A Los Angeles Fourth of July parade has been canceled, with organizers citing city budget cuts from Mayor Karen Bass’ office, according to a letter released Thursday.
“Cuts in the City’s budget from the Mayor’s office meant that city services are no longer provided free of charge for first amendment events such as our parade, and sponsoring organizations need to pay for the City services that ensure a safe event,” The Sunland/Tujunga/Shadow Hills Rotary Club announced in a Facebook post on Monday.
The club said that estimates from the Department of Transportation brought the new cost for barricades, signage and other event items to almost $20,000, over four times the average budget for the parade. The club noted that it was “with great sadness” that they could not host the long-running Independence Day tradition this year under this cost.
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“Rest assured, we’ll continue to work with the City to be able to host the parade in the future,” the letter concluded.
Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office for comment.
In an interview with the New York Post, Lydia Grant, president of the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council, called the announcement “devastating” and blamed the mayor’s office for having “jerked” the council around in the process.
“I was very shocked because the mayor herself said to contact her staff to get it done,” Grant said. “Then they started ignoring us. This has never happened before.”
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“They delayed so long that we didn’t have time to schedule or fundraise,” she continued. “Then the [Department of Transportation] gave us the bill.”
Grant also expressed frustration over the cancellation of the parade and other city festivals while political protests continue to receive city support.
“All the ICE protests that they paid money for, now they don’t have money,” Grant said. “They’re investing money into protests and activism instead of something that would bring our community together.”
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The Sunland/Tujunga/Shadow Hills Rotary Club’s announcement comes less than one week after Rutland, Massachusetts also announced that it would cancel the town’s annual 4th of July celebration due to a lack of “adequate public safety staffing.”
