In advance of the 2013 edition of the South by Southwest Festival, city staff prepared for approval by City Council (as they do each year) a list of fee waivers to be granted to the event. These ranged from $43,578 for parking space use to $6,750 for the placement of banners advertising the Festival on city lampposts. Below is the full list of waivers authorized for SXSW 2013 by Council at its Feb. 14 meeting.

SXSW isn’t the only event to benefit from this practice, though it is the largest beneficiary. For various events for the most recent fiscal year – and with the understanding that such waivers encourage general economic activity and consequently city sales taxes – from the beginning of FY2012 through May 7, 2013, City Council approved more than $2 million in waivers.

Fees Waived:

$15,000 Event day fees for Auditorium Shores (Parks and Recreation)

$2,500 Event setup/takedown/cleanup fees for Auditorium Shores (Parks and Recreation)

$1,500 Utility fee for Auditorium Shores (Parks and Recreation)

$30 Alcohol permit fee for Auditorium Shores (Parks and Recreation)

$30 Sound permit fee for Auditorium Shores (Parks and Recreation)

$500 Maintenance fee for Auditorium Shores (Parks and Recreation)

$17,500 Event day fees for Republic Square Park (Parks and Recreation)

$900 Utility fees for Republic Square Park (Parks and Recreation)

$1,000 Setup/takedown/cleanup fees for Republic Square Park (Parks and Recreation)

$500 Maintenance fee for Republic Square Park (Parks and Recreation)

$1,400 Event day rental fees for Carver Museum (Parks and Recreation)

$560 Staff and utilities for Carver Museum (Parks and Recreation)

$350 Equipment use fee for Carver Museum (Parks and Recreation)

$43,578 Parking spaces use fee (Austin Transportation)

$35 Parking application fee (Austin Transportation)

$20,900 Permit fee (Austin Transportation)

$250 Application fee (Austin Transportation)

$4,500 Traffic control plan (Austin Transportation)

$10,944 Safety inspection fee (Austin Transportation)

$660 Sound amplification fee (Austin Transportation)

$6,750 Lamppost banner fees (Austin Transportation)

$9,300 Standby fees (Emergency Medical Services)

$62,669 Additional street and litter control services (Austin Resource Recovery)

$765 Recycling roll-offs (Austin Resource Recovery)

Total Fees to be Waived: $202,121

Source: City of Austin Operating Budget Fiscal Note, submitted to City Council for approval, Feb. 14, 2013

This article appears in July 12 • 2013.

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Contributing writer and former news editor Michael King has reported on city and state politics for the Chronicle since 2000. He was educated at Indiana University and Yale, and from 1977 to 1985 taught at UT-Austin. He has been the editor of the Houston Press and The Texas Observer, and has reported and written widely on education, politics, and cultural subjects.