Riverbend Festival goers look out at the boats crowding the Tennessee River around Ross’s Landing.
Zebedee Williams, a recruiter for Chattanooga State Community College, passes out fans to festival goers at Riverbend on Saturday.AUDIT FINDINGSAn internal audit by the city’s audit department found several discrepancies in a contract between the city and Friends of the Festival:• The Friends of the Festival management contract was not competitively bid.• Some events were not approved by the City Council and lacked contracts.• Some events did not have license agreements.• Some Riverbend Festival contract terms were not enforced.
Friends of the Festival is in the midst of contract talks with Chattanooga after an audit found its old contract had not been bid properly.
The new contract also may lead to an increase in annuall payments to Friends of the Festival, which manages such events as Riverbend and Head of the Hooch for the city.
“We proposed a gradual increase over three years,” said Chip Baker, executive director of Friends of the Festival. “But that’s all part of the negotiations.”
Friends of the Festival was contracted to handle all city events on the 21st Century Waterfront in 2008.