City aldermen debate whether to ask Belleville parade sponsors to help pay for police
Hundreds of thousands of people show up for festivals and parades in downtown Belleville each year, not realizing the time it takes for police and other city employees to patrol crowds, barricade streets and collect trash.
Belleville City Council has been reviewing its policies on these services, and aldermen took a first step in revising them last week.
Community groups that sponsor 5K run/walks, bike rides and festivals such as Oktoberfest, Art on the Square, Chili Cookoff and Pridefest already were paying a percentage of police, street-department and sanitation costs, but each paid a different percentage.
Aldermen changed the policy so that all community groups pay 80%. Schools and businesses that host periodic special events and want to hire police for private security will continue to pay 100%.
The City Council also specified that police overtime rates will be automatically updated to correspond with current salaries.
“We needed to get cost-of-living increases in there so it’s consistent with the wages that we’re paying our policemen today,” said Bryan Whitaker, chairman of the City Council’s Finance Committee.
The committee recommended the policy changes to the full City Council on Dec. 18. All 16 aldermen voted in favor.
‘Belleville is known for parades’
Belleville hosts five parades, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Christmas and the Ainad Shriners’ Circus. Sponsors don’t pay anything for police or other city services.
Historically, that policy reflected the fact that most parade sponsors don’t charge entry fees and therefore make no money, according to Whitaker. Festival sponsors have more ways to recoup expenses.
On Dec. 11, the Finance Committee discussed the cost of city services for parades versus the economic impact of bringing people from throughout the region to downtown Belleville.
“The last thing we want to do is have parades leave Belleville,” Whitaker said. “Belleville is known for parades, and we want to keep it that way.”
The committee voted to recommend that sponsors begin paying 20% of related police costs, which totaled nearly $12,000 for five parades this year. But that recommendation didn’t end up going to the full City Council.
Committee members learned that parades are governed by city ordinance, Whitaker said, so any policy changes must go through the Ordinance and Legal Review Committee.
In addition, Ward 7 Alderman Phil Elmore said he and other aldermen got more information from parade sponsors after the meeting, leading them to conclude that the 20% proposal was a “non-starter.”
“Not only was it going to hinder the parades, it was going to create animosity that we didn’t want,” he said.
Committee to review ordinance
The Ordinance committee is expected to take up the issue of parade policy at its next meeting at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 9 at Belleville City Hall.
Elmore is suggesting that aldermen revisit some of the other ideas discussed at the Finance Committee meeting on Dec. 11, such as increasing volunteerism or bringing back auxiliary police officers to stand watch, as a way to save taxpayer dollars.
Belleville Police Department stations one officer at each intersection during parades, according to Chief Matt Eiskant. He presented the following 2023 costs to the Finance Committee:
- Shriners’ Parade, $5,217
- St. Patrick’s Day Parade, $1,934
- Labor Day Parade, $1,641
- Memorial Day Parade, $1,934
- Santa Parade, $917
- Belleville Marathon, $1,825
Daytime parades are less expensive than nighttime parades because the police department can use officers who are already working instead of requiring them to stay late and earn overtime pay, Eiskant said.
Opponents react to proposal
News of the Finance Committee discussion on policy changes related to police and other city services for Belleville festivals and parades spread rapidly by word-of-mouth and social media.
Several downtown business owners have vocally argued against the city requiring parade sponsors to pay more, according to Bennie Parr, owner of Bennie’s Pizza Pub on East Main Street.
Parr believes city services should be covered in the city’s marketing budget since parades bring enjoyment to local residents and business to downtown Belleville, and they’re sponsored by nonprofit organizations that raise money for good causes in the community.
Charles Mayhew, co-organizer of the Optimist Club of Belleville’s Santa Parade, also opposes additional costs for parade sponsors. The club doesn’t charge entry fees for units to participate and pays bands and dance groups to perform.
The club already spends about $2,000 a year to produce the parade and another $3,000 to fund Santa’s House on the Public Square, Mayhew said. That’s in addition to time donated by volunteers.
“Raising money has become harder and harder as time goes by,” Mayhew said. “It’s not as easy as it used to be. But we do it, and we give back to the community. We’re not trying to make money off this.
“I think it is important that the city recognize that there are costs that we incur (in hosting the parade). People think that we’re actually making money, but it’s the exact opposite.”
Organizations that participate in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, sponsored by the St. Clair County Ancient Order of Hibernians, pay a $40 entry fee per unit, according to its website. It commonly features 90 to 100 units.
How do other cities handle it?
Each metro-east city has a different set of policies for handling police and other city services for parades and festivals. Here are a few examples:
COLLINSVILLE
Collinsville hosts three major street festivals, the International Horseradish Festival, Italian Fest and Smokin’ on Main; and three parades, the Italian Fest Parade, Collinsville High School Homecoming Parade and Christmas Light Up Parade.
All the parades are on the small side, so they require minimal effort by the city, according to City Manager Derek Jackson. Sponsors pay 100% of police-related costs only.
For both parades and festivals, the city used to charge for public-works employees to set up barricades and provide electricity and for firemen to check food trucks for fire extinguishers and other safety precautions. However, officials decided to stop that in 2023.
“We see these events as a very positive thing,” Jackson said. “It brings people to the community. There is a direct impact on economic development, and the uptown business owners love having the additional foot traffic.”
As with parades, festival sponsors are required to pay 100% of the cost of extra police patrols. It’s also up to them to arrange for their own trash collection and portable toilets.
O’FALLON
O’Fallon hosts five parades, including the O’Fallon City Fest Parade, Veterans Day Parade, O’Fallon Township High School Homecoming Parade, Illuminated Holiday Parade and Rotary Children’s Halloween Parade.
Like Belleville, O’Fallon doesn’t charge for city services related to parades. It allows organizations to avoid costs for extra police by providing a required number of volunteers for “wheel-watching” and other tasks, according to Assistant City Manager Grant Litteken.
“We do not have that many parades, and they’re longstanding parades,” he said. “They’re big community events, and we think it’s good for the community.”
As for festivals and other special events, the city has a $50 permit fee (waived for nonprofits) and a process to determine if extra police patrols are required. Officials look at factors such as expected crowd size and whether there will be liquor sales, amplified music or late hours.
If extra police and/or street barricades are required, festival sponsors pay 100% of those city costs. Sponsors also are responsible for providing their own portable toilets and trash collection, other than street sweeping.
EDWARDSVILLE
Edwardsville hosts a large Halloween Parade, plus smaller Veterans Day and Edwardsville High School Homecoming parades each year. It requires each sponsor to pay a $250 application fee but provides police and other city services at no charge.
“Parades are considered to be of value to all our citizens,” said Desiree Gerber, executive assistant to the mayor and city manager. “Everybody is benefiting from them.”
The Route 66 Festival is sponsored by the city. Sponsors of other festivals, including the Rotary Criterium Festival, Leclaire Fest and Edwardsville Art Fair, must pay a $250 application fee.
Festival sponsors are responsible for 100% of the cost of police patrols and other city services, including trash collection (minus the $250). Nonprofits can apply for up to $8,000 in grant money for qualified expenses.
Festival sponsors are responsible for providing their own portable toilets.
“The municipality doesn’t want to be overly burdensome, but we do have our costs,” said Nate Tingley, director of parks and recreation.
“We’re trying to encourage some fun events that appeal to local residents and potentially the surrounding community, people who are going to come into town and maybe spend a few bucks while they’re here.”
