Belleville parade sponsors push back on proposed charges for police, other city services
Belleville parade sponsors showed up at a City Council committee meeting on Tuesday to implore aldermen not to start charging them for police patrols, street closures and clean-up crews.
Some stressed their nonprofit status, charitable work and financial challenges. Others pointed to the large number of people that parades bring to downtown Belleville and the positive economic impact.
Pat Schaeffer, a member of the Michael P. Keeley division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in St. Clair County, went so far as to suggest that his organization could move its St. Patrick’s Day Parade out of the city if provoked.
“I don’t want to have to go to the next Hibernian meeting and make a motion to move this to O’Fallon,” he said. “... I’ve had conversations with (O’Fallon) aldermen, and they would love to have the parade.
“Please reconsider what you’re doing. It’s such a great day. Everybody loves Belleville. Let’s keep it that way.”
Scot Luchtefeld, president of the Southwestern Illinois Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, also addressed the Ordinance and Legal Review Committee. The council has been sponsoring Labor Day parades, first in East St. Louis and later in Belleville, for nearly 150 years.
Luchtefeld told alderman that, even without the additional charge, the organization is at risk of canceling the annual parade due to financial issues.
“If you look back over the years what union labor has done to benefit the city with everything that’s been donated, all the different projects that we’ve worked on, we feel that it’s unfair that you’re trying to sort of tax us to have our Labor Day parade,” he said.
Aldermen on the Ordinance committee got the message. With no discussion, they voted 8-0 to reject a motion that would have required sponsors to pay 20% of the cost of parade-related city services.
That killed the motion, which had originated in the Finance Committee. It won’t go to the full City Council.
After the vote, Ward 1 Alderman Bryan Whitaker, who serves on both committees and chairs the Finance Committee, told the audience of about 20 people that city officials understand the importance of parades, but they’re also trying to be “fiscally responsible.”
“We still need to come up with ways that we can work to reduce the financial impact on the city,” he said, suggesting that volunteers could help with clean-up or street closures, and maybe the police department doesn’t need an officer at every intersection.
“I think there’s ways we can do this as a city without passing that financial burden onto the organizations that host the events,” Whitaker said.
Ward 4 Alderman Johnnie Anthony floated the idea of parade sponsors contributing to a fund to cover a portion of city services. Ward 5 Alderwoman Shelly Schaefer responded that they’re already contributing by advertising and organizing parades that attract crowds and generate tax revenue.
City Clerk Jenny Meyer estimated that the city spends about $30,000 on parade-related services each year. She characterized that as a small amount to spend for such valuable “marketing.”
Ward 6 Alderman Chris Rothweiler, who attended Tuesday’s meeting despite not being on the Ordinance committee, agreed that the city should think of parade-related services not as unwelcome costs but as part of a concerted marketing strategy.
“Other communities spend money on other things,” he said. “We spend money on this.”
Belleville hosts five parades, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Christmas and the Ainad Shriners’ Circus. Sponsors pay nothing for extra police patrols and 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.
Speakers during the public-comment period of the committee meeting included Jim Kurtz, potentate for the Ainad Shriners, which have been sponsoring the Belleville Shriners Parade since the 1950s.
Kurtz said the organization sells just enough cotton candy, popcorn and novelties to pay for portable-toilet rentals.
“We’re basically a break-even parade,” he said. “That is to bring visibility to our mission, which is to run a hospital for children. That’s our purpose. We provide orthopedic and burn care for children up to age 18 at no cost to the individuals or their families.”
Cindy Hawkins, chairman of the Optimist Club of Belleville’s Santa Parade, told aldermen that her organization spends about $5,000 a year to host the parade and operate Santa’s house on the Public Square, and that the money has to be raised through donations.
Two East Main Street merchants spoke in support of parade sponsors, including Bennie Parr, owner of Bennie’s Pizza Pub, and Dave Schoenborn, co-owner of the historic Lincoln Theater and Abe’s Gourmet Popcorn and president of Belleville Main Street.
They asked aldermen to consider other funding alternatives to keep parades in downtown Belleville.
“We all know budgets have to be balanced,” Schoenborn said. “So thank you all for your support of businesses in Belleville, and let’s keep making Belleville an even more business-friendly place to be.”
Belleville Police Chief Matt Eiskant submitted the following costs for police patrols to the Finance Committee, which voted to propose the 20% charge for parade sponsors at their Dec. 11 meeting.
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, according to Eiskant.
Whitaker noted that the day after Thanksgiving is a city holiday so employees who work the Santa Parade earn double time.
This story was originally published January 10, 2024 at 11:14 AM.
