By Pepper Parr
December 9th, 2024
BURLINGTON, ON
The comment that caught my attention was made by David Shepherd when he said: “we would just like to see it go away”, referring to the $95,000 that was owed to the city for various services provided to the Sound of Music (SoM) in the past.
The Staff report discussed at the December meeting said: “During the Committee of the Whole Meeting on December 2, 2024, the above report was discussed. It was noted that a private foundation had expressed interest in offering financial support to Sound of Music to help ensure the success of the 2025 festival. This new information led to a deferral of the report to the December 10, 2024, Council Meeting. Since then, staff have had the opportunity to meet with the foundation and the Board Chair of Sound of Music to continue discussions.”
Looks like they will be back.
That’s not quite the way this happened either. Ward 1 Councillor Galbraith said he had been approached by an individual who expressed an interest in helping out financially.
We learned today that the Burlington Foundation has been advised that one of the private foundations they administer has directed the Foundation to apply some of their funds to the SoM.
The funds are not coming from the Foundation; they are coming from an individual who has a personal foundation (it could be corporate) and they have directed the Foundation to use some of the funds to the benefit of SoM.
The public may never know who actually put up the money.
“Staff are pleased to share that the private foundation intends to make a significant donation to the festival. This contribution will be applied to Sound of Music’s outstanding debt owing to the city from previous years, as well as the city’s loan to Sound of Music that is not expected to be repaid when it is due on December 11, 2024. As of that date, Sound of Music’s total outstanding debt to the city will be $220,000. Any remaining balance after this donation is applied to Sound of Music’s debt will be due to the city following the 2025 festival, with full repayment required no later than September 1, 2025. If the debt is not fully repaid by that time, future city grants may be impacted.
“As outlined in RCC-19-24, the city will be moving forward with a detailed service level agreement with Sound of Music, incorporating elements from the recently endorsed Accountability Framework to ensure clear expectations and effective collaboration. This agreement will also depend on the Sound of Music Board’s commitment to strong governance and ensuring sufficient resources for the successful execution of the 2025 festival. In addition, Sound of Music will be required to submit a comprehensive business plan for the 2026 festival, which will need to be approved by the Commissioner of Community Services, the Commissioner of Legal and Legislative Services, and the Chief Financial Officer. This plan will be due no later than June 1, 2025, to guide future funding decisions.”
This is a badly needed element. In the past, the SoM has been a kind of Wild West show. Transparency didn’t exist, governance was something they either didn’t understand or didn’t want to have to comply with.
There will have to be a change in the culture of the organization if they are to succeed financailly going forward.
The music industry is to a considerable degree a cash operation; hard to create a paper trail when cash is involved.
Aretha Franklin, known as the “Queen of Soul”, was a female musician who insisted on being paid in cash for her performances. She would collect her payment on the spot or refuse to sing. She would sometimes keep her cash in her purse, give it to her security guards, or leave it on top of the piano while she sang.
This is a happy camper.
A revised report will be presented to Council on Tuesday for their consideration:
Authorize the Director of Recreation, Community and Culture to negotiate and execute any necessary agreements with Sound of Music related to the City’s 2025 grant to Sound of Music Inc., with the content satisfactory to the Director of Recreation, Community and Culture and in a form satisfactory to the Commissioner of Legal and Legislative Services.
Authorize the Director of Recreation, Community and Culture to negotiate and execute any agreements with Sound of Music related to the extension of the repayment of the Sound of Music Inc’s debts with a repayment deadline up to September 1, 2025 with the content satisfactory to the Director of Recreation, Community and Culture and in a form satisfactory to the Commissioner of Legal and Legislative Services.
“In closing, it is clear that the Burlington community deeply values this important festival and wishes to see it continue. However, for the festival to remain sustainable in the long term, it is vital that the Board of Directors carefully consider the financial health of the organization and plan for both the 2025 festival and the years that follow. We appreciate the continued collaboration and commitment to this valued community event.”
Chief Administration Officer Hassaan Basit, is tough tough on transparency – he will deliver some hard lessons to the SoM that is currently an operational board. They need to add some governance to the mix – soon.
