COUNTY FUNDING (10.7%)The Island County Fair Board receives no funding to operate the fairgrounds from the County aside from a capital improvement allocation of REET* funds to offset deferred maintenance of the County property entrusted to us. The initial $15,000 allocation was raised to $30,000 in 2007, with the stipulation that the money be used solely to improve the property. It cannot be used for salaries, entertainment or even routine maintenance.
It is only within the past decade that the County Commissioners tapped REET* funds for fairgrounds capital improvements.
*REET: Real Estate Excise Tax
STATE FUNDING (18.18%)
County and community fairs receive funds from the state Department of Agriculture to help support the premiums and prizes awarded to exhibitors. These funds are apportioned according to each fair’s operation relative to the whole, as reported on an annual basis.
We have applied, and will continue to apply as funds are available, for WSDA safety grants, without which we would not have been able to replace the rusted fencing around the arena, replace rotted wood bleachers on the Midway, rebuild the decrepit Midway food booths and replace the rusted-through roof on the poultry-rabbit barn. Given the fiscal constraints at the state level, it is uncertain that the funding for this program will be included in the 2009 biennial budget.
SELF-FUNDING (71.12%) & expenditures
The rest of our funding is generated by gate attendance, vendor booth fees, food concession percentages and the carnival. In the off-season, storage, camping and facility rentals generate some revenue. We pay one full-time administrator and a part-time maintenance man.
