CHESTER, S.C. — A longtime annual parade that honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was in limbo this year after organizers say the city notified them just days before the Jan. 19 event about an unpaid fee of $6,400.
They told Channel 9 it’s money they don’t have.
The MLK Parade Committee in Chester, South Carolina, says it’s never been asked to pay anything besides an application fee, so they asked city council to waive the new fee.
“I was actually shocked because for 33 years we’ve never received this fee,” said Chester County Council member Corey Guy.
City Administrator Malik Whitaker says the fee schedule was attached to the application that the parade committee filled out in December. Last week, it came to his attention that the fees hadn’t been paid.
Whitaker, who started the job two years ago, says he wasn’t aware until recently that the MLK Parade Committee hadn’t paid the fees in the past.
“I can imagine that it was an informal agreement between this private citizen’s group and the government body, but I didn’t know anything,” Whitaker said. “I wasn’t informed of any agreements, informal or formal agreements. I just know that it hadn’t been paid.”
Whitaker sent Channel 9 a statement that said the fee is required for other large-scale events and covers the cost of city services such as street closures, barricades, trash collection, and security officers.
City council met on Monday and voted to waive the fees.
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