The Hollister Independence Rally Committee didn’t have its final
numbers ready, as expected, for Tuesday’s City Council meeting,
though the higher-than-expected revenues should be released Sept.
20.
Hollister – The Hollister Independence Rally Committee didn’t have its final numbers ready, as expected, for Tuesday’s City Council meeting, though the higher-than-expected revenues should be released Sept. 20.
City Manager Clint Quilter gave a brief report during Tuesday’s meeting. Hollister is still gathering the bills from the public agencies that HIRC will have to pay, but hasn’t received those invoices from a few of them.
“I wanted to have a full-blown report for the meeting this evening,” Quilter said. “Unfortunately, we’re still waiting on bills.”
Among several law enforcement agencies and other public service agencies, the Department of Justice hasn’t sent its bills yet for the officers it provided for rally security. Though Quilter said Tuesday the DOJ had indicated its costs will be lower than originally projected.
That’s more good news for HIRC, which was faced with the challenge of more than doubling its revenues in 2004 to compensate for additional law enforcement costs. The annual motorcycle rally, the largest on the West Coast, takes place every Fourth of July weekend.
Preliminary projections show the rally earned between $580,000 and $650,000 – significantly more than the nearly $500,000 needed to break even.
There are no more concerns among HIRC leaders about the rally’s future, according to Vice President Dave Ventura. The council earlier this year had considered canceling the eight-year-old event because of concerns about finances and obtaining enough cops for security.
Mayor Tony Bruscia, who has said the city will no longer provide free security, is pleased about the early projections.
“The bottom line is, it’s important that HIRC is putting on a rally that’s good for the community,” he said. “I think they worked hard to make that happen.”
