RUMFORD – The Moontide Water Festival Committee will decide within the next few days whether it will turn over responsibility for the annual fireworks display to the Rumford Parks Commission.

Joseph Roberts, chairman of the Moontide committee that has been struggling to pay off debt from the July 2005 event, told Parks Commission members Tuesday afternoon that his committee would likely be open to the commission’s offer.

“We’ve had a difficult time raising funds,” he said.

John Martin, a member of the Parks Commission, and a longtime member of the previous Moontide committee, emphasized that the commission was not trying to invade the committee’s territory.

“If we could pull this off, we could guarantee fireworks every year,” he said.

July 2006 was the quietest July 4th in Rumford in at least a dozen years. Because of financial difficulties, neither the fireworks nor the associated festival were held.

“We’ve got to draw people back to Rumford. It’s a special day for people and their families,” Martin said.

Tentatively planned by the commission is receiving the usual $10,000 toward the cost of fireworks from the town – that money comes from the town’s cable franchise fees – then adding another $10,000 to the Parks Commission budget. The commission voted last month to take over the fireworks if the Moontide Committee agreed.

Martin said additional fundraising could bring the total amount spent for fireworks up to the usual $25,000.

Because the commission is covered by the town’s liability insurance, that cost would be saved. The Moontide Committee pays its own liability insurance, which runs between $1,100 and $1,300 annually for the fireworks and the festival.

The Moontide Committee would continue to be responsible for organizing and paying for the festival that leads into the night’s fireworks’ display. In the past, the festival has run for two or three days.

Roberts said the festival, with its vendors, generally pays for itself. It’s the fireworks cost that has caused the most trouble.

“We’re not trying to step on anybody’s toes,” said commission Chairman Rick White. “This seems like a good opportunity for everybody.”

After the meeting, Roberts said the committee owes between $6,000 and $7,000, mostly to the fireworks vendor, Telstar Displays of Jaffrey, N.H. A fundraising concert by Mac McHale is scheduled in October.

The committee was also plagued by the theft of funds by a former member, who has since repaid the debt, and a lack of volunteers.

“I think it is very necessary to bring back the fireworks. This is a good idea,” Roberts said.

The annual event draws an estimated 50,000 to 75,000 people to town for the night of the fireworks, Martin said.

A final decision by the Moontide Committee will be made by time the Parks Commission meets next on Oct. 10.