Related news story:
Burlington Foundation distributes more than $300,000 – a record for the 25-year-old organization.
Interesting…none of this was an issue when Dave Miller was Executive Director, before he was canned by the board.
Penny, in my opinion, that is very judgemental of another’s generous donation?
Penny, you forget about GM, Chrysler and Air Canada to name a few corporations that headline the list of bailouts. Provincial governments have also provided bailouts. Why do governments step in? Because the cost (dollar and social) of allowing failure is greater than the bailout cost.
May I ask what help or assistance did you give to that homeless person?
The Editor is right. Why all the belly+aching about the SoM? A festival that brings joy to thousandsIf you must belly-ache do it about the $200 refund cheque which is costing $3 billion which could be better assigned to healthcare.
We should all be most grateful to the anonymous donor.
That’s me and the cat hiding in the basement again next year then.
Come on Penny, The Homelessness Crisis will not be alleviated by canceling The Sound of Music Festival. It will only be resolved when Doug Ford stops spending taxpayer dollars to buy votes and spends it to build homes and shelters. I’d rather see tax money go to SoMF than give $200.0 to people like Galon Weston and Drake.
Come on Jim. Penny never said that cancelling the SOM was the key to resolving the homeless crisis in Burlington. You twist things as adroitly as Mayor Musically Wanting. Indeed, after watching your delegation last week I think that you have (balance of sentence deleted – unacceptable language)
The City of Burlington should talk to some of the dedicated people who have volunteered for many years consistently with the Sound of Music Festival. Year after year, people work year-round to ensure that the festival lives up to, and even surpasses, the high standard that previous festivals have achieved. Volunteers return year after year because everyone from the Director to the Board of Directors and the Operations Team creates a sense of family that encourages all of us to step up and do our best to ensure a quality festival each year and for decades to come. It is a very rewarding experience to volunteer with SOMF and I intend to continue volunteering for many more years.
The financial crisis facing the Sound of Music is a direct result of chronic underfunding by Ford’s Provincial Government. Last year, not a single Conservative MPP participated in the SOM parade, clearly indicating their lack of support. Ford’s intention to hand over control to Live Nation/Ticket Master demonstrates his desire to transform the Sound of Music into a profit-driven enterprise catering to the wealthy, rather than prioritizing community interests.
This was never more true than in 2018 when a mass exodus of volunteers, staff (and all of their collective knowledge) occurred because a corrupt board fired the long serving ED who was running a very successful and fiscally responsible festival. That entire group could not bring ourselves to bust our collective @$$es all year long for the clowns who took over the BoD. We tried to bring this forward by writing a very detailed letter to council and the mayor back then, but they either said that it was too big to fail, we were blowing it all out of proportion, or flat out ignored us. 6 years later, none of us are surprised by this. We are all sad for what has become of a festival that we all loved.
This comment was meant to be in response to Grace Wilbur above. Not sure how it ended up here.
I question if most of the downtown merchants actually benefit from the SOM. In the past many have indicated that ” there are a lot of people in the area walking around but not that many making any purchases”.
Food and drink are available at the festival, certainly this cuts into the profits that restaurants and pubs could be making.
Just don’t think that taxpayer money should continue to sponsor a festival that is not financially feasible.
It will be interesting to see what SOM 2025 turns out to be.
My observations living at ground zero, ice cream or pizza parlours do very well out of visitors, but the bars and restaurants are mainly full of Burlington residents.
Certainly this private foundation could have spent their money more wisely.
There are people in Burlington who need help paying for their rent or for food.
In the real world no festival or any business that could not at least break even would be bailed out year after year, mostly with taxpayer money.
I should have asked the homeless person sleeping in the back entryway of Upper Canada Place on Brant Street this past Saturday if he felt “that it is clear that the Burlington community deeply values this import festival and wishes it to continue “.
Editor’s note: Why all the belly-aching about the SoM. The hospitality sector has to add hundreds of extra staff to meet the demand from the thousands that buy lunch or dinner and spend major dollars. There is a benefit to the city – what the SoM needs is better managing.
Perhaps admission into the SOM could include a food or cash donation