The City of Seattle is looking back at parades and protests, and asking the question -- what was the cost?
An audit completed by the city focuses on police staffing at 724 special events in 2016. Officers earned $10.3 million in wages as a result, according to City of Seattle Auditor, David Jones.
"How much money is the city absorbing? What is that gap between what the event organizers might pay and what the city picks up in costs," asks Jones.
For free speech events in 2016, the cost of staffing officers came to $1.6 million. Organizers of those events were not required to reimburse that money.
Jones explained why, saying, "It is a constitutional right to express your opinion."
The police department does expect to be paid by organizers for other events.
Other types of special events pay for police services.
The Office of the Auditor took note of the cost recovery process in 2016 and found at one location, Seattle Center, the amount billed varied. Bumbershoot was charged $40 an hour for police work. Bite of Seattle paid $25 an hour. Northwest Folklife paid $1.73 an hour.
"Folklife paid a lot less and I don't know if that had to do with the amount of revenues they could bring in or their financial situation," said Jones.
He also highlights the 2016 Capitol Hill Block Party, noting that organizers were charged $16,683 for 249 hours of police services. However, the report found "SPD wages for the event, including upstaffing and police emphasis work in the area, were $124,502 for 1,773 hours worked."
"The city should think about how much of the cost do we want to bear for policing services at special events," said Jones. "Let's make a thoughtful decision."
The report will be presented at City Hall on Wednesday.
