Tacoma Event Costs

I'd like to second the Tribune's editorial today: police costs shouldn't stall the 2008 Tall Ships event. If the police cost for Bumbershoot was less than $100,000, than it is hard to understand why Tacoma's costs for Tall Ships in 2005 were more than $400,000.

I think it's worth pointing out that perhaps there is a bigger issue than just the Tall Ships event. Could Tacoma have a budget of, say, a million, to pay for police costs and city services that would allow regular civic-minded, quality-of-life-enhancing events? Sure, a lot of it might go to Freedom Fair or Tall Ships, but maybe the annual Tree Lighting ceremony, or First Night, or Art on the Ave, or other events that need to close streets could have a better chance of making it work. Instead of raising money to pay the City for these services, the City would do better, I feel to have them apply for a piece of the $1,000,000 pie available.

Maybe Tacoma would fund 100% of the police costs for Art on the Ave and 60% for Tall Ships and 80% for Freedom Fair ... based on whatever the metric turned out to be. But it seems like these events do so much for not only bringing tourists to Tacoma but for bringing Tacoma itself out and about that it would be worth the cost.

Thus concludes my rant on my newest soapbox.