Richard Persons, chief executive officer of the Lake County Fair since 1996, said the fair is potentially facing “draconian” funding cuts that could both hurt operations and improvement projects at the fairgrounds.
The 78 fairs that have been supported by the state since 1933 are targeted to lose 100 percent of the $32 million budgeted for operational support and capital improvements on fairgrounds in Brown's proposed budget, said Persons, who explained that the $32 million is used at seed money.
He cited a state economic impact study completed last year that found fairs generate more than $2.55 billion in economic impact to California's economy each year, creating 28,000 jobs, and generating more than $135 million in state and local government tax revenues.
The Lake County Fair has an annual budget of $650,000, and operates with four full-time employees – including Persons – and two half-time employees on a year-round basis, he said.
During the annual Lake County Fair – visited by more than 38,000 people annually – more than 750 people are employed on the fairgrounds, about 100 of them by the fair itself. Persons said hundreds more can be found volunteering in a variety of jobs.
The fair also has an eight-member board of directors, appointed by the governor.
In a nod to Brown's executive order this week to have state employees turn in 48,000 cell phones – at an anticipated savings of $20 million – Persons said that no fair staffers have ever been provided cell phones.
The Lake County Fair is a state agency that operates state-owned property, in this case the 34-acre fairgrounds property, located at 401 Martin St. in Lakeport, which has 30 buildings, most of which are available for public use, he said.
The fairgrounds' activities directly or indirectly created the equivalent of 75 full-time jobs and more than $10.9 million in local economic impact, including approximately $2.4 million in salaries and wages, Persons said.
In addition, he explained that the fairgrounds generates more than $102,000 in tax revenues like sales tax, local possessory interest tax for use of government property, and a variety of other licenses, fees and permits.
Persons said the fair's mission is to be Lake County’s local event center.
He said the fairgrounds hosts local activities nearly every day of the year – sometimes with several events in a single day.
Of those activities, 96 percent are produced by Lake County individuals or organizations, and 64 percent are produced by nonprofit organizations, mostly for fundraising, he said.
During the county fair event at the end of summer, more than 85 percent of the commercial spaces are filled by organizations from Lake and Mendocino counties, Persons said. More than 90 percent of the thousands of competitive exhibits that fill the buildings and barns during the Lake County Fair come from Lake County residents.
The state's fairs run on a calendar year budget, rather than the July through June fiscal year budget observed by the state, Persons said.
The fair has received three-quarters of its 2011 funding, and Persons said he expects to receive the entire budgeted amount by year's end. “The Department of Food and Agriculture says they have it,” he said.
However, the outlook ahead is far more uncertain for 2012 and beyond.
In the 2011-12 state budget cycle, which would cut into the second half of the fair's 2011 budget, Persons said the Lake County Fair was set to receive $172,000 in operational funding, or approximately 25 percent of the annual operating costs, with the rest being derived locally from the annual county fair event and rentals of the fairgrounds during the year.
The fair also would lose 85 percent of its capital expense funds, which Persons said range between $30,000 and $150,000 annually, depending on projects.
He said the fairs compete with one another for state capital improvement infrastructure grants, with fairs getting additional points if they put up some of their own money.
Such money has helped improve the Lakeport fairgrounds, said Persons. “We had a series of projects that we started this year.”
In the first of three proposed phases, he said they tore out 60-year-old horse barns, installed new water lines to feed the Baldwin Pavilion area at the back of the property, then put in a street so there is a circle around the racetrack, at a total cost of $122,000, he said. The second, $75,000 phase included a new horse barn.
The third phase, estimated to cost $125,000, would include asphalt repairs and seal coasting that would help the fairground's asphalt surfaces to last another decade. But Persons said that project is now in limbo due to the proposed budget.
“In some way's we're fortunate, because decades ago the state provided more than 80 percent of operating funds, so the slow shift away from state funding over the years may allow us to keep the doors open,” he said.
“But if the governor's proposal passes the legislature, it's going to be painful for the local community. And of course, the loss of capital funding means no construction work, no asphalt, no new roofs, no paint. Virtually all of those jobs are done by local companies,” he added.
Persons said he and the fair's board of directors will watch the state budget process closely over the coming months, and examine the entire fair operation for both expenditure cuts and increases to revenue.
He said possible changes could include reductions in staffing, reduced operating hours and increases in rental rates.
“We have to start planning now,” he said.
This year's Lake County Fair, scheduled for Sept. 1-4, has “Make Some Magic!” as its theme.
Visit the fair online at www.lakecountyfair.com .
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