BOONE, Iowa—The Boone City Council did agree to release some of the funds allocated for the Boone River Valley Festival, during their meeting Monday.  In January, the Council included the funding request from the Boone Action Association for the Boone River Valley Festival.  The Hotel/Motel Tax distribution is for the next fiscal year, beginning July 1st.  Usually, the City pays half the allocation after July 1st and the second half is distributed at the beginning of the calendar year.  Last year the Council agreed to pay forward the allocation, but this year, other events have used up the extra funds that are usually available.  Mayor John Slight on KWBG Tuesday said the Hotel/Motel Tax account has the resources, but there is not enough time to do a budget amendment.

At the same meeting, Council member Greg Piklapp said he expects to bring the request for some funding for the Boone County Fair to the full council in June.  Originally, the Council decided they would support some of the community activities at the fair for $5,000.  Because of the pending requests for Hotel/Motel Tax proceeds, the request was directed to the Human Service Grant program, funded by a portion of the local option sales tax.  A preliminary review of the request by the committee that distributes the funds did not show enough support to provide the funding the council had voted to back.

The Human Service Grants are usually presented to the Council prior to the start of the new fiscal year, so sometime in the next month.  5% of the local option sales tax is usually about around $40,000.