Unhappy that Big League Dreams makes “big profits” off the community Fourth of July celebration yet donates nothing to the effort, the Manteca City Council has decided to play hardball.

The council voted 4 to 1 Tuesday to spend $16,800 for the aerial fireworks display but to hold off committing to the community celebration at the BLD complex. If BLD can’t be persuaded to kick in some funds to offset the cost of the celebration that can cost as much as $40,000 to stage including the fireworks, Mayor Willie Weatherford indicated the city might just take the celebration elsewhere to another city facility.

And that one vote against the move wasn’t cast because it was thought BLD was getting a raw deal. Councilman John Harris was against committing any money to the Fourth of July celebration from city sources if there was even a slight chance the city couldn’t raise enough in donations to cover the fireworks display and had to cannibalize funding for recreational programs to cover the tab.

Council member Debby Moorhead’s criticism of BLD’s Fourth of July profiteering was the sharpest.

She noted that BLD personnel have referred to the Fourth of July celebration as their most profitable day of the year yet they don’t donate a dime to the event.

What BLD does do is half the gate admission to $2 and then splits that amount 50-50 with the city. But at the same time BLD controls who can sell what at the city-sponsored event that gives  the BLD 100 percent control of lucrative soda, beer and most food sales.

At the same time Moorhead contended at previous Fourth of July events she had seen BLD personnel pouring beer to patrons who she said appeared to be under the age of 21.

It was Councilman Steve DeBrum that brought up the question of whether BLD had even been asked for a donation. City Manager Karen McLaughlin said she wasn’t sure but that she definitely would be asking now. A number of businesses that do business with the city including legal firms that handle bond underwrite make good sized donations of $500 to $1,000 to the annual event.

Harris was concerned that the $40,000 that staff asked to be taken from the undesignated reserves of the recreation fund to be used to cover any shortfall in funding of the celebration would hurt recreation programs. The reserves, which include “excess” money from programs operating throughout the year when more fees are collected than needed to cover costs, could be needed if additional cuts are made to the general fund portion of the recreation department.

As far as Harris was concerned, he wasn’t about to approve spending $16,800 for fireworks if it could mean a recreation program possibly being cut.

Finance Director Suzanne Mallory indicated the city has $11,870 on hand leftover from last year’s municipal share of the Fourth of July gate, proceeds for the city’s fireworks booth, and donations that will go toward this year’s $16,800 fireworks bill. The city’s proceeds from its fireworks booth - right around $5,000 - would be enough to cover the bill if the city opts to pull the plug on the community celebration portion and doesn’t get any donations for fireworks.

In the past bonus bucks - fees paid by developers for sewer allocation certainty for new homes - were available to pay for the fireworks and any shortfall between donations and the actual cost of staging the overall celebration.

The council approved on Tuesday night the $16,800 contract with Zambelli Fireworks International to stage the aerial display and nothing more.

Staff is not recommending a shift of the event because the Fourth of July falls on a Wednesday. During the past two years, the Fourth was part of a three-day weekend. That prompted the city to move the aerial display and celebration to the day prior to avoid paying more than $10,000 in holiday primarily to increased staffing for police.

Between 6,000 and 10,000 people attend the city sponsored event  each year.

The council decision will not impact the Fourth of July parade or pancake breakfast., The Sunrise Kiwanis stage the parade while the Manteca Kiwanis put on the breakfast.