In 2007 The Billings Kiwanis Club and the City of Billings previously entered into a specialty or “affinity” vehicle license plate sponsorship agreement to promote civic pride and to serve as a fund-raiser for both organizations. MCA Sections 61-3-475 and 476 requires that a sponsor for a specialty license plate be a governmental body or organization approved by the State of Montana to promote the sale of the plate. Kiwanis provided the license plate design and paid the original required $4,000 application fee and the City then submitted the application to the State Motor Vehicle Division (MVD). MVD approved the design and sponsorship by the City. The City reimbursed Kiwanis for the design from the proceeds of the license plate sales and, after that, agreed to evenly split the net fees of $20 per plate equally. Kiwanis has requested that the split of fees be amended so that Kiwanis receives 80% of the proceeds and the City receives 20%. The City portion of the proceeds is used for funding various Parks projects. The Kiwanis portion of the proceeds is used to fund various community service projects sponsored by that organization.

The City Council may:

• Approve the agreement as amended;
• Delay the approval; or
• Decide not to participate further.

About 20% of all vehicle license plates sales are of specialty plates. A smaller Montana community has previously earned about $12,000 a year from the sale of its license plate. It is expected that the City of Billings and Billings Kiwanis could earn and apportion approximately $8,000 a year for each for their projects based on current license plate sales.

Staff recommends that Council approve the application and the agreement.