Letter to City Council

I am writing to you today to request your reconsideration of the policy adopted by City Council that requires reimbursement to the City of Alexandria for services provided for the George Washington Birthday Celebration.  Beginning several years ago, as part of the new special events policy, the City phased in this requirement and last year the George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee (a City commission) paid more than $21,000 to the City which was raised from private donations.

As a citizen and member of the George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee for many years this policy seems to ignore the importance of this annual celebration that has been carried on by the citizens of Alexandria since George Washington lived here.  Thousands of our citizens participate in Celebration events every year; whether through marching in parades, reenacting historic events, musical performances, or dancing at the birthnight ball, our citizens consider an annual remembrance of the Father of Our Country to be important and worthwhile.  The importance of Washington to Alexandria cannot be exaggerated; it is fair to say that Alexandria would not be what it is today without him.

This policy also ignores the contributions that this annual celebration makes to the economy of Alexandria.  This impact has never been quantified but I cannot be convinced that bringing thousands of people (in the dead of winter) into the heart of our largest commercial district does not benefit the business community in a substantial way.  While we are all aware of the costs of these events, some effort should be made to understand the financial benefits, both direct and indirect, that these events have.

Finally, this policy ignores the heavy burden placed on a City commission that was set up solely to organize the events.  Not only is the George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee now asked to organize the Celebration events, it is also asked to develop contributions from donors who might otherwise give to other worthwhile enterprises taking funds from the available pool of supporters.  The City commissions our committee of citizen volunteers to present these events for its residents.  Now this committee is also faced with raising the funds to cover the City’s expenses for the event the City asks us to create.

The George Washington Birthday Celebration is not a charity it is a community celebration.  It supports our regard for the importance of our history and further promotes the historic nature of our city (an element that is fostered in many ways around the nation and the whole world).  To me, this is Alexandria’s celebration of its hometown hero.

I would like to request that some moderation of this reimbursement policy be considered in order to reduce the amount of fundraising required.  Perhaps instead of 50% of the City costs, 25% of the City costs could be reimbursed.  This way the George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee could focus its efforts more on its primary mission:  making the celebration events even better and improving its promotional activities.

Please feel free to call on me and the other members of the George Washington Birthday Celebration to discuss this further.

Sincerely,

Joe Shumard