Local agencies $17.5m short for convention
Mayor eyes private sector in meeting DNC deadline
Financially pinched state and local government agencies appear to be backing away from their $17.5 million pledge to the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, leaving organizers only three months to make up the money from local businesses.
Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he is confident that area corporations will quickly fill the void.
"The private sector probably will have to come up with the $17.5 million, but I'm not going to exclude other options," such as grants from government agencies, Menino said yesterday.
"The whole world of it has changed financially. It's somewhat disappointing. But it's not going to deter us from bringing the convention to our city."
It is a frustrating turnabout for Menino, who led the effort to attract the city's first national political convention and had expressed confidence that the worsening economy would not endanger the $49.5 million in promised public and private money.
After collecting a record $22 million in corporate commitments before securing the convention for Boston, Menino touted the nearly $50 million total as an ideal mix of private and public support.
Officials with the Boston 2004 host committee, which promised to collect all the money by June 30, said yesterday they are unsure how much in grants, loans, or services the public agencies will contribute.
Julie Burns, currently Menino's deputy chief of staff, will assume her new job as executive director of Boston 2004 in a few weeks. With companies also affected by the downturn, she said her first order of business will be to hire a full-time fund-raiser.
"It certainly won't be easy, but I think that Boston's corporate community understands that the return on investment is worth the donation," Burns said.
"There is a whole other level of businesses that may not contribute at that high of a level, but can contribute. It's just a matter of developing a fund-raising plan that allows different levels of donations."
Burns said she does not plan to ask the 60 or so donor companies that committed $22 million last year to pony up again.
A spokeswoman for New Balance, the Brighton-based shoe company that already pledged $750,000, said she doubted her company would contribute more if asked. But its support for the convention has not wavered.
"Giving everything that is going on, not only in the Massachusetts economy but the world, we wouldn't find this particularly unusual that they might have to go back to the same pool of businesses," said spokeswoman Kathy Shep hard.
"I would imagine any kind of giving today is having to rely more on the private sector."
The $49.5 million budget was assembled based on assumptions that Boston, the state, and MBTA would make contributions totalling $17.5 million, particularly for security and transportation.
The host committee said it has already lowered that figure by moving the nearly $4 million cost of insurance from the city to the private side.
The committee also planned to sublease space during the convention from the state's departments of mental health, environmental management, and other agencies housed downtown. But downsizing and consolidations in state government have closed those locations, leaving the committee to find about $2 million worth of office space.
Menino says he hopes the city can still provide $10 million in extra police protection during the weeklong convention - although that may be offset by federal law enforcement - and the MBTA is still expected to provide buses powered by natural gas at a cost of $512,000.
Burns said the extra fund-raising burden will not take away from one of the committee's other critical efforts - reaching out to businesses owned by minorities and women.
The Boston NAACP complained late last year that the committee had not done enough to create an inclusive process. Macey Russell, an attorney and Boston NAACP board member who has participated in the formation of the outreach plan, said the strength of the plan itself provides a way to "sell the convention" to potential donors.
"There are a lot of companies and businesses both locally and nationwide that have diversity programs, that feel strongly that diversity is important," Russell said.
"When they spend their dollars, they'll ask questions: Are you diverse? Are diverse people going to be working on my project? Companies may be more willing to put additional money on the table for the convention if they are given assurances that diverse parts of the community be involved."
Corey Dade can be reached at dade@globe.com. 