With just days to go before the annual Mummer's Parade, the city still doesn't have a signed contract with the strutting showmen. But both sides expect that the show will go on.
Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Everett Gillison said he hoped a contract would be signed soon for the New Year's Day event, noting that both sides have agreed on the city bill for police and sanitation expenses -- $148,017.
But attorney George Badey III, chairman of www.savethemummers.com, said the Mummers still want an itemized explanation of the costs and they want the city to provide copies of their contracts with other special events.
Gillison said the city has already provided an invoice and will make contracts for other events available, although he said that would take some time.
Due to budget problems, last year Mayor Nutter instituted a policy requiring special events to pay for their own police and clean up costs. The Mummers were told the 2009 parade would cost $300,000, but the city picked up the expense because there was little time to adapt to the new policy. The city last year also stopped providing prize money to the Mummers.