The amount of money spent on the LaSalle Celebration of Lights could be good or bad depending on how you look at it, according to City Finance Director John Duncan. He says the city lost money putting on the event the last three years but that’s because some improvements projects happened at Rotary Park. Not every expense was kept track of when the event first started in 2013. But after the report was presented to the city’s Finance Committee some aldermen want a change in how much should be spent. Duncan says the city has to come to some sort of agreement which could be contested.
LPAC, or the LaSalle Promotional Advisory Committee, is the group that puts on the event as well as other annual festivals. The finance committee discusses spending only $50,000 for city employees to put up the displays. Alderman Jordan Crane says he thinks the event is good for the community but it’s costing taxpayers money.
Alderman Jim Bacidore says the bigger the Celebration of Lights is getting the more it’s costing the city. He’s worried about there not being enough money to fix things around the city.
This is the chart created by City Finance Director John Duncan and presented to the city’s finance commitee.