The Total Cost of Occupy Sacramento?

The city of Sacramento has spent a lot of money on police activity related to the protests. According to the Sacramento Bee, monitoring the protests and arresting lawbreaking protesters costs the city approximately $408,000. This figure includes both basic pay and overtime pay for officers who keep an eye on protesters but not the cost of incarcerating protesters.

The major reason for arresting protesters is that they are illegally camping on city property. Sacramento's laws forbid overnight encampments without a special permit. Sacramento could save money on arrests by issuing such a permit to Occupy Sacramento protesters. However, as of January 2012 it has denied this group a permit. The City Attorney's office has also spent money on the protests because it has to deal with prosecution of and lawsuits from protesters. This office does not pay staffers overtime, so it saves some money; in addition, it responds to lawsuits swiftly and attempts to settle them or have them dismissed to avoid the costs. Trials and lawsuits cost approximately $10,000 a person. With the number of protesters the police have arrested in recent months, trials alone are expected to cost about $750,000.

The Occupy Sacramento protests are costing hundreds of thousands of dollars; most of these costs are paid for with tax money. Sacramento may have to raise taxes to offset these costs, which can hurt the same taxpayers that the protesters claim to represent.