NORMAL -- A lack of bucks means less bang this July 4 for many cash-strapped cities, but the show will go on in the Twin Cities and many smaller communities around Central Illinois.

Fireworks shows are being canceled or scaled back as municipalities' tax revenue dries up with the slowing economy and falling home prices. Funding from corporate sponsorships also has fizzled as businesses deal with economic problems of their own.

The budget realities are forcing communities to decide, for example, whether they can pay for extra police and fire protection for a fireworks show - or perhaps pay an officer's salary for the rest of the year.

Some fireworks companies have reported business is off about 10 percent from last year, said Julie L. Heckman, executive director of the American Pyrotechnics Association, an industry group.

Twin City fireworks should be just as spectacular this year as they were in 2008, but what will happen next year is up in the air. A list of fireworks displays this weekend in Central Illinois can be found at www.pantagraph.com.

Bloomington and Normal are in the third year of a three-year contract with S&N Fireworks of Lincoln, said Normal Parks and Recreation Department Director Garry Little, meaning they will have to negotiate a new contract for future years. "There could be a significant increase if we're looking at having the same show as in the past," Little said Wednesday.

Each municipality contributes $25,000 toward the July 4 fireworks displays at Normal's Fairview Park and Bloomington's Miller Park. The shows, which start at dusk, also have other sponsors. Both shows are 22 minutes.

Bloomington Parks and Recreation Director John Kennedy said he and Little will discuss future shows later this year. Little said they likely will ask companies what kind of show they can get for the current amount and go from there.

"We know the number of shells we get now. We'll look at what the same money will buy next year," he said. "I expect we'll have to ask for a budget increase (from the council)."

Among the cities, large and small, that have cancelled or curtailed their annual displays are: San Jose, Calif.; Charlottesville, Va.; Hialeah, Fla. near Miami; Mesa, Ariz.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Niceville, Fla.; and Garland, Texas.

But fireworks shows in big cities like Chicago will go on as usual, while organizers acknowledge sponsor dollars have been tight. New York's fireworks display, which is put on by Macy's Inc., also is unaffected.