Cash-strapped North Las Vegas says Independence Day Jubilee will go on, but residents will pay

By Paul Takahashi

Thursday, April 21, 2011 | 12:25 p.m.

The North Las Vegas City Council voted Wednesday night to continue funding its Fourth of July celebration amid budget woes, but residents will also have to shell out money to attend.

The City Council contemplated canceling its “Independence Day Jubilee” as it faces a $22.6 million shortfall next year. The city has slashed its budget, cut programs and implemented layoffs, but it seems the buck stops with America’s birthday.

“We all know there’s a budget deficit out there … but at some point, we also have a responsibility to our residents,” said Councilwoman Anita Wood. “We’ve already canceled Balloonapalooza, Taste and Tunes and kids are going to go from six days a week of open swim to about three.

“It seems to me it’s going to be a long summer with very little to offer our residents,” Wood continued. “I would hate to take away one last thing from them.”

Michelle Bailey-Hedgepeth, the assistant to the city manager, outlined the cost breakdown and current fundraising efforts for the Independence Day Jubilee during Wednesday’s city council meeting.

The July 2 event is expected to cost a total of $117,000. The fireworks, bands, stage, audio, lighting, fencing and advertising are expected to cost $56,545. Event staffing from police, fire and parks and recreation departments is expected to cost $61,228.

To pay for the event, the city is expecting to pay about $19,000 from its Park Rental Fund, where money collected from park and field rentals is pooled. In addition, the city has secured $37,000 in sponsorships so far and is expected to raise $11,000 from vendors and merchandise sales.

The remaining $50,000 will be raised by charging tickets for the first time: $2 per person, Bailey-Hedgepeth said. It is the cheapest price among valley groups and municipalities charging for Fourth of July events.

“The reason why we did $2 was because we really hadn’t ever charged before,” Bailey-Hedgepeth said. “We wanted to put something out there that families could afford.”

The revenue estimates are conservative, Bailey-Hedgepeth said, meaning the event could be self-funded this year if more sponsors step up and tickets sales boom. For the cost estimates, the city used a lowball 25,000 attendance figure; last year’s jubilee attracted 40,000.

With the city scrutinizing all its finances as it faces one of the highest budget shortfalls in the valley, the City Council had contemplated cutting the annual event. But if the city cancels the Independence Day Jubilee, the city would be contractually obligated to pay $14,260 to vendors in cancellation fees.

“There is an economic effect of canceling this to local vendors and to citizens of North Las Vegas,” Bailey-Hedgepeth said. “There also may be a further loss of community pride and quality of life. I know these are really tough times, and we need to make tough decisions.”