Changes to how the city doles out its grants is taking its toll on the city's major winter festival, council heard at its Monday evening meeting.

"There's absolutely no security,” Tiffany Duncan, Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous' executive director, informed council. She then asked the city to reinstate the festival's funding as a regular part of the city's operation budget.

Last year, major changes to the city's granting policy took effect, which meant all festivals and events looking for city funds would have to apply. Funding for eligible groups is then based on the number that apply.

That meant that in November, organizers of the annual February festival learned it would receive $9,750 of the $25,000 it sought along with in-kind services equivalent to $14,217 compared to the equivalent of $23,000 in-kind it had asked for.

That was among a total of $23,750 in cash and in-kind services of $27,330.90 doled out for special events at the time.

As council was told last night, the situation represents a loss to Rendezvous compared to past years.

Most recently, Rendezvous had received $16,000 from the city to go toward the approximately $40,000 cost of hosting the festival.

As a line item in past budgets, it wasn't required to apply for the funding until last year, when the policy changed.

While the city's previous level of funding at $16,000 only represented about four per cent of Rendezvous' total budget, the cut has meant Duncan is spending more time, up to 70 per cent, trying to get funding for Rendezvous from various sources. Those include governments, sponsorships and fund-raising activities.

As board member Derek Charlton said, the situation has board members like himself doing much of the marketing work the executive director would normally be tasked with doing.

Compounding the problem has been the move to Shipyards Park from its previous Main Street location, Duncan said.

While organizers were happy to make the move, in line with the city's efforts to move major events to the new park, it made it more difficult to get business sponsors from Main Street.

When the festival was moved, Rendezvous lost its sponsors for the sled-dog races, Charlton pointed out. He later identified that sponsor as the White Pass and Yukon Route railway and the Hougen businesses when he was questioned by council about it.

This year, the two companies are back sponsoring a few of the sled dog races, including a six-dog sprint race and a four-dog race, according to a tentative schedule of events listed on the festival's website.

There are also a number of other sled-dog events like skijoring and the kids' races, and they have all been renamed the Babe Southwick Memorial Dog Sled Races in honour of Babe Southwick, a musher from Destruction Bay who was a regular competitor in the Rendezvous races. She died of a heart attack after the first day of the Rendezvous races in 1965.

As Charlton pointed out, there are a few events this year that are being entirely supported by Rendezvous, including the Queen's Ball on Feb. 26.

Kidsezvous, being organized by the Yukon Girl Guides, is also set to offer Rendezvous activities for free to all children in an effort to ensure they have the opportunity to participate in the festival regardless of their family's income.

Throughout their presentation, Duncan and Charlton emphasized the role of Rendezvous in being the city's premiere tourism attraction through the winter; "an iconic winter festival, important to the winter economy”, as Duncan described.

She cited a study which showed the four-day event brings in more than $1 million to the city.

A survey done by DataPath Systems of Marsh Lake after last year's Rendezvous found that 53 per cent of residents attended the festival in 2009, and it's anticipated 57 per cent will attend in 2010.

Coun. Florence Roberts explained the city's reasoning for changing how it doles out festival money. Charlton commented that while he understands the rationale, the festival has an important role in winter tourism, with a long and significant history in the territory.

Roberts noted the change was made to open up the funding opportunities to other groups that may not have been able to access the funding for their events in the past.

"We're not trying to make things difficult for you,” she told Charlton and Duncan. "We're trying to make it fair for everyone.”

Charlton was questioned by Coun. Ranj Pillai about his feelings on the fairness for all events.

Charlton noted from his work with newer organizations he can remember moments when he wondered why other groups received funding and his didn't, but Rendezvous is in the unique position of being a "proven draw”. That helps stimulate the economy and funding should, therefore, go to such an iconic event, Charlton said.

He also commented that other events should be given the opportunity to start up.

While Mayor Bev Buckway noted there is "obviously” a problem for Rendezvous, she also expressed her hope that Duncan's and Charlton's presentation would raise awareness and that sponsors would come forward.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Buckway defended the policy change. While it obviously won't make everyone happy, she said, it does give those groups that weren't able to get funding earlier an opportunity to do so.

"I believe we have to give that policy a try,” the mayor said, adding the change was not a "spur of the moment” decision.

Neither was the move to Shipyards Park. Rather, that process of moving events from mainly Rotary Peace Park to the newer site, started in 1999 with the waterfront planning, Buckway noted.

The city will, she said, consider the Rendezvous request as it continues looking at the operations budget for 2010, which has yet to formally come before a council meeting.

As Buckway noted though, putting more money into Rendezvous could mean other groups coming forward with similar requests.

And then it comes down to whether the city can afford it and whether residents want to see their taxes potentially rise even more than they are now to accommodate the additional expenses.

Those are all matters the city will consider as it looks at this year's budget, she said.

Rendezvous' 2010 festivities are scheduled to be held Feb. 25-28.