Cedar Fest Price Tag: $50,000+
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Updated: 8:50 PM May 9, 2008
Cedar Fest Price Tag: $50,000+
East Lansing Police estimate nearly $50,000 in costs.
East Lansing Police incurred nearly $50,000 as a result of Cedar Fest and that price could keep rising.
Posted: 6:34 PM May 9, 2008
Reporter: Tiffany Teasley
Email Address: Tiffany.Teasley@wilx.com
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The repercussions of the Cedar Fest riots are coming with a pretty price tag for police. East Lansing Police say the celebration and aftermath have cost nearly $50,000 or more.

"My opinion is that it will double or even triple by the time this investigation is all over," said Sgt. Scott Wriggelsworth of the East Lansing Police Department.

With 15 hours of video left to review, Wriggelsworth estimates a grand total of nearly $150,000 after the investigation is over; from damage to city property, special equipment and most of all, the endless hours of overtime.

"The bulk of the money is going to come from either the people that work on overtime the night of Cedar Fest or the investigation hours post Cedar Fest," Wriggelsworth said.

Wriggelsworth says the department has already put in nearly 50 hours of post Cedar Fest overtime and the extra manpower from that night is a significant drain to the department's budget.

"I think this investigation our overtime budget's certainly going to take a hit from it. That night we had upwards of 70 or 80 people on overtime, that's no secret, a lot of this investigation, post-riot investigation, has been on overtime," Wriggelsworth said.

It's not just East Lansing Police who are dealing with the cost incurred from Cedar Fest, East Lansing Fire Department is still calculating the cost of the chaos.

"You have the cost of the fire truck, the different personnel who are receiving different wages. And it's overtime," said Leo Allaire of the East Lansing Fire Department.

The department had 6 extra people on staff and gave medical treatment to 33 patients injured that night. But as for paying off the costs, ELPD says the Cedar Fest culprits should pickup the price.

"If you participated in that night, part of your sentence or punishment should be that you should recoup the funds," Allaire said.

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