Athens City Council will allow the Service-Safety Director to hire an event planner on a contractual basis to manage the annual Halloween street party if council members adopt an ordinance introduced during Monday night’s meeting. 

The city will pay the proposed event planner up to $16,000 to plan the 2007 Halloween event if the ordinance is approved. The position is not salaried, meaning the employee would have no benefits and would not be paid an hourly wage, said Councilwoman Carol Patterson, D-at large. 

Money for the potential position will be taken from the tourism fund, which comprises the hotel taxes collected by the city. The $16,000 is not a significant portion of the tourism fund, which also funds the budget for the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, Patterson said. 

Council members will discuss any other particulars of the event planner’s duties during next week’s Council committee meetings. 

“The question is, ‘how many guidelines do we give to (Service-Safety Director Ray Hazlett)?’” Patterson said. Council should remain objective and open toward every idea, she said. 

The city does not need more ownership of Halloween, said Councilwoman Debbie Phillips, D-4th Ward. 

Without the ordinance, Hazlett cannot begin accepting proposals for the position, Patterson said. 

“If we don’t pass it now, it’s not going to happen,” Patterson said. “For the last four years it’s been ‘let’s do it for next year.’” 

Another ordinance proposed to close Court Street from Carpenter Street to Mulberry Street instead of closing Court Street from Carpenter Street to President Street as in previous years. The ordinance also will allow this area to be closed as necessary for two days instead of just one if it is approved.