City cited budget deficit claiming cost was too high; Jones’
visit not a factor

The three day event’s fate, which runs from Friday, June 17 through Sunday, June 19 and began in 1995, had been called into question after Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly said in a budget session last Thursday night that the festival’s $59,000 price tag could be too high.

DEARBORN — The Arab International Festival on Warren Avenue
on the city’s east side has a “very strong chance” of happening this
year after all according to American Arab Chamber of Commerce Executive
Director Fay Beydoun. The group organizes the event every year.

The three day event’s fate, which runs from Friday, June 17
through Sunday, June 19 and began in 1995, had been called into question after
Dearborn Mayor Jack O’Reilly said in a budget session last Thursday night that
the festival’s $59,000 price tag could be too high.

Beydoun said on Wednesday that the Wayne County Sheriff’s
Department will likely be able to assist at the festival, however, and the
chamber is also looking into ways to cut costs by acquiring bids from outside
companies for various services needed to go on with the festival. More
volunteers are also being recruited. Beydoun said that the chamber would look
into possibly using other sites for the future if necessary, an idea brought up
at the meeting. But she said it was too late to change the location of this
year’s event because of commitments from local business and vendors and the
short time frame to make such a decision.

According to O’Reilly and Beydoun, the two sides had been
talking about the financial issues because of budget constraints in the city
for about two months and a planned visit by extremist pastor Terry Jones on
June 17 did not factor into the equation.

The costs O’Reilly referred to would be primarily to cover
police and public employees for the weekend.

“For the festival, you have to work to close down an
entire stretch of Warren Avenue by that Friday and then you have close it down
on Sunday night and have everything re-opened for Monday’s traffic,” he
said, noting high costs including overtime pay for workers who normally aren’t
available for such hours.

“We wouldn’t spend that much on Dearborn Homecoming if
we had to,” said O’Reilly, adding that the city has added parking costs
and undertaken other measures to make the popular event cost-neutral.

He said the figure of nearly $60,000 is the “bare
bones” cost that the city had gotten away from charging in the past.

“But these are the new dynamics we’re continuing to
face…it’s hard when we’re making changes we’d rather not make,” he said.

The city continues to face a $20 million budget shortfall
according to O’Reilly because of declining property values among other factors
and may have to close libraries and pools as he proposed in the 2011 budget.

According to a study presented by Beydoun at the meeting
last week from Michigan State University professor Daniel Stynes, the Arab
International Festival’s positive impact on the surrounding community is about
$7 million.

“This is part of our community and a tremendous amount
of people look forward to it every year,” Beydoun said, noting that
visitors come from Canada and many U.S. states to attend.

The festival includes live music, carnival rides, food,
vendors and booths among other attractions.

Ali Makki, a manager at Al-Basha Subs on Warren Avenue near
the festival site, said that he believes the event is good for local business
because of the large number of people exploring the area during the street
festival.