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Local communities have had mixed results in efforts to get donors to foot the bill for the annual fireworks displays that will brighten the night-time skies this week.
Some cities, like Springfield, have lined up private donors for their annual fireworks displays; in other towns, taxpayers will pay for many of the area’s Independence Day fireworks and celebrations.
In Clark County, the 17th Annual Old Fashioned Fireworks will be held Friday, July 1 at the fairgrounds. The fireworks display is organized by the National Trail Parks and Recreation District, and is funded by private donations. The 20-minute display will boast explosions from about 800 shells and cost $18,700.
Springfield City Commissioner Kevin O’Neill said he has not had any problems raising the funds. Not only has O’Neill not received a single “no,” there are five new donors this year.
“Fireworks are alive and well in Springfield,” O’Neill said. “I don’t think it’s ever going to go away.”
In Champaign County, the Urbana Rotary Club Chicken BBQ and Fireworks will be Monday, July 4, at Grimes Field. The chicken dinner will be available from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., and tickets are $7.50. Fireworks begin at 10.
A Springfield News-Sun/Dayton Daily News examination of fireworks contracts found the cities of Dayton, Kettering, Englewood, Lebanon and Beavercreek will spend about $150,000 collectively — nearly all of it public funds — to put on their pyrotechnics displays.
That doesn’t include thousands of dollars in overtime for public employees staffing the events.
In cities like Fairborn, Moraine and Hamilton, however, officials have managed to get private contributions to pay for most of the costs of their firework displays.
This Independence Day arrives as cities across the state are discussing how to cut millions from their operating budgets, which will include numerous layoffs and fewer services to residents.
“I think given the fiscal stress we are under, these types of government expenditures seem excessive,” said Matt Mayer, president of the Buckeye Institute. “Many cities have moved to private funding, which is, quite frankly, part of the rich tradition of the Fourth of July.”
Kettering spends the most public funds of any city in the area — at least $75,000 — for its Go 4th celebration on July 4, capped by $30,000 worth of fireworks included in the price. City Manager Mark Schwieterman said an additional $5,000 is raised through sponsors for the event and he has worked hard to keep the cost flat year over year.
The city spent $62,000 on the event last year and could not provide overtime pay for the event.
“The bottom line is: This is a quality of life issue,” Schwieterman said. “Folks in our area look forward to the fireworks and there is a lot of demand for it.”
Dayton spends $54,000 for a 25-minute show at Deed’s Park on July 3. The city will spend about $10,000 in police overtime pay to provide security for the event.
LaShea Smith, the city’s director of recreation and youth services, said the city has trimmed the cost of fireworks from $82,000 in 2005. Dayton contracted with Zambelli Fireworks International, of New Castle, Pa., which provided a 10-percent discount.
The fireworks are in conjunction with the CityFolk Festival, which costs $350,000 and is funded through private sponsorships.
That total price tag puts the downtown Dayton festival and fireworks event on par with Wright Patterson Air Force Base’s Freedom’s Call Tattoo. The Tattoo budget was about $500,000 — $167,000 of it paid through donations, including $90,000 in in-kind contributions from Cox Media Group Ohio, parent company of the Springfield News-Sun.
The cost of the Tattoo fireworks alone was $33,199 and the show drew an estimated 75,000 people.
Centerville’s fireworks cost $45,000 and will be staged by Rozzi Famous Fireworks, of Loveland. The blast caps the Centerville-Washington Twp. Americana Festival that has a $157,000 budget and is funded largely through sponsors. Centerville and Washington Twp. each give $20,000 toward the event.
Centerville City Manager Greg Horn did not have total overtime costs for the event, but last year police department overtime related to it totaled about $4,700
Cities like Englewood, Lebanon and Beavercreek spend between $9,500 and $15,000 for the fireworks. Lebanon and Beavercreek also use Rozzi’s; Englewood uses a company based in Edwardsburg, Mich.
Moraine, Hamilton and Fairborn have similar costs for shows that are funded by sponsors.
Moraine Parks and Recreation Director Dave Miller said the city began accepting private donations last year for a $20,000 display. This year the Moraine Foundation is budgeting for a $10,000 show.
“You know how the economy is and how things got tighter, so we’ve had to work on partnerships with local business, and some have come through,” Miller said. “It’ll still be a good shoot, but of course the length of it and the number of shells will be less.”
When it comes to fireworks, the length of the show and size and frequency of the shells are all that matter, the contracts show.
Most area shows will last 20 to 28 minutes, with about a two- to three-minute finale. But the amount of fireworks during the show is where the cost can rise.
Centerville’s $45,000, 25-minute show will feature 1,709 shells, while Englewood’s $10,000, roughly 20- to 25-minute show features 509 shells.
LaShea Smith said Dayton’s fireworks are also more expensive because they have to fly higher than most for safety regulations. That means larger shells packed with more explosives and higher costs.
John Rozzi, president of Rozzi Famous Fireworks, said his profit margins have become thinner as cities have tried to curb costs while expecting deep discounts during the rough economy.
“We’ve lost contracts in the Dayton area because of tough times and things have become more competitive,” Rozzi said. “A lot of reasons cities eliminate them are because of the costs for police and fire service, but they also realize it’s really important to give this to their citizens.”
In most cases, Rozzi said, cities or groups come with a specified budget and want the same length of show as in years past.
“It’s a tough business with a lot of competition and this is our biggest time of the year,” Rozzi said. “We are willing to work with any budget and we usually can put together a good package.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2494 or lsullivan@coxohio.com. Staff Writer Andrea Chaffin also contributed to this story.
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