Fundraising Events Must Cover Half of Village Overtime Costs

Organizations requesting to hold a fundraising event in Garden City will have to donate a little less to the charity of their choice from here on out.

Trustees voted Thursday to amend the village's fee schedule to now include fees for parades and special events in order to help offset village police and department of public works overtime costs for traffic mitigation and post-event clean up.

Deputy Mayor Don Brudie, who presided over Thursday's meeting in Mayor Robert Rothschild's absence, said the permit holder is now required to cover 50 percent of village overtime costs, not to exceed $5,000.

Fundraising events like the Garden City Teacher's Association's "GC For A Cure" walk/run and the popular Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot must now foot half the bill.

"Last year they turned over a profit of some $22,000 after their expenses to the organization for which they raised those funds," Brudie said of April's "GC For A Cure" event, which benefit the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. "They can afford, based on that, to give a little less money to the organization for which they are running the event and contribute toward the overtime for the police and for the dept of public works."

The GCTA's inaugural walk/run cost the village $4,218 in police overtime. The association is requesting to hold its second annual race April 2, 2011.

Police Commissioner Ernest Cipullo asked that the board's approval in granting the GCTA a permit be contingent upon the department's review of the race route and more.

"We had several issues last year that we want to correct," Cipullo said. "I think it would be a little easier to get them to agree with us if they knew the approval would be contingent upon us working out the details."

Cipullo said the department wants the race to end on school grounds, rather than Rockaway Avenue, which resulted in some unhappy residents and traffic issues.

"There were a couple of things we thought should be changed. We want to make sure that they end the race on the school grounds," Cipullo said. "Last year they ended it on the front of Rockaway and it kind of messed up the traffic a little bit and took a while to clean up."

Trustees voted 5-0 in favor of both the amended fee schedule and the GCTA's request, which is now contingent upon police department review. (Trustees Andrew Cavanaugh and John Watras, along with Mayor Rothschild, were not present.)

The following fundraising events will now be required to share in 50 percent of the village's overtime costs, not to exceed $5,000:

• St. Patrick's Day Parade
• GC For A Cure
• Belmont Festival
• Jay Gallagher Memorial Lacrosse Tournament
• Garden City Centennial SoccerFest
• Turkey Trot

Events that will not be charged include:

• GCAA Little League Parade
• Chamber Easter Vintage Car Parade
• Adelphi Spring Concert
• Garden City Street Fair
• Memorial Day Parade
• Chamber Fall Festival/Homecoming Parade
• Christmas Tree Lighting