Hospice’s Mary Doyle has said they were unaware a popular fundraising event held during this year’s Douglas Carnival would land them with a bill.
Mrs Doyle was speaking in the wake of a £830 charge levied against the charity towards cleaning up costs following the Colour Me Rainbow event held during this year’s procession in July.
The Colour Me Rainbow feature sees supporters hurling cornflour-based powder paints at one another, and this year raised around £10,000 towards the hospice’s £4 million annual running costs.
Mrs Doyle was keen to stress the charity had an excellent working relationship with Douglas Council and had not complained to the media about the charge. However, she said she had been taken by surprise when it was imposed.
‘No one actually said to us that they were going to invoice us for half the cleaning costs,’ she said.
‘The first we knew about this was a call on October 10. Even as a charity, you can’t expect everything to be given to you free. You have to be practical and I would not have disputed it had I known. But it’s three months after the event; there was no discussion with me and I’m the only one that can sign it off. People make donations and don’t like to think part of it might be used on road cleaning.’
Councillors decided at a meeting last December to impose the charge towards cleaning, which was carried out at no cost to the charity following the Rainbow event in the 2015 carnival. At the same meeting they also decided to ask Hospice volunteers for extra help marshalling the event.
Council leader David Christian pointed out the charge covered only half the cost of the cleaning and that for the first two years the rainbow event had run, no charge at all had been made. He said this year’s charge was made ‘following discussions with Hospice representatives’.
‘Had Hospice chosen to stage the Colour Me Rainbow independently, rather than “piggy back” onto the carnival, the costs they would have incurred would have been considerably more and the organisational logistics of the event would have fallen to them.
‘It is not council practice to clean up public highways for third parties,’ he said.
Councillor Christian echoed Mrs Doyle’s view that the council and Hospice had enjoyed a cordial relationship and was therefore asking for only half the total cost incurred.
Mrs Doyle said 85 per cent of money raised from donations, legacies and events was spent directly on patient care and the charity was deeply indebted to all its supporters.
‘It is imperative that every penny raised is used to fund care – to receive a bill for over £800 for road cleaning of an event held in July is a sad culmination of what was a great event co-partnering with Douglas Borough Council.
‘Whilst I understand their need to recover costs, at no stage did Hospice sign any agreement to this bill nor did we verbally agree,’ she said.