Wednesday, May 8, 2002
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Wednesday, May 8, 2002 |
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PTC will pay for airshow security By JOHN MUNFORD
After an extensive debate Thursday night, the Peachtree City Council voted unanimously to spend $21,000 for extra police and fire protection at the Great Georgia Airshow at Falcon Field Sept. 14-15. The council has supported a similar amount for the air show the past two years, but Mayor Steve Brown argued that the funds represented a donation to a nonprofit agency and would be against city policy. Nonprofit groups are limited to $5,000 from council every five years according to the policy. Council members Annie McMenamin and Dan Tennant said the $21,000 was a legitimate expense for public safety and not a donation. It was explained that giving the funds to the air show board allowed the city to avoid paying overtime for the public safety employees at time and a half, which would be more expensive. "We don't want to do anything that would make the air show say, 'The heck with Peachtree City and let's go somewhere else,'" Tennant said, noting that local residents enjoy the show and it attracts people from metro Atlanta. Brown suggested that the air show could raise ticket prices to cover the cost of additional public safety personnel. The mayor's motion to "compromise" and approve $10,000 for the air show failed, and council continued to hash out the issue. Brown and Councilman Steve Rapson said they worried that funding the full $21,000 would set a precedent allowing other nonprofit groups to seek more funds from council than policy allows. But Councilman Murray Weed noted that the air show brings a lot of economic benefit to Peachtree City and that alone justifies the city entering into a contract with the air show board to provide the additional public safety personnel needed. Assistant Fire Chief Ed Eiswerth told council the extra personnel were necessary because with the city's normal staffing level the fire department couldn't handle the air show's needs. "Very quickly, a small incident would overwhelm us," Eiswerth said. "And that would leave a lot of other people in Peachtree City uncovered." Brown also suggested the air show board could contract with other agencies to meet its needs. But Police Chief James Murray reminded council that city policy requires him to approve the use of any other agencies for such events in the city. Murray said he wouldn't approve any such plan as long as there are Peachtree City officers available to do the job because of their knowledge and experience. If the city forced the officers to work the overtime, many would make more per hour than the $25 paid by the air show, Murray added. Rapson said council's $21,000 contribution last year amounted to a "pass-through" donation since the air show made a $36,000 profit. But since the money from the city is going towards meeting requirements from the city's fire and police chiefs, it's really not a donation, argued citizens Wayne Roberts and Carol Fritz. Catherine Nelmes, chairwoman of the city's Airport Authority, said she didn't want the air show board to have to raise ticket prices since it might cause families to reconsider attending the event.
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