I   n response to an announcement by York City officials that
the city would no longer be picking up the costs of holiday
events, the York Dispatch editorial board posed this question on
its Web poll:  "If no one steps forward to save it, there will
be no tradi tional New Year's Eve cele bration next month in
York. Officials in the cash-strapped city cut the event to save
$35,000 in this year's budget.  "Who do you think should pay for
events like these -- municipalities or private groups?  And the
two options it offered as responses were: "Municipalities have
no business spending money on anything but the necessities. If
people want them, they should find a way to pay for them," or
"Events like these are important to communities, and local
governments are better able to afford them than anyone else.
They're just being Scrooges."  York City's public works
director, Jim Gross, even wrote a letter to the editor
suggesting it's time for nonprofits to step up to the plate to
fund these events, some with a long hi