The City Council of Litchfield, Ill., wants more information from the Litchfield Museum and Route 66 Welcome Center before it honors a request for a $20,000 donation, reported the Springfield State Journal-Register.
Museum officials initially requested $100,000 in motel tax funds from the city. But Mayor Tom Jones and other councilors reduced that amount, and have added strings to it.
[T]he council last week decided not to fork over the funds until the group explains exactly how the money would be spent, said Mayor Tom Jones, who cast the tiebreaking vote.
“I’m not going to hand them over a blank check,” Jones said. “That should all be done before they make the request for the funds.” […]
While Jones thinks the museum would be “a plus for the city,” he said he “did what was the proper thing for the taxpayers’ money.”
Martha Jackson, president of the museum association, said she would present a spending plan next month for the $20,000 request and perhaps for a higher amount.
Jackson also said she hoped the museum would be open by Oct. 6, which is the town’s high-school reunion weekend.
I was totally shocked when some members of the city council and the mayor turned our committee down. what better way to spend tourism dollars than a museum and rt 66 museum. This museum and rt 66 welcome center will bring business in to our community. The council was told that the funds would be to furnish the museum , not for building and was not looking for tax papers funds, only the tourism funds.