A proposed cut to the state fund that supports local fairs across the state has prompted strong push-back from advocates who say it could hurt many events, including the Clark County Fair.
The Fair Fund, as it’s known, splits about $2 million among 66 fairs in Washington each year. In his recommended budget released last month, Gov. Inslee recommended cutting that to a little more than $300,000 per year.
“The governor’s budget, for all practical purposes, does away with the Fair Fund,” said Heather Hansen, a legislative lobbyist for the Washington State Fairs Association.
The Clark County Fair received more than $83,000 from the Fair Fund last year. As a multimillion-dollar event, the 10-day fair wouldn’t be crippled if it lost that money. But many of the state’s smaller community and youth fairs depend much more heavily on the fund, drawing as much as 70 percent of their budgets from it, said Clark County Fair Manager John Morrison. Some could disappear entirely, he said.
“They certainly wouldn’t be the same event that people have come to know in those communities,” said Morrison, who is also president of the Washington State Fairs Association.
Morrison and others plan to lobby lawmakers in Olympia to restore the fund, which hasn’t changed since 1998. “Without exception,” legislators have been supportive so far, he said. Clark County councilors have also expressed support for restoring the fund.
Many state programs are facing pressure this year as lawmakers grapple with huge financial demands on education and other issues. But fairs are largely youth-oriented, and 4-H and FFA participants learn lessons in leadership, responsibility and other skills through the experience, Hansen said.
“We see fairs as a part of education,” Hansen said. “We would hate to see such a valuable educational activity cut in the name of saving education.”
Fairs also support a lot of other volunteers, activities and organizations, Hansen added.
Inslee supports the Fair Fund program, and would have maintained it if there were more resources available, said spokeswoman Jaime Smith.
“Given all the competing budget priorities we had, that was just one of the things we weren’t able to fund,” Smith said.
For the Clark County Fair, state funding goes to support the premiums paid to the youths who enter exhibits in numerous categories, Morrison said. Losing that money would likely mean looking elsewhere in the fair’s budget to replace it, he said.
State funding to local fairs is determined by several factors, including rankings. The Clark County Fair has ranked among the top fairs in the state for the past eight years, Morrison said. It’s often received the largest allocation of any single fair, he said.
The Washington State Fairs Association hopes the Fair Fund will be maintained at its current level, Hansen said. A drastic cut would create a ripple effect far beyond the events themselves, she said.
“When we think of fairs, it’s easy to think in terms of cotton candy and having fun,” Hansen said. “But there’s so much more to it than that.”
