The Bryan City Council has approved the Downtown Bryan Association’s (DBA) request for additional money that will nearly double the pay of its executive director, add two fulltime employees, and add four paid interns.
Only four council members were at Tuesday’s meeting. Work conflicts prevented Mayor Jason Bienski and councilmen Art Hughes and Greg Owens from attending.
After comments were made during the hear citizens portion of the meeting opposed to giving the DBA $40,000 to the $55,000 already budgeted for this fiscal year, Councilman Paul Madison explained the additional work the association will do for the city.
Comments from Paul Madison.
The amended agreement calls for the DBA to take over management of the Palace Theater and the Texas Reds Festival. The association would also keep all revenue generated from the Palace, while the city would keep revenue generated from the Reds Festival.
The DBA has also asked the city for $165,000 in the fiscal year 2014 budget that starts October 1.
The amended agreement approved Tuesday raises executive director’s pay from $34,000 to $65,000 a year, hire a program manager at a salary of $40,000, an operations manager at a salary of $35,000, and four interns from A&M at a salary of $4,425 each.
City staff say the money will come from the general fund and the hotel occupancy tax.