Generally, your tax dollars are not used to support the Memorial Day Parade, Cruisin' Gratiot, or other special events. Each large annual event in Eastpointe typically has a private committee that throws private fundraisers to pay for the extra police presence and DPW services. The only exception since I was first a Councilmember in 2014, is that in 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic, City Council voted to cover the costs for the Memorial Day Parade, as fundraising was going to be very difficult. Then the parade did not happen, due to a lack of participation, in what seems to generally be attributed to pandemic hesitancy by the usual participants. In summary, your tax dollars have not been used to support either event over at least the last six years, and probably much longer.
