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HBG Mayor wants to slash tourism funding going to National Civil War Museum

The Mayor of Harrisburg asked the Dauphin County Commissioners on Tuesday to freeze money it allocates to the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau (HHRVB...
Papenfuse

The Mayor of Harrisburg asked the Dauphin County Commissioners on Tuesday to freeze money it allocates to the Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitors Bureau (HHRVB). Mayor Eric Papenfuse wants to  revise the city’s agreement with the agency on how to disperse county hotel tax revenue, according to a news release.

“The vast majority of the funds dedicated for promoting tourism in Harrisburg are diverted to subsidize the Civil War Museum,” Mayor Papenfuse told the County Commissioners at their regular monthly meeting on Wednesday.  “This is outrageous and it’s time we end what is essentially a failed experiment.”

County Commissioners are taking the Mayor’s request under advisement, according to the news release.  Attorneys for the county are looking into the City’s funding agreement with the group, which provided the National Civil War Museum with almost $300,000 in 2013.

According to the release, the agreement dates back to the administration of Mayor Steve Reed who extended it until 2023 as he was leaving office.
“This was a secret deal done to keep subsequent mayors from being able to change the agreement with HHRVB,” Mayor Papenfuse said.  “The citizens of Harrisburg can no longer afford to pay for a museum that is not generating revenue and that is not even in the city of Harrisburg. We are asking County Commissioners to help us get out of a very bad agreement.”

The funding agreement passed in June 2008 requires HHRVB to provide $500,000 to the Civil War Museum if hotel tax revenues due to the city exceed $960,000.   The agreement also calls for yearly increases in allocations to the museum.

Dauphin County provides from its discretionary 1 percent allocation from the hotel tax additional annual funding to the museum, which Papenfuse said “generates no revenue and has become a drain on the city.”

Dauphin County provided at least $50,000 to the Civil War Museum this year.

“The original vision was the museum would become self-sustaining and pay rent to the city of Harrisburg,” Mayor Papenfuse said. “That hasn’t happened.”

The Mayor said the museum does not attract enough visitors nor does it promote tourism into the city.

“Considering the city is in financial recovery, I don’t think this is the best use of our tax dollars,” Mayor Papenfuse told the commissioners. “We could use the money we should get by renting this facility to fix potholes, support public safety and improve the quality of life for the people of Harrisburg.

Papenfuse released the National Civil War Museum’s financial statement showing the facility’s fair market rental value at $633,000 per year. The museum pays $1 per year to the city for rent.

“I don’t think the public supports this museum,” the Mayor said.  “Every time we pay to park, we are basically paying to subsidize the building of this museum that is not generating any returns for the city of Harrisburg.”

The Mayor said he has tried to get museum officials to reconsider the agreement in light of the city’s fiscal needs, but “they are not interested in engaging,” he said. “They have a sense of entitlement to the money.”

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