New figures from Madison Police Chief Richard Williams put the cost of security for the upcoming United States Conference of Mayors at six times higher than previous estimates, and taxpayers may end up covering the tab.
The conference, which comes to Madison June 13-18, will cost $668,691 in security from the Madison Police Department alone, not including other law enforcement agencies, according to information in an e-mail Williams sent to Mayor Sue Bauman April 26.
Williams said in the e-mail that he has cancelled days off for all officers for the duration of the conference and he will also deploy the department's Special Events Team. Over all, the event will cost the department over $422,000 in overtime.
\The money that the mayor and others have privately fund-raised will go to mostly non-security costs,"" said Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4.
The Common Council set aside a quarter of a million dollars expected from hotel room taxes, which it hoped would cover security. But Verveer said the additional money will have to come out of the police department's overtime budget at the expense of the taxpayers.
""[The police] are really bracing themselves for protests like in Seattle,"" he said.
Williams told Bauman in the e-mail that individuals associated with violent anarchists are expected to attend the conference, and that the police department must be fully prepared for the worst case scenario.
Despite Williams' concerns, many predict protests can peacefully co-exist with the conference.
Mike Bakunin, of the Creative People's Resistance organization, which plans to protest the conference, said his group has no intention of inciting violence.
""The Police Chief indicated something about violent anarchists [coming],"" Bakunin said. ""That's definitely not our focus. That's something we don't want to promote.""
Verveer said the police department got ""freaked out"" by Web sites from Bakunin's group and others, causing them to up their original proposal of $92,000.
""I am surprised at the price tag."" he said. ""It's quite a huge number given the tight fiscal environment.""
