The popular Red, Hot & Boom event — one of the largest Independence Day fireworks shows in Central Florida — has grown too expensive and too large and should be axed from the city budget, Altamonte Springs officials say.
“The event has outgrown its venue” at Cranes Roost Park, City Manager Frank Martz said. “It has gotten so large that to stage it, businesses are impacted days and sometimes a week before the event.”
It also costs more than $900,000, he said.
In another cost-cutting move, Martz and his staff also recommend shutting down Altamonte’s popular library on Maitland Avenue. In 2024, city commissioners rejected a similar proposal after hundreds of residents protested.
Both proposals are part of the city’s budget plan for next fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. City commissioners are to vote on the final budget at their Sept. 16 meeting. At least two of the city’s four commissioners and the mayor suggested it could be time to end the Fourth of July celebration.
The massive Red, Hot & Boom — which can last up to five hours — started in 1997 as a way to promote the new Uptown Altamonte commercial center and draw visitors into the city.
The event drew tens of thousands of people in its first few years.
However, the city’s costs for holding the event last year “soared to nearly $950,000 due to inflation, tariffs, insurance, staffing and security, while sponsorships covered a fraction of the costs,” according to the city budget document.
After 29 years, “the event’s purpose has been achieved,” Martz said.
A crowd at Red, Hot and Boom listen to music before the fireworks display at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom fireworks light up the sky over Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom fireworks light up the sky over Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom attendees wander through Cranes Roost Park before the fireworks display on July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Singer-songwriter Chris Lane performs at Red, Hot and Boom at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Singer-songwriter Chris Lane performs at Red, Hot and Boom at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Slate, a pit bull mix, shows off his patriotic style while strolling through Red Hot & Boom at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom attendees wander through Cranes Roost Park before the fireworks display on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom attendees listen as singer-songwriter Chris Lane performs at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Walter Corson and his son, Jaxon, wander through Red, Hot and Boom at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom attendees listen to Blue Stone Circle perform at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Fireworks are uncovered for the Red, Hot and Boom fireworks display at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom fireworks light up the sky over Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom fireworks light up the sky over Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Blue Stone Circle performs at Red, Hot and Boom at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom attendees listen to music before the fireworks display at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Singer-songwriter Chris Lane performs at Red, Hot and Boom at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom fireworks light up the sky over Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom attendees wander through Cranes Roost Park before the fireworks display on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Wish Radio performs at Red, Hot and Boom at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom fireworks light up the sky over Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
A couple of Red, Hot and Boom attendees pass the time on the chess board while waiting for fireworks at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Red, Hot and Boom fireworks light up the sky over Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
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A crowd at Red, Hot and Boom listen to music before the fireworks display at Cranes Roost Park on Friday, July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
City Commissioner Jim Turney said Red, Hot & Boom has long been “a signature event” for Altamonte Springs. But today there are other fireworks shows in Central Florida — including the city of Orlando’s Fireworks at the Fountain at Lake Eola Park and at the theme parks.
“It’s a certain degree of sadness ending something that has been around for a certain amount of time,” Turney said. “For many people, it’s been a tradition.”
City Commissioner Bob O’Malley said Red, Hot & Boom has likely grown too large for a city of just over 46,000 residents.
But closing the city’s library “is the bigger issue” and “more important to our residents” than the fireworks event, O’Malley said.
Altamonte Springs, like municipal governments across Florida, faces the drastic loss of tax revenue if voters in November approve Amendment 3, which will cut homeowners’ propety tax bills and, therefore, local collections.
Red, Hot and Boom attendees wander through Cranes Roost Park before the fireworks display on July 3, 2026. (Rich Pope/Orlando Sentinel)
Although the proposals to cut Red, Hot & Boom and the city library are not tied to Amendment 3, Martz said that if Florida voters approve the property tax amendment on Nov. 3, Altamonte Springs and other local governments will face even more drastic cuts.
“I think Amendment 3 is going to present even greater challenges to cities and counties in delivering services,” Martz said. “I think that one of the important things we all must keep in mind is that Amendment 3 will impact all of the services in all the local governments throughout the state.”
O’Malley said state legislators have been increasingly criticizing cities for spending too much money, making questioning the expensive of Red, Hot & Boom more necessary.
“The Florida Legislature is often critical of local governments spending beyond essential services and events. And an event like this is not a priority when we have other things that we are trying to fund and that our residents want,” such as the library, he said.
Two years ago, Altamonte commissioners voted 4-1 to raise the city’s property tax rate — from $3.01 for every $1,000 of taxable value to $4 — to help fund the library’s operations.
Library supporters called it a community facility that offers children’s programs, adult workshops and a quiet place for students to study. More than 500 people signed an online petition at the time to save the facility.
Martz acknowledged the library “is a trusted and familiar public space and a source of pride” among residents.
“But despite efforts to boost attendance through increased advertising, usage remains low and costs continue to rise,” he said. “Inflation is a bear.”
So now city officials recommend relocating some library services to the Westmonte Recreation Center on Bills Lane
Martz said it costs the city about $750,000 annually to operate and maintain the library. He added Altamonte residents also pay county taxes — roughly $545,706 this year — that go toward the Seminole County Library System, which has its main branch less than three miles away in Casselberry.
But O’Malley called it “offensive to the very nature of city government” for Altamonte to encourage its residents to use the county library system.
“Our residents want more than what the county offers, and they are willing to pay more,” he said. “If we are going to close it, then we should return the millage increase that we agreed to two years ago.”
Martz said the city is struggling to maintain services amid an economic climate of rising costs.
“We want to make sure that we still have library services as close to city residents as possible,” Martz said. “The budget is just a recommendation and it’s based on data. We’re trying to juggle things so that residents throughout the city lose the fewest services.”