{"id":1954,"date":"2026-02-12T03:58:22","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T03:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/1954\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T03:58:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T03:58:22","slug":"amid-money-concerns-over-swedish-days-city-letter-to-geneva-chamber-zeroes-in-on-finances-shaw-local","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/1954\/","title":{"rendered":"Amid money concerns over Swedish Days, city letter to Geneva Chamber zeroes in on finances \u2013 Shaw Local"},"content":{"rendered":"

As tensions rise between the Geneva Chamber of Commerce and the city over Swedish Days festival funding, Geneva<\/a>\u2019s new city administrator is asking for more information on the chamber\u2019s finances and operations.<\/p>\n

A two-page letter dated Feb. 2 from City Administrator Alex Voigt to Michael Olesen, chairman of the Chamber\u2019s executive board, detailed nine points, including several seeking clarity on finances.<\/p>\n

Neither Olesen nor chamber President Paula Schmidt responded to requests for comments. <\/p>\n

Mayor Kevin Burns said the questions posed in the city\u2019s Feb. 2 letter \u201cwas sent at 5:53 p.m. and acknowledged by Chamber chairman Michael Olesen at 6:30 p.m., indicating he will be \u2018happy to answer your questions and address your concerns.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo date, we have not received a response,\u201d Burns said. <\/p>\n

While Chamber Treasurer Susan Huang has said Swedish Days is at risk without city funding, Olesen has said<\/a> it is not his intention to cancel it.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

(Document provided by City of Geneva)<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A letter from Geneva City Administrator Alex Voigt to Geneva Chamber of Commerce Board President Michael Olesen, detailing the city’s concerns with the chamber’s finances. ( Document provided by City of Geneva)<\/p>\n

Points included in Voigt\u2019s letter:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Public comments on Jan. 20 at the City Council<\/a> meeting, where Huang told city officials the chamber needs more financial support<\/a> and said lack of financial backing contributed to the chamber\u2019s dwindling revenue, which could affect its ability to host festivals in the same manner as in the past. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is exactly meant by this statement?\u201d Voigt wrote. \u201cIf festival finances are separate from Chamber finances, how is it possible that lack of promotion for the festival contributes to the Chamber\u2019s lack of revenues? How have reduced advertising initiatives for festivals impacted the ability to host festivals, exactly?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 To date, the Chamber has not stated a specific dollar amount request, nor provided details as to how the money would be spent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was mention of a $25,000 WLIT campaign but no other details were shared,\u201d according to Voigt\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n

WLIT is a radio station at 93.9 LITE FM, owned by iHeartMedia, which plays music from the 1980s and 1990s, according to its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Voigt questioned apparently statements by the chamber saying it does not use membership money or its funds for festivals and that festival accounts are separate. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are membership funds excluded from contributing to the cost of organizing and holding events?\u201d Voigt wrote. \u201cIsn\u2019t one of the main purposes of these events to draw customers for member businesses?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2022 Regarding the Chamber\u2019s tax filings as a 501(c)6<\/a>, Voigt asked if there were separate audits or filings for festival finances.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf City funds are to be expended, additional details will be requested on these filings,\u201d according to Voigt\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n

\u2022 At a Jan. 29 meeting between city and chamber officials, Olesen reportedly said the Chamber was the retailer for the festival\u2019s craft beer tent and the carnival. Those are the only two streams of revenue for the Chamber.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about the other revenue sources for the festivals such as the sponsorships, entrance fees for exhibitors \u2013 not for profit, sponsor booths, crafters, etc.?” Voigt wrote. \u201cAre these revenues counted as festival income?\u201d<\/p>\n

Voigt\u2019s letter was shared with Burns, other City Council members, City Attorney Ron Sandack and Economic Development Director Cathleen Tymoszenko, records show.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As tensions rise between the Geneva Chamber of Commerce and the city over Swedish Days festival funding, Geneva\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[1979,65,898,899,2262],"class_list":{"0":"post-1954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-geneva","8":"tag-breaking","9":"tag-geneva","10":"tag-kane-county","11":"tag-local-news","12":"tag-premium"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}