St. Augustine Vice Mayor Barbara Blonder expressed pointed concerns Monday about the growing cost of St. Augustine’s annual Nights of Lights festival and the strain it’s placing on local taxpayers.
Blonder said the city’s cost to help operate Nights of Lights has increased by roughly $200,000 compared to last year, now totaling more than $500,000.
“That’s a big jump up from last year,” she said. “We’re talking real money here… from the city of St. Augustine to sponsor and roll out Nights of Lights.”
She said that city taxpayers are covering 37.4% of the festival’s total cost, despite St. Augustine’s population of 16,000 residents.
“Again, a small tax base in a very, very large and very, very long event,” she said.
Blonder highlighted that half of the city’s general fund—used for events like Nights of Lights—comes from ad valorem taxes, commonly known as property taxes.
“We’ve had a lot of public come to us talking about how they don’t like their ad valorem taxes going up,” she said. “That’s something that I think all of us have to really think about in terms of answering to the to our taxpayers. It’s a lot of money.”
Mayor Nancy Sikes-Kline echoed Blonder’s concerns and said there is a financial disconnect between the event’s economic impact and what the city actually receives.
“Many people do not understand that the city does not make money on Nights of Lights,” she said. “It generates that much money in the economy—not through to the government. It doesn’t translate to government income.”
Sikes-Kline said the tax costs on city residents is climbing.
“The residents continue to, unfortunately, through the general fund, bear a larger burden of the cost of tourism, because we don’t have a way to collect,” she said.
Sikes-Kline noted a split between resident prioritites and business interests.
“I think the business community has been particularly effective at advocating for their side of it,” he said.” The residents… want to live peaceful lives and enjoy this beautiful city.”
Sikes-Kline called for flexibility as the city explores ways to fund the event in the future.
The St. Johns Board of County Commissioners agreed to infuse this year’s event with $850,000 in bed tax funding to help address mounting logistical challenges at the popular holiday event.
St. Johns County Board Commissioner Ann Taylor has sharply critiqued the city’s handling of the festival — including a decision spearheaded by Blonder to shorten its duration.
Taylor has called for the creation of a task force to oversee the spending of this year’s overall Nights of Lights budget.
