Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Events Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
West Chester committee agrees on funding framework for Christmas parade: $10,000 cap from police budget; parking fee to rise to $20
Summary
The finance committee signaled support July 9 for a borough subsidy for the annual Christmas parade capped at $10,000 to be paid from police budgeted dollars, endorsed raising parade parking to $20 and expanding use of surface lots, and agreed to document the support in an MOU to be reviewed after police‑contract changes.
Members of the West Chester Finance Committee converged on a funding approach for the borough’s long‑running Christmas parade at their July 9 meeting, with committee members and the chamber representative agreeing the parade is a borough‑wide event that merits special treatment.
Committee members discussed criteria to distinguish the parade from other events (estimated attendance and footprint) and emphasized that the parade attracts substantially more visitors than neighborhood events. The group endorsed raising paid parking for the parade to $20, expanding paid parking to surface lots and keeping parking revenues with the parking fund (no revenue‑sharing). The parking committee said it has drafted a comprehensive parking policy for special events.
On subsidy, members discussed two approaches — covering police staffing costs up to a cap or providing 50% of total labor costs up to a cap — and favored limiting the borough subsidy to police overtime/staffing costs for clarity. The group agreed on a cap of $10,000, to be drawn from police budgeted dollars, and on revisiting the arrangement after police contracts are ratified or on a biannual review schedule. The group also discussed timing for paid parking on parade day and noted a prior practice of starting paid parking in the afternoon for Sunday events; the parking committee will finalize timing and logistics.
Committee members asked the chamber to compile additional information (attendance estimates, footprint, economic impact measures) to support the MOU and provide context for the work session. The committee did not record a formal vote on the support arrangement at the July 9 meeting; members expressed verbal agreement and asked staff to prepare an MOU and supporting materials for future formal action.
