Crystal Miranda, the Community Relations Director, presented a recap of the City of Leon Valley’s July 4 celebration at the Sept. 2 council meeting.

Miranda reported the city budgeted about $180,000 for the event, composed of the city allocation, overtime budget, and an Economic Development Corporation (EDC) allocation. After sponsorships, vendor fees and cost reductions, staff calculated the city expended approximately $84,001.72. Major expense lines included overtime and benefits (personnel overtime ~ $48,000 plus ~$12,000 in benefits), setup and staging (~ $48,000), and entertainment and fireworks items (combined several tens of thousands, with the Finding Friday contract at a little over $5,000, Michael Alanis at $2,500 and fireworks and production included in the entertainment figure). Miranda said sponsors and targeted negotiations reduced the city’s net outlay.

Attendance and logistics: staff estimated event attendance at roughly 9,000 (peak about 7,500, with cell-phone data used to extrapolate to the higher estimate). Shuttle service was heavily used and vendors requested larger shuttle capacity in future years. Some activities were reduced because of rain, which lowered certain expenses.

Ending: Councilors praised staff work securing sponsorships and managing costs; staff said the $45,000 in sponsorships and related offsets reduce the city’s gross budgeted outlay and will return the net difference to the general fund.