Bill for Glenn Beck Day stuns Mount Vernon

[ensho]

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2010120920&zsection_id=2003925728&slug=costofglenn23m&date=20091023


Glenn Beck Day in Mount Vernon was an expensive lesson for this small town, as it found out the cost of hosting a controversial celebrity.

It's on the hook for $17,748.85, mostly for 239 hours of police overtime.

Isn't that a little steep for a one-day event?

"Honestly, I'm a bit surprised at how big the cost was," says Alicia Huschka, the town's finance director.

Well, says Ken Bergsma, the town's police chief, better to be prepared than not.

The chief says the crowd of 800 to 1,000 demonstrators that greeted Beck for his early-evening appearance on Sept. 26 was the biggest protest he's seen in his 32 years as a Mount Vernon police officer.

Bergsma says he told the City Council, "I'd rather be before you justifying the cost of the staffing involved, as opposed to being before you to explain why it was underplanned and understaffed."

-snip-

Only one person was arrested, for disorderly conduct.

-snip-

In any case, the police now have a good supply of flex cuffs.
-snip-
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[Catshrink]

1. Paying that OT would be a drop in the bucket for Beck.

They should send him the bill. This was a mayoral event, IIRC. Mr. Mayor should be made to defend the cost of defending bigotry. At the very least, the town will see how much their bigotry costs them and see if they want to continue supporting it. Usually when it shows up in the tax burden, they start to have second thoughts.

[Taverner]

2. Bill the fucking Mayor

He's the one who brought that sack of shit to town

[panader0]

3. I'm surprised the mayor went ahead with Beck day

after that stern e-mail I sent him.

[SeattleGirl]

9. That's exactly what I'm thinking. n/t

[Zomby Woof]

4. Ah yes, conservatives and their "fiscal responsibility"

Fucking shitstains.

[EmeraldCityGrl]

5. Very good news. That mayor will never be re=elected.

[LakeSamish706]

6. My understanding was that the Mayor was to cover all costs for this event! n/t

[dmr]

11. That's what I read, too. n/t

[DontTreadOnMe]

7. under $20K for Police Security

why is he surprised... that is not a high amount.

Just about ANY music concert has at least $25K in police security.

Even NFL football stadiums have a bill about that size for an afternoon event.

Simple math:

That would equal 12 Police Officers working for 8 hours at $200 per hr

I have organized public events that require police officers to direct traffic and control crowds and they charge anywhere from $150-$250 hour per officer.
The fee is usually "donated" to the police fund, and the rate is sort of negotiable, so maybe a discount if you need more officers.
The police department usually determines how many you need, too!
It sounds like a high number, but when you hire them, they become responsible for any emergency, so you are really paying for
back up emergency vehicles or anything the police might need to handle any situation. That usually includes a medical team as well.

I bet the event needed even more than 8 hours of police, so you can lower the overtime rate or the number of police officers and easily still get a $20K bill.

[morningglory]

8. What no libruls there with assault weaponry strapped on? nt

[bleever]

10. Please tell me the person arrested for disorderly conduct was Beck.

[Oeditpus Rex]

12. This isn't exactly an apt comparison, but...

In 2006, the City of Hollister (Calif.) cancelled the annual Independence Rally — a July 4 motorcycle event commemorating the 1947 Hollister "riot" that was the basis for the 1953 movie "The Wild One" — because the city was losing money on it.

The reason the city lost money was that boogey-man-around-every-corner Sheriff Curtis Hill convinced the city council that it needed to approve more than $300,000 to hire more than 100 additional police, and a helicopter, to patrol the three-day event. Hill was convinced that without this show of force, a full-scale riot between the Hell's Angels and Mongols would destroy the town.

In each of the city-sanctioned rallies for the nine years prior to 2006 there were about 20 arrests, almost all of them for DUI or public intoxication. Occasionally there was some shoving and the odd punch was thrown. There was never a reported clash between rival biker gangs.

Sturgis, Laconia and Daytona, which host much larger biker rallies than Hollister's, pay about half as much for additional cops.

My former place of residence is a stupid dick.

[niyad]

13. hadn't the city council said that they didn't want any part of this event weeks ago

mayor's desire--he and glennbeckistan should pay the whole thing.

239 extra police hours? wow, they really think this ranting thug is important, don't they?

by the way, who appointed that particular chief?