Despite staff recommendations, the Joliet Park Board decided against raising the Taste of Joliet entrance fee in 2013.

District staff had recommended the increase only for tickets purchased at the gate, hiking them from $10 to $15 in order to persuade more people to buy them online, where they would remain $10.

Attendees were not inclined to buy them online this year because the $3.95 service fee actually made them the more expensive option, park district Executive Director Dominic Egizio said. If the gate price was increased, people would save about a dollar buying them online, he said.

"We want people to buy e-tickets; we don't want them to buy at the gate, mainly for security reasons," Egizio said. "We want them to buy the online tickets, that's what we're trying to do."

Park board Commissioner Jane Condon said she could see raising the price of concert VIP tickets, but not the price of entry gate tickets.

"I'm all for increasing the front end to $35 or $40 and keeping it at 500 (maximum tickets)," she said. "I lean more toward not raising the ticket prices."

Park board President Brett Gould agreed.

"I'm afraid people will think we saw an opportunity to gouge our citizens," he said.

In 2012, only about 25 percent of attendees bought Taste tickets online, leading to long lines at the entrance gate. Although the park district hires Joliet police officers to assist with fest security, the officers are not always at the gate to keep crowds in check, officials said.

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