Executive Summary
Why the Controller’s Office Conducted the Review
Philadelphia hosts more than 1,400 permitted events annually, ranging from neighborhood street festivals, music festivals, athletic events, parades, and other special events. These events demonstrate Philadelphia’s unique identity and vibrant neighborhoods and strengthen the city’s tourism economy The Controller’s Office conducted this review to examine the costs, administrative barriers, and processes that govern special event management in Philadelphia, with a focus on identifying opportunities to improve coordination and better align the city’s approach with best practices from peer cities. This review is intended to provide the city with a structural framework for event management that serves Philadelphia’s communities and its signature moments equally.
What the Controller’s Office Found
Significant findings included:
- Rising Costs – Service costs are creating a financial burden for event organizers, with the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) costs alone accounting for up to 44% of event budgets and increasing significantly due to staffing shortages, overtime, and an inconsistent system for determining necessary staffing levels.
- Permitting and Application Difficulties – With approval requirements , the process can be slow, inconsistent, and create significant barriers to participation for small and mid-sized events.
What the Controller’s Office Recommends
A review of peer cities with comparable event activity identified several practices Philadelphia could consider adopting. The Controller’s Office recommends:
- Implementing a tiered classification system similar to those used in other cities to align requirements and fees with event size, duration, and impact.
- Establishing a “One-Stop Shop” application process with upfront transparency that clearly outlines standardized requirements, shortens processing times, and encourages cross-departmental coordination.
- Investing in public safety staffing and providing support to PPD districts, Philadelphia Fire Department (PFD), and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel to reduce overtime costs and improve service reliability.
- Strengthening coordination between Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and other departments to ensure equitable and consistent security planning.
- Improving cost transparency with equitable, standardized city service fees that allow organizers to plan financially throughout each stage of the event management process.
Click “Download Full Report” above to review the report and it’s findings.