GRAND RAPIDS, MI – The City Commission this week erased almost $25,000 in debt owed for police overtime during two downtown festivals last year. But Grand Rapids leaders aren’t being quite so forgiving to Rob Bliss.

Bliss, who has organized several popular downtown events including a viral lip dub video, has started making $200 monthly payments on debt owed for various city services provided at his events, according to the city treasurer's office. Bliss still owes $11,111 to Grand Rapids - $980 of it from a Zombie Walk and the rest from a water slide down Lyon Street.

Meanwhile, commissioners this week nixed $24,669 in debt owed by Celebration on the Grand and Fourth of July fireworks, which are combining this year into a single event.

“They came to us and they worked with us up front,” First Ward Commissioner Walt Gutowski said. “It was the exact opposite with Mr. Bliss.

“Mr. Bliss has known he owed that for a long time and we had to work really hard to get him to pay that. I just don’t think it’s a good precedent (to forgive his loan).”

RELATED: Rob Bliss' 'world's longest' water slide bought by northern Michigan Christian camp

City Manager Greg Sundstrom said staff learned that Bliss was planning a 2014 ArtPrize entry, but would not sign off on required permits unless Bliss started making payments on his debt. Bliss would not confirm whether or not he's working on an ArtPrize entry - he released 100,000 paper airplanes at the inaugural event in 2009 - but maintained that he has been making consistent payments all along – primarily from the sale of the water slide that took a lump-sum chunk out of his debt.

“In a way we have been making payments,” Bliss said. “Every month it’s just taking $200 out of the (proceeds from sale of the water slide). Eventually, though, we got down to the point where we were past the (water slide proceeds and needed to make more payments).

“I’m 25 years old right now and it’s a bit like paying back a college loan, and making $200 payments a month is actually pretty normal for people my age. Obviously, paying back a city debt is different than paying back college loan debt, but if they were to ask me to pay $1,000 a month it would be overwhelming."



RELATED: Grand Rapids' annual Celebration on the Grand bids farewell to September dates

Celebration on the Grand, which since 1980 has been held in early September, will be combined with the Fourth of July fireworks into a new annual two-day event on the first Friday and Saturday of July. The Fourth of July this year falls on a Friday, but the event in future years will be on the weekend, regardless of when the holiday falls on the calendar.

Grand Rapids administrators project that consolidating the two events will reduce the city’s net costs by $7,043 per year – enough to offset the debt forgiveness in less than four years.

“Now we will only be supporting one event instead of two,” Sundstrom said.

Matt Vande Bunte covers government for MLive/Grand Rapids Press. Email him at mvandebu@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter and Facebook.