Popular festivals among the victims of municipal budget cuts

When villages are trying to cut budgets, festivals are often among the first things to go.

The venues offer low-cost options for families trying to save money, but towns like Des Plaines and Wheeling have decided that the funds would be better used for other items in a year when everyone is tightening belts.

"We had to cut stuff like that or else we would have to cut personnel," said Dean Argiris, interim Wheeling village president. "We had to weigh our options."

The Wheeling village board sliced most of its annual Freedom Fest, which this past year was a three-day affair over the Fourth of July weekend that included live music, a parade and food.

In 2009, the event will be limited to fireworks, saving the village $203,000.

In Des Plaines, the city council cut out $61,500 in funding for special events, such as the New Year's Eve celebration.

The event Wednesday may have been the last one in Des Plaines for the foreseeable future.

The decision in Des Plaines came after several meetings and tough discussions; about a dozen employees were also laid off as a result of the budget talks.

Linda Forman, chair of the special events commission for Des Plaines, said the group normally plans eight or nine events a year and works with a budget ranging from $150,000 to $200,000.

This year, the commission, which is appointed by the mayor, had to meet and decide on five events that it could handle with a budget that was chopped by $100,000. In 2009, that means the focus will be on Taste of Des Plaines, fireworks only on the Fourth of July, a Friday night summer entertainment event series at Metro Square, a community fair and the Mitten Tree Project to aid those in need.

Forman said the money in this year's budget comes from funds in escrow and donations from local businesses.

The commission is trying to compensate for the city's pulled funding by appealing to other organizations in town.

Forman said she's meeting with the Des Plaines Chamber of Commerce, park district, history center and library in January because all those groups have approached her to help in this year's events.

"There is a possibility, for instance, that one of those groups may or may not be able to take over the Fourth of July parade," she said.

The larger problem, however, is not just funding from Des Plaines, but the overtime that police and public works officials put into events. The city took care of those costs in the past, but the special events commission will be responsible for those costs now, Forman said.

The other organizations may help by offering to do the cleanup instead of having to pay for someone to do it, she said.

Forman said she understands the reason for the cuts, since residents themselves are likely spending less from their own pockets.

"I can also see the other side of the coin where people, because they don't have money to spend on things, they look forward to these events," she said.

In Wheeling, the Freedom Fest has slowly gained popularity through the years, especially when it started attracting big-name musicians. This past year was expanded from a two-day event to three days.

In 2006, Davy Jones of the Monkees headlined the festival and attracted larger-than-normal crowds.

"We had 26,000 people show up," Argiris said.

The festival was also a draw for the businesses on Wheeling's Restaurant Row. Although it wasn't a big cash cow for them, the restaurants received promotion from the crowds.

Argiris lamented the fact that such a community-oriented event couldn't go on in 2009, but said other towns will probably see the necessity on cutting back on festivals as the year goes on.

"It's going to be tough in '09, at least for the first half," he said. "Hopefully, I could see the festival coming back in 2010."