Sanford’s reporting on event expenses raises $208,134 in concerns

Sanford’s newly constructed event expense report has data gaps, raising questions about individual costs, DSI revenue, and how to track public event expenses.

Sanford presented the cost of its events at the Aug. 11 work session after the July 14 meeting, when Town Manager Hal Hegwer told Sandhills News that the city did not have the information.

Yet, “It was information we already had,” Mayor Rebecca Salmon said at the Aug. 11 meeting.

During the July 14 meeting, Member Charles Taylor asked the council to review government expenses on all events to inform the public of the cost of each event, such as movies and concerts in the park. Because the city needs to be accountable and make budget decisions based on expenses and revenue. He said there were no detailed expense reports on events that would help the council decide whether it should fund specific events in the future.

Finance Director Bethany Stephens organized the information per the council’s directions and titled it Event Expense Analysis. She completed her job exactly as they requested.

Each of the event expense reports lists: additional hours, contractual services/rentals, advertising, printing, supplies and miscellaneous.

Some expense lists include “Closure” in the heading to indicate a road closure. But the expense details of closing the road are not listed, such as whether overtime pay was issued or which organization’s funds paid, indicating the council may need to further detail its request for information to make frugal decisions on which events are worthwhile.

As reported from the July 14 meeting, Stephens said they monitor costs, but “not necessarily for events.”  

There was not a complete breakdown of each expense listing which department paid, or whether grant funds or taxpayers funded events, or if Downtown Sanford Inc (funded by grants and the city’s taxpayers) paid from its account, and if so, for which item in the list.

Taylor exemplified the CARA Run managed by two different budgets: the public works and the police department. There was no indication of each organization’s expenses.

However, the identity of organizations was not on lists.

Stephens said each department had tracked the costs of events.

CARA Run expenses include “Closure” in the heading, and the only expense listed is additional hours at $3,361.15. But was that expense paid by public works or the police department, and were those funds drawn from grants or from taxpayers? With the limited scope, the report does not provide a clue.

Events Versus Mandated Roads

Taxpayers may question the expense of road closures when there are parks, such as Kiwanis Family Park and San Lee Park, where instead of spending $3,361.15, people can run free, literally. Especially when the city struggled to preserve its “typical” road repair and maintenance budget at $750,000 while conditions persist and increased property taxes to 55.5¢ property tax rate, an increase of 2¢ (county is 65.5¢), a 7% increase for water and sewer services.

“Need to make deeper cuts to reduce overall costs,” Hegwer said on June 23 as he explained they could reduce to a .2 ¢ tax increase by resurfacing only 80% of roads listed for repairs. (When Sandhills News asked for a list of roads needing repairs in June and again on Aug. 11, the answer was that they did not have the information.) Further, he explained that the city could save money by concentrating on one section of road repairs instead of relocating from one section to another. The estimated cost is “one million per mile.”

Mayor Rebecca Salmon met with the North Carolina Department of Transportation in a closed meeting on Aug. 5 (Sandhills News tried to attend.) to discern why the city was allotted fewer funds than Pinehurst after the July 14 meeting, when she said they’d already had a “very challenging talk with NCDOT” about them diverting STIP money to the USOPEN. “I feel it should’ve come from state funds, not the local division.” Salmon said Sanford’s fund allotment, being less than Pinehurst’s, was unfair.

Aug. 11, the mayor reported to the council that NCDOT had a 61% expense inflation increase and shifted the unfairness to NCDOT needing to improve communication with the public.

The city’s expense report for its events totals about $208,134, which would pave about one-fifth of a mile, and that does not sound like much until it’s the pothole-riddled road one must navigate for work each day.

Under General Statute 160A-296, municipalities must maintain non-state public streets in proper working condition and open for safe travel.

Is Sanford Entertaining Beyond its Means?

No mandate requires cities to fund entertainment for citizens or to create advertising gimmicks dressed as public events to increase foot traffic near stores.

The North Carolina Constitution and statutes mandate that any utilization of municipal tax revenue must fulfill a public purpose, thereby serving the broader welfare, security, or economic progress of the community, as opposed to private interests. “Private interests” warrants an investigation by the city into how many paid city representatives, including Downtown Sanford Inc, own business properties in areas the city promotes through events held in business districts because it is a conflict of interest.

Blurred Lines Hinder Transparency and Whether to Justify Events

“We need to know where the numbers come from. If we close a road ten times, are you at a point to buy a fixed pop-up barricade? We need to be able to compare costs,” Taylor said about road closure expenses.

The report does not reveal the return on the city’s investment, such as an increase in sales in downtown stores or participant numbers.

Another category to consider investigating is overtime paid to city employees and whether volunteers may be utilized instead.

Hegwer said the cost of events was a good exercise to review.

“You cannot manage what you can’t measure,” Taylor said.

The Red, White & Blue Bash this year cost $76,585.50. The expense list shows $20,028.33 for additional hours, $48,125.54 for contractual services/rentals, $76.99 for advertising and $8,354.64 for supplies.

The report shows the total expense for advertising for all events at only $788.96. In a phone call, Stephens explained the low advertising costs stemmed from using social media.

Sandhills News requested the advertising revenue collected by Downtown Sanford Inc (DSI) to help explain event costs and is waiting for those records. Taxpayers pay DSI.

“The City does levy a Municipal Service District (MSD) tax on behalf of the MSD and the City contracts with DSI to administer and facilitate the special tax district programs. The City still reviews, approves, and processes payments for all the MSD funds and expenditures and not DSI. DSI is a non-profit and they may receive revenue and/or sponsorship money for events and that does not run thru the city,” Stephens wrote in an email.

What did each event actually cost, who paid for it, and how much of that cost ultimately fell on taxpayers? The report that the council requested does not supply sufficient details.

The original request from Taylor was not solely a compilation of costs. He sought data to facilitate the council’s informed budgetary deliberations and assess the continued viability of events. For the council members to render a sound decision, they must determine not only the total expenditure of the city, but also the origin of every financial contribution, the entity responsible for its payout, and any corresponding revenue or public advantage.

When the council does not have all the data from all the sources involved, parts may be separated among various accounts and institutions and show a false conclusion. While the city is able to state that its report fairly represents the expenses, DSI could have further event-related revenue or expenses that do not surface in the city’s review. For an individual assessing the true public cost of an event, the lines blur.

Review Sanford Council demands event cost accountability as DSI draws scrutiny.

Aug. 12, 2026

Stephanie M. Sellers

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