Application lists 1,500 attendees despite reported 3,000 last year
City police estimate $12,420 in staffing costs for parade of 1,500
Queer Northshore say they paid only $5,500 last year
Police cost estimate aligns closely with previous Mandeville Daily analysis
MANDEVILLE — The Queer Northshore Pride Northshore parade is expected to come before the Mandeville City Council for approval at its March 12 meeting, marking one of the first major events to test the city’s newly adopted parade and event ordinance.
Representatives of Queer Northshore — Mel Manuel, Jeremy Thompson and Layla Hekmatdoost — previously spoke against the ordinance earlier this year, arguing the new rules could increase costs and administrative hurdles for community events. Despite those objections, the organization has now formally applied for a permit to hold the 2026 Pride Northshore parade.
The application lists an expected attendance of 1,500 people, according to the agenda packet for Thursday’s meeting. However, Queer Northshore previously stated on its website that the 2025 Pride Northshore event attracted more than 3,000 attendees, and other media coverage similarly reported turnout in that range.
Police estimate aligns with prior Mandeville Daily analysis
Documents included with the council agenda show a police cost estimate of $12,420 associated with the parade if 1,500 is the approved attendance estimate.
That estimate closely aligns with prior projections at various attendance levels calculated by Mandeville Daily using a cost-estimation worksheet built from historical budget data and real-world staffing levels from past lakefront events.
Using the same methodology outlined in earlier reporting, the publication’s spreadsheet estimated police costs of approximately $12,400 for a 1,500-attendee event — nearly identical to the city’s estimate included in the agenda packet for the upcoming meeting.
The close match suggests the worksheet used by Mandeville Daily accurately modeled the city’s underlying cost structure for policing large lakefront events.
Prior event costs cited during ordinance debate
During the Jan. 8 meeting when the ordinance was adopted, Layla Hekmatdoost told the Mandeville City Council that the organization had previously paid about $5,500 in city-related costs for the Pride Northshore event.
Later in the meeting, Queer Northshore representatives Mel Manuel and Jeremy Thompson warned that the proposed fee structure could significantly increase the cost of hosting the parade and said the organization might be forced to consider moving the event elsewhere if the ordinance were adopted.
If the city’s current estimates hold, the total municipal cost for a 1,500-attendee event could reach roughly $17,250, according to the Mandeville Daily cost worksheet.
That would represent more than triple the amount Queer Northshore said it previously paid for the event, though the city has not yet publicly itemized the full breakdown of non-police service costs for this year’s parade.
Some council members could also question whether the 1,500-person attendance estimate is too low, a concern that could potentially jeopardize approval of the permit.
Total costs likely higher when other services included
The police estimate included in the agenda packet accounts only for law enforcement staffing.
Additional municipal services — including emergency medical services, sanitation, traffic control support and other operational costs — have not yet been publicly itemized for the Pride Northshore event.
Based on the Mandeville Daily cost worksheet, a 1,500-attendee event would likely generate total municipal service costs of roughly $17,250 once those additional services are included.
Earlier reporting estimated that an event drawing closer to 3,000 attendees could push the total cost of city services into the $15,000 to $20,000 range, depending on final staffing levels and operational needs.
New ordinance reshaped event approvals
The parade application arrives just weeks after the council unanimously approved a sweeping overhaul of the city’s parade and special-event regulations.
Under the ordinance adopted earlier this year, the city implemented a new cost-estimation process tied to expected attendance levels. The policy was adopted following public pressure from residents who raised concerns about the city subsidizing large lakefront events without clear accounting of municipal costs.
City officials said the changes were intended to create a more transparent and consistent system for estimating the public-safety and operational expenses associated with parades and festivals.
Council vote expected Thursday
The Pride Northshore parade permit is listed on the consent agenda for the March 12 meeting, meaning it could be approved as part of a single vote along with other routine items unless a council member requests separate discussion.
Under Ordinance 25-34, once the Mandeville City Council approves a permit, the event organizer is required to pay the estimated cost of city services as the permit fee.
Even if approved Thursday, questions remain about the full cost of city services required for the event, particularly non-police expenses that have not yet been publicly disclosed in the agenda materials.
Those figures could ultimately determine how closely the new ordinance aligns with the council’s stated goal of ensuring that large public events cover the municipal costs they generate.
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