City leaders voted 7-1 to put $690,000 toward future Martin Luther King Jr. Day parades. The money will support events from 2026 to 2028, with Tampa Bay Collard Green Festival Inc. getting $230,000 yearly to run them.
Costs have shot up sharply in recent years. Chief equity officer George Smith showed that parade expenses went from $50,000 in 2021 to $285,335 in 2025. Since 2019, the city has spent about $165,652 each year on the event.
Most council members backed the plan. Only Gina Driscoll voted against it, citing money limits and questions about next year’s funding. Others stressed the parade’s special place in history: it’s been running since 1986, making it the oldest MLK parade in America…