Councillors opted to grant the same funding to two very different events in the coming months.
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Both the Ballarat Gift and the National Polocrosse Championships were awarded $13,000 funding towards their costs at the first ordinary council meeting of the year.
The amount for the Ballarat Gift, a highlight in the city's athletic calendar, was unchanged from a councillor officer recommendation. However, the funding for the national polocrosse championship was lifted from its recommended level.
The change was spearheaded by Cr Grant Tillett.
He highlighted the estimated economic benefit to the community for the national polocrosse championships stood at $434,600, as outlined in a council officer report, while the estimated benefit of the Gift was less than half that sum.
The majority of councillors agreed with his amended motion, but there were some strong dissenting voices from both Cr Mark Harris and the deputy mayor Belinda Coates, who argued the new figure had been "plucked out of the air".
Cr Coates said it would go against the responsibility of councillors to give a strong rationale for its funding decisions.
The Ballarat Gift will take place on February 8-9 at the Eastern Oval while the National Polocrosse Championships are scheduled for March 30 to April 5 at the Ballarat Polocrosse Grounds in Mitchell Park, .
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