Fair Board holds budget talks

PLAINS – The Sanders County Fair Board assembled for an emergency meeting at the county fairgrounds in Plains last week.

The purpose of the meeting, held on Monday, June 8, was to discuss cuts to the fair’s budget, which are likely to be implemented during this year’s county budgetary process.

A week prior to Monday’s  meeting Fair Manager Mike Hashisaki and fair board members Jim Newman and Wade Rehbein met with the county commissioners for a preliminary discussion on the fair’s budget for the next fiscal year.

The potential budgetary cuts are due to a combination of factors including the reduced value of federal SRS funding, falling property tax values across the county and several infrastructural projects in Sanders County.

Though it is unclear how much money will be taken from the fair’s budget, the fair’s manager is expecting to lose at least one mill.

“What you guys are facing is where to come up with somewhere between probably $35,000 and $45,000,” Hashisaki said.

The board undertook a long discussion regarding the potential shortfall and ran through a number of budget items from parking, the cost of the fair’s contest judges and water usage on the grounds in an effort to trim expenditures.

Newman noted the board’s options were limited if they were to lose more than one mill.

“We have to either cut or come up with more revenue,” Newman said.  

Hashisaki echoed this sentiment noting several cuts had already been made to the budget and there wasn’t much left to axe.

The manager, who is retiring following this year’s fair stated it was as tight a budget the fair had operated under in some time.

“This is probably the leanest expense budget I have seen in 23 years,” Hashisaki said.

Over the course of the evening’s discussion suggestions were made regarding increasing parking fees or implementing a gate fee.

Ultimately the board was under the impression these changes may cause more harm than good, especially of terms of public relations, in the immediate future.

In an effort to make up a mill in revenue the board was able to reach a decision at last week’s special meeting.

Near the conclusion of the meeting, which lasted just under two hours, the fair board came to an agreement and passed a motion to raise the ticket prices for the fair’s events, bull riding, rodeo and demolition derby, $5 to make up the anticipated cuts to their budget.

“That will work because if you raise the ticket prices you are covering one mill,”    Hashisaki said.