in August, she said. The presentation also noted new required bill language under HB 92 that must appear on property tax bills to identify entities that chose not to adopt homestead exemptions.

Other revenue notes: hotel/motel excise tax receipts showed a slight dip and auto‑rental excise tax collections declined in FY25 after a large FY24 over‑reporting and subsequent refund; business license receipts showed processing and renewal timing changes that temporarily reduced collections; and permit revenue was lower than the FY23 spike that included a one‑time construction project.

Next steps: Bettina said the budget team expects to finalize the recommended FY26 budget book next week and to release it the following Wednesday. The finance team is completing a five‑year revenue and expenditure forecast and will provide that forecast to council to inform policy and capital decisions.

Closing: the presentation ended with staff reiterating ongoing monitoring of insurance markets, wholesale cost pass‑throughs from Cobb County and the progress of negotiations and litigation that could affect future budgets.

Ending: Staff will publish the recommended budget book next week and deliver a five‑year forecast to council when it is complete; formal council action on any FY26 salary increases or budget changes remains required before those items take effect.","City finance presenter Bettina told the Finance and Investment Committee that rising property/casualty premiums, normalized but still-high employee health costs and flatter revenue sources are straining the FY25 position and shaping FY26 budget assumptions, including a built-in 4% midyear salary increase and further use of insurance reserves.","actionData","errors"]

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Dozens of Marietta arts and heritage groups request tourism grants; Visit Marietta seeks marketing and rent support

Marietta finance staff warn FY25 general fund pressure from insurance and flat revenues