Every year the city of Harrisburg enjoys a Holiday Parade. This year it was scheduled for November 19 but will not take place due to financial problems the city is incurring, which probably was not helped by its recent flood. In addition, while Harrisburg usually receives sponsors for its parade, this year no businesses came forward at all with an offer.
Big Harrisburg Debt
The truth of the matter is, Harrisburg has to face reality and its financial situation is not looking good. The city is up against huge amounts of debt right now – currently $310m in unpaid bonds for the incinerator as well as close to $300m of other debts etc. Thus to spend $30,000 now on a Parade would at best, be inappropriate, even though it’s been a Harrisburg tradition since 1986 and always ends up supporting the city’s local businesses.
What will happen in the future to Harrisburg and its entertainment remains to be seen. There is now talk of the possibility of canceling the fireworks the city usually enjoys on New Year’s Eve. By the end of the month they’ll know if they have the sponsors needed for this.
Clearly the city has to work hard to get out of debt. That must be a priority. But in the meantime, it has to realize that to make money, money has to be spent. And these entertainment activities are always good for local businesses so that must be brought into the calculation as well.
