Philly's Ethnic Parades Try to Compromise Over Costs

City not sure if it can afford to help hold marches

Who doesn't love a parade?

Well, Philadelphia officials say they can't handle the cost of clean up after one.

So Monday, they sat down with representatives of the six annual ethnic parades to talk about how to fund the fun.

City budget cuts have forced organizers of parades like the St. Patrick's Day and Puerto Rican Day parades to come up with the money on their own to pay for things like police, crowd control and cleanup.

The cost for all six parades combined is a little more than $100,000.

Parade organizers don't think they should have to come up with the money, saying the event makes the city money through tourism.

At the meeting, leaders from both sides worked to come up with a compromise.

The city says it needs to crunch the numbers and expects to make a decision in a few weeks.

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