Anniston council keeps $25 parade entry fee for most businesses after staff briefing

Council members discussed whether to remove the $25 participation fee for Anniston—s Christmas parade after Parks/Events staff outlined the history and costs of running the event. Parks staff (Speaker 5) said the fee was reduced from $50 to $25 in earlier years and that certain groups—nonprofits, schools and downtown businesses—receive automatic waivers under current policy. "The fee was originally $50 ... so we dropped it down to 25," Speaker 5 said, and added that the fee brings in roughly $2,500 in a typical year.

Council members raised practical concerns about city costs: overtime for employees, road closures, staging, public-safety details and use of public-works resources. One councilor said charging a modest fee helps discourage last-minute cancellations and no-shows that can leave staff with unplanned overtime and planning burdens. Another councilor and a downtown business owner questioned whether the waiver policy favored downtown business owners.

After discussion, the mayor said council members were "okay with making it, and all businesses are required to pay the 25," while acknowledging that nonprofits, schools and downtown businesses have automatic waivers under current practice. The transcript does not record a formal roll-call vote; the exchange reflects council agreement in this preliminary segment and staff will follow up with administrative action and any required resolutions.

Practical details discussed: the parade application deadline was cited as roughly one to two weeks prior to the event; staff said they sometimes receive as many as 96 entries and that logistics (staging, road closures, overtime) drive much of the event cost.