Huntington Beach residents may soon find out just how much money is made from the taxpayer-subsidized air show, with city leaders set to formally discuss the issue for the first time since announcing a slate of new bonuses for the airshow’s operator.
On Tuesday night, council members are set to discuss studying how much the airshow actually brings in for the city versus how much money they’re spending on it.
But the council majority argues the city regularly subsidizes business throughout the city and the Pacific Airshow deal is no different.
Over the past year, the air show has often taken center stage in the city’s politics after the council majority settled a lawsuit with Kevin Elliott, the airshow’s operator, to keep the show in Huntington Beach.
Residents didn’t get a chance to see the terms of that settlement until last month.
It was released after Ocean View School District board member Gina Clayton-Tarvin sued the city and won, arguing it was a public record, revealing a slate of new subsidies for the airshow that were not public knowledge.
[Read: HB Leaders Give Up Thousands of Public Parking Spots to Airshow Operators, Settlement Shows]
Some of the benefits include over 3,500 public parking spots turned over to the airshow, a 40-year exclusive operating deal, a waiving of all city fees and a previously disclosed $5 million payout.
That set off a big debate between city council members and local residents over just how much they are responsible for subsidizing the airshow, after previous city leaders vowed to cut off subsidizing the private event years ago.
[Read: How Did a Huntington Beach Air Show Become Embroiled in Controversy and Politics?]
The council majority, who agreed to the deal, argue that it kept the airshow in town along with over $120 million in economic impact each year, despite that figure coming from a tourism advertising firm that couldn’t explain how they arrived at that number.
[Read: How Much Money Does the Pacific Airshow Bring to Huntington Beach?]
“This is our premiere event and the premiere event on the West Coast,” said Councilman Casey McKeon at the council’s July 16 meeting. “Cities provide concessions to large events all the time.”
McKeon is also calling for a review of several deals where private businesses received cash or tax incentives, including the city’s Amazon warehouse and multiple affordable housing developments.
His review does not call for any analysis of the airshow.
On the other side of the aisle, Councilmembers Dan Kalmick, Natalie Moser and Rhonda Bolton are calling for a full analysis of the Pacific Airshow deal, including the city’s first economic study on how much they actually make from the event.
“We have no precise estimate of the settlement agreement’s cost to taxpayers,” they wrote in a joint letter published on the city’s website.
“Taxpayers deserve financial transparency. And, an expectation of transparency should not be misconstrued as a desire to “end” or “stop” the Airshow from taking place.”
It all comes as state auditors are examining the deal amidst concerns it was an inappropriate gift of public funds.
Read: State Auditors to Investigate Huntington Beach’s Pacific Airshow Settlement
The California Coastal Commission and Lands Commission are also investigating the air show, with coastal commission staff saying repeatedly that the airshow needs to get a permit to move forward.
Read: California Coastal Commission Could Upend Huntington Beach Air Show
Bolton, Kalmick and Moser also noted they want the review to be done by an outside contractor who can explain how they get their numbers. L
“There must be an independent, credible estimate of the Airshow’s annual direct revenue to the City. An outside entity should be able to provide upper and lower bounded estimates,” they wrote. “The work product should include all assumptions and calculations used to derive estimates. Both analyses should be made available for public scrutiny.”
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.
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