Some Town Council members believed too many high dollar programs were being passed through the council on the consent agenda without discussion, prompting a request for a review of how it is determined what goes on the consent agenda.

In what proved to be a good example, a citizen asked that an item be removed from the consent agenda for discussion at the Jan. 16 regular session. The council had already asked questions for and staff had already set a separate discussion about criteria for the consent agenda for the same meeting.

Resident Bob Wilson asked about a proposed contract with Vici Media in the amount of up to $50,000 per year with five one-year renewal options for the council.

Wilson wondered why something that could amount to a $250,000 expenditure for the town did not receive more discussion and explanation.

The Vici contract was for tourism services for digital retargeting of marketing messages. Tourism Coordinator Grace Rodman-Guetter said the goal is to target their message within the online market so it reaches the people most likely to consider Fountain Hills for a visit, activity or event.

The $50,000 in the contract is a ceiling, according to Rodman-Guetter.

“It does not mean we will spend that much on an annual basis,” she said.

Town Manager Grady Miller also explained that the five-year renewal is not guaranteed.

“We look at it each year to see whether we are getting our money’s worth and don’t renew if we find no value,” Miller said.

He also noted that the extended renewal contracts can save money by not having annual legal and drafting expenses for such agreements.

Rodman-Guetter said the Vici contract is used jointly by the tourism department as well as economic development for the town.

The tourism department also relies heavily on grant funding from the Arizona Office of Tourism and a significant amount of the grant money goes to marketing, according to Rodman-Guetter.

Councilman Henry Leger said he realizes metrics related to tourism and economic development can be somewhat ambiguous, but he asked Rodman-Guetter whether they had any idea of the performance of their marketing.

She said their program is performing about three times better than the national average.

“The budget process is lengthy but I would encourage citizens to participate,” Leger said. “We look for return on investment, and we need to diversify our revenue and a property tax could be a predictable, stable portion of that.

“It is all part of the solution; economic development, tourism, state shared revenues, sales tax. We will be criticized for spending for anything by those opposed to a property tax.”

“There are always two sides to discussions on finance,” Mayor Linda Kavanagh said. “What one person sees as waste, another person can’t live without. It’s our job to balance this.”

The council unanimously approved the Vici contract and, in a separate discussion, considered how to determine items for the consent agenda.

Miller said in determining what goes on the consent agenda he considers the amount, what previous discussions there have been and the interest.

“We are somewhat unique in that most cities do not allow citizens to remove something from the consent agenda for discussion,” Miller said.

Vice Mayor Dennis Brown asked for clarification about what the town manager’s spending authority is without council approval. That amount is $50,000.

“I think if we can trust the town manager with $50,000, that should be the basis for the consent agenda,” Brown said. “Anything more goes on the regular agenda.”

The council also added extended contracts subject to annual renewal for discussion on the regular agenda.

The rules regarding who can remove a consent item for discussion remain the same. The rules state, “if a councilmember or a member of the public wishes to discuss an item on the consent agenda, he/she may request so prior to the motion to accept the consent agenda.”

Those rules do not change with the council adjustment of the amount.

“I’m glad we had this discussion,” Leger said. “We need to understand the citizens’ perspective.