DETROIT (AP) — Organizers of some popular summer festivals in the city worry that they may have to scale back or cancel some events because the city wants as much as about $80,000 for police protection.
Representatives of the Greektown Arts Festival, African World Expo, Comerica TasteFest, Detroit Festival of the Arts, Detroit International Jazz Fest and Jazzin' on Jefferson met last week about the issue.
"We have to figure something out," Mark Loeb, the owner of Integrity Shows, which runs the Detroit Festival of Arts and the Detroit International Jazz Festival, told The Detroit News. "Week by week, day after day, the city will lose these festivals."
On Friday, City Council promised organizers of the African World Expo that they would not be expected to pay for police.
Representatives of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick said city policy allows Detroit to charge for police coverage.
