Escondido's budget problems are putting a crimp on festivities.
The city is not paying for police services it has traditionally provided for the July 4 fireworks, Christmas parade, Grape Day Festival and Parade, and First Night, a nonalcoholic New Year's Eve celebration.
The popular Cruisin' Grand, a classic car event Friday evenings from April through September, also will have to pay for police services beginning next month when the new fiscal year starts.
By cutting that funding, Escondido saves $68,000, but earns the wrath of some organizers and sends others scrambling to find more money.
The American Legion, which puts on the Independence Day fireworks, was the hardest hit because of the short window it has to raise at least $11,000 for police services. The City Council did not adopt a budget until last Wednesday.
It cut all department budgets by 7.5 percent – with the exception of police, fire and code enforcement – and used $1.6 million of the city's $8.5 million emergency reserves.
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Overview
Background: Escondido has traditionally provided police services for major holiday events at no charge to organizers.
What's changing: This year, because of a projected $9.8 million revenue shortfall, the city wants community organizations that hold the July 4 fireworks and Christmas parade to pay an estimated $11,000 to $15,500 in police costs.
The future: The July 4 fireworks will continue, but the Christmas parade will be canceled.
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American Legion Post 149 Commander Joseph Watt said he is determined to hold the pyrotechnic show. His group has enough money to pay for the fireworks, which cost $18,000 to $19,000, and he has secured pledges from local businesses and an American Legion member to cover the police costs.
Watt said this year's Independence Day celebration will need police presence more than ever because July 4 falls on Friday, a popular night for visitors to come to downtown for Cruisin' Grand. The fireworks and July 4 celebration are at Grape Day Park, a block away from the cruise night on Grand Avenue.
Together, the two downtown events are expected to draw 30,000 people.
“We will make it work; we will make it work,” Watt said.
Escondido police Lt. Mike Loarie said his department is trying to help but declined to speculate whether police would charge less.
“Our job is the safety of the community,” Loarie said. “We have to make adjustments as necessary. We have faced difficult situations before, and we have made it happen.”
The Escondido Jaycees, which has organized the Christmas parade for more than 50 years is not as optimistic.
“We have no more parade,” a representative, Wally Gutierrez, said of his association's estimated $15,000 police bill. “This is the city's choice. We are only volunteers.
“We have no money. We save all year long for the parade as it is,” he said. “Basically, it's saying: The party's over.”
Debbi Stanley, executive director of First Night Escondido, a private, nonprofit organization that hosts the alcohol-free New Year's Eve celebration, said her group is angry that the city wants it to pay $9,200 in police costs.
“We feel blindsided,” she said. “We will have to increase ticket prices and cut entertainment. They never ever had a conversation with us.”
Debra Rosen, CEO of the Downtown Business Association, which produces Cruisin' Grand, said she does not know where to find $15,000 to pay police.
“I am not angry. But where am I going to come up with the money?” she said.
Councilman Sam Abed said the City Council had to make a tough decision when it refused to provide free police services for long-standing community events.
“We have severe cuts,” he said. “We would love to support them with our police. But it is up to every organization to go to the private sector to ask for support. The government is not always the answer.”
Robin Bettin, the city's assistant director of community services, said she is trying to find other sources of money for the events.
“We're looking for help in the community just like everyone else,” she said.
Elsewhere in the county, money problems canceled Chula Vista's July 4 festival and fireworks. In North County, Valley Center's fireworks were dropped for logistical reasons, not money. Oceanside, Vista, Poway and San Marcos will have fireworks.
Angela Lau: (760) 737-7575; angela.lau@uniontrib.com
