Greater Westchester Chamber asks council to cut 2024 parade invoice after fee change

Katie Walker, president of the Greater Westchester Chamber of Commerce, told the Borough of Westchester Finance Committee that the chamber is asking council to recommend a 50% reduction of the borough invoice for the 2024 Christmas parade. The chamber received an invoice for $17,998 and says a $1,300 credit from parking revenue reduced the final amount owed to $16,668.

Why it matters: The chamber said the timing of a council decision in October 2024 to update special-event fees — and to eliminate previously approved fee reductions — came too late for the chamber to change its budget or event plans. Chamber leaders said those timing effects increased the organization’s costs for 2024 and could threaten holiday programming that draws visitors to borough businesses.

Walker said the chamber has invested in Westchester’s holiday program for more than 40 years and estimated the organization spends about $170,000 annually across lighting, staffing and parade elements. She said the lighting program alone costs more than $40,000 per year. In 2022 and 2023 the borough granted a 50% reduction on parade-related borough services, bringing recent invoices to approximately $5,000; the 2024 invoice, she said, is more than triple that level.

Council members asked for clarity about the request’s scope. One council member summarized the ask as applying only to the 2024 invoice and said any 2025 billing would follow the new fee structure. Another member suggested exploring event-specific parking timing changes to capture more parking revenue during parade hours.

The chamber offered background on why the October timing mattered: the borough’s final vote on the fee changes came a month before lights were installed and weeks before the parade, leaving insufficient time to scale back planned paid parade elements such as a South Philly string band and cold-air balloons. Walker said the chamber coordinated five weekends of holiday programming and that the parade is closely integrated with the lighting program, making it difficult to separate costs.

No formal vote on the chamber’s request was recorded at the meeting; the finance committee heard the presentation and discussed possible next steps, including talking with borough council about how parking revenue and event fees could be adjusted for future parades.

A representative from the chamber said it would be open to partnership conversations with council to reduce future costs but reiterated that the current request is for relief on the 2024 invoice only.

What’s next: Committee members indicated willingness to take the request to council for further consideration and to discuss parking-fee timing and other partnership options for 2025.