Budget Question # 091: Can you provide the fiscal impact of management of the City's Sister City program and the costs associated with the addition of one or two new sister cities? (Mayor Wilson)

Response:

The Sister Cities program has a general fund budget of approximately $18,000 annually. $10,000 of this is reserved to pay RPCA for the rental of the Durant Center for Alexandria Pipes and Drums rehearsals. Any remaining funding covers the cost of hosting dignitaries and some catering or supplies costs associated with events such as the D-Day Commemoration or Taste of Scotland.

There are currently two separate committees for the Sister City program. One committee focuses on the relationships with Dundee, Scotland and Helsingborg, Sweden. A separate committee is devoted to Caen, France. There is also a third committee for the Gyumri, Armenia Sister City program that is not active. The committees fundraise to cover event and program costs that are not covered by the City. OHA staff serves as the City staff liaisons to these committees as well as providing staff support for programs and events.

The primary cost associated with the expansion of the Sister Cities program is additional staff support. A 1.0 FTE Program Coordinator could proactively manage, promote, and enhance the Sister Cities program. This staff member could participate in the state and nation Sister City associations. They would examine the effectiveness of the current segmented model and whether the Sister Cities committees should be consolidated. This position would be tasked with defining what the Alexandria community needs from the program and how to have further reach. This position could establish a system for vetting potential new Sister Cities. At an estimated grade and step of 14/8, the cost of a 1.0 FTE Program Coordinator position would be approximately $85,988 with salary and benefits. In addition to this position, funds would likely be needed for hosting additional dignitaries.

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