When it comes to the Whidbey Island Marathon, one thing that everyone can agree upon is that it needs to lose less money.

Oak Harbor City Council discussed the finances of the city-owned marathon during a Tuesday night meeting but didn’t make any changes in the current contract.

Last year, the Oak Harbor Elks Lodge took over management of the event after Mayor Scott Dudley’s controversial decision to take it away from Tamra Sipes, who was race director for five years. The Elks won a two-year contract to coordinate the event for a $30,000-a-year fee.

But several council members were concerned about the drop in participation this year and the cost to the city. Councilman Joel Servatius asked city staff for a breakdown of the costs over the years as well as details about both continuing or ending the contract.

Several members of the Elks Lodge spoke to the council and urged council members to continue with the contract. Elks member Theresa Reed said she agreed that the marathon should be a profitable event.

“I believe the everyday citizens of this community could look at this financial report and see the city has been spending tax money on a losing business,” she said.

Tuesday, city staff presented an income statement that showed the finances of the event since the city purchased it in 2010. The money earned or lost affected the city’s general fund, which pays for services like police and fire.

The spreadsheet showed that the event went from making nearly $50,000 in its first year to losing more than $70,000 in 2014.

The event earned $49,000 in 2010 and $19,000 in 2011.

It lost nearly $7,000 in 2012, $49,000 in 2013 and $71,000 in 2014.

This year, in the Elks’ first year as coordinators, it lost $56,000.

The spreadsheet shows that contributions from large firms declined over the years while expense grew.

Several pointed out that the large loss in 2014 was an anomaly that occurred because Dudley offered Sipes a bonus based on participation. She cut the registration fees, which increased participation to its highest level, but also earned a $24,000 bonus on top of her $28,000 fee.

Council members pointed out that Sipes didn’t make that decision to cut fees without approval from city administration. Tuesday, Servatius also complained that race directors in the past have been “siloed” so that the council wasn’t able to communicate with them; he also told the mayor that the contract should be brought forward earlier in the year.

Council members made it clear that they supported the event, which Servatius called the “city’s premiere event.” He said the purpose of discussing the contract was not to criticize the Elks Lodge.

“I just want some reassurances that we’re on track, that we’re taking this seriously,” he said.

The council members have said that purpose of the event isn’t to make money for the city’s coffers necessarily, but that it’s an economic tool which brings thousands of people to the city to stay in hotels and spend money.

Both Servatius and Councilwoman Tara Hizon emphasized this point. Servatius pointed out that an analysis Sipes presented in a previous year calculated the economic impact at about $700,000. Hizon said it’s the busiest lodging weekend of the entire year for the city.

“You can multiple the number of participants by two or three,” she said, “and they are eating at our restaurants, they are staying at our hotels, they’re shopping downtown.”

At the same time, the council members said they would like to get the event closer to the black or even make some money.

“Since 2012, we’ve been losing money. And that’s not an Elks thing, that’s just a general trend that I think we need to address,” Servatius said.

“I think if we’re going to do this, we owe it to the taxpayers to come close to breaking even,” Servatius added later.

Councilman Bob Severns said he believes the problems can be fixed.

“I know that it can be better managed,” he said. “In looking at these numbers it’s obvious that it can be better managed.”

The Elks Lodge members said they hoped to work with the chamber of commerce in the future. Christine Cribb, executive director of the chamber, said she hadn’t spoken with anyone from the Elks prior to the meeting, but that the chamber is willing to help promote the event as it does with other events.

“The economic impact of the marathon is huge to our economy,” she said. “We need to keep it healthy, vibrant and growing.

In the end, the council left the contract in place. Councilman Rick Almberg said he wants to see a resume of whoever will be running the race and gathering sponsors. The Elks agreed to bring the information back at the next meeting.

Elks member Melissa Riker was in charge of the marathon this year but won’t be continuing in the future.

In an interview, Reed said that she will take over as the race director, but that she has many people helping her.

She said she was in the military for nearly 21 years and then was in real-estate management for another 22 years on Whidbey.

She said she was a runner in marathons in her younger years in the Navy. While she hasn’t organized a marathon before, she said she has experience running large events from when she was in the military.

“My goal is to make it a money-making event for the city,” she said.