Business & Tech
Tough Budget Year May Threaten Holiday Plans
A holiday committee was created to plan to improve, and possibly fund, next year's holiday decorations strategy.
A new holiday committee will help determine the 2010 downtown decorations plan amid what is expected to be a tough budget year.
Commissioner of Public Affairs Dan Aschenbach expressed concerns about the feasibility of funding decorations in the future due to economic concerns.
"We needed a plan," he said about this season's decorations. "The budget was short and the Department of Public Works was overworked with leaves. While the 2010 municipal budget will be very tight, we will now have a volunteer coordinating committee to focus on improving the decorations for the next holiday."
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Town officials started setting up a committee to oversee the holiday budget in February. The committee was approved in October. It will hold its first meeting in January, he said, in order to develop a plan and budget while looking at fundraising possibilities for 2010.
During a September town committee meeting, Bob Hoeffler of the Cranford Chamber of Commerce said the chamber would no longer be involved in the holiday decorating due to liability issues.
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He added that the chamber has had trouble finding sponsors for certain holiday events due to the state of the economy. (Click here for a schedule of this year's holiday events.)
Still, other officials expressed confidence in the volunteering spirit of the community.
"There really is no issue," said Kathleen Miller Prunty, director of the Downtown District Management Corporation. "As far as the general public knows [the downtown] will look no different."
Holiday decorations will go without a hitch this winter, she said.
This year, approximately half of the bows on the wreaths downtown were replaced, though the town had hoped to replace more, she said.
Due to an anonymous donor, lamp posts underneath the railroad tracks are adorned in white lights.
"It will help to create an even more festive atmosphere," she said.
She doesn't anticipate budget issues having a major impact on holiday decorations in the future.
"I don't foresee a problem," she said. "We gradually make replacements over the years and the downtown will continue to look as beautiful as it always does."
