MOBILE, Ala. — The city’s proposed fiscal year 2015 budget slashes funding for the annual BayFest music festival by 59 percent, dropping the citys contribution from $243,000 last year to just $100,000. Despite the steep reduction, festival organizers say the show will go on this fall as planned.
Bobby Bostwick, board president of the BayFest organization, downplayed concerns over the cut once the proposed budget became public, saying every city-funded group seemed to be absorbing reductions this cycle. Just a day earlier, Bostwick had warned that a total elimination of city support could put the festivals future in jeopardy, but the smaller-than-feared cut appeared to ease those worries for this years event, scheduled for Oct. 3-5 in downtown Mobile.
Mayor Sandy Stimpson said the $100,000 direct appropriation is only part of the citys overall support for the festival. He noted the city will also contribute roughly $150,000 in in-kind services, covering costs like police presence, barricades, and other logistical support needed to safely run a large downtown event. Stimpson acknowledged BayFests importance to the community, noting it has anchored Mobiles fall calendar for two decades.
The mayor pointed to a series of unusual financial developments in recent years as part of the reasoning behind the reduced allocation. Those included a $3.2 million settlement payment BayFest received tied to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, along with a 2006 legislative exemption that freed the organization from paying taxes on goods it buys or sells in connection with the festival.
Earlier this year, Bostwick had requested $350,000 in direct funding plus the in-kind services package, pointing to an economic impact study from a University of South Alabama professor that found the city received a 366 percent return on its prior years investment in the festival. But Stimpson said learning that BayFest held roughly $2.6 million in reserves factored heavily into the citys decision to scale back support to $100,000 this year, while leaving open the possibility that funding levels could shift again in future years.
Stimpson said he and Bostwick met privately before the budget was finalized to discuss the appropriation, and he emphasized that the conversation never touched on the festival potentially relocating outside Mobile. Bostwick, however, said earlier in the week that should the city move to defund BayFest entirely, he would be open to exploring other host cities for the event.
For now, downtown Mobile will see BayFest return for its annual three-day run in October, even as organizers and city leaders continue to negotiate what long-term public support for the festival will look like going forward.