Occupy Oakland costs jump sharply to $2.4 million

Published on Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Last updated on 06:52AM, Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Occupy Oakland costs jump sharply to $2.4 million

The cost of Occupy Oakland has now spiked.

Monday evening, the city released a statement saying cost spent on responding to Occupy Oakland events is now estimated at more than $2.4 million.

Harry Hamilton, a spokesman for the city said that Oakland will pull money from its $30 million reserve fund to pay for services connected to Occupy Oakland. The city's previous estimate had costs coming in at more than $1 million.

Oakland police make up the majority of the Occupy Oakland tab, with personnel getting $1.04 million in overtime. Public Works comes in next, getting $31,500.

Early Monday morning, the Oakland police were joined by other police agencies in clearing out the Occupy Oakland encampment that had settled in for a second time at Frank Ogawa Plaza. At one time there were 160 tents on site. The removal was peaceful with 33 arrests, OPD said. More than 27.8 tons of debris and 8.2 tons of green waste were removed from the plaza.

The city said it will pay out $500,000 to other public safety agencies that helped with Monday's early morning raid, which include the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and the San Francisco Police Department.

According to the press release, Oakland also will pay more than $540,000 to VMA Security for a 30-day contract to guard Frank Ogawa Plaza.

In recent days, camps have sprouted up other city parks. Campers are still in place at Snow Park - about tents currently exist - but OPD has said it will eventually remove those campers as well.

About Jennifer Inez Ward
A writer and photographer, Jennifer Inez Ward has been documenting Oakland neighborhoods for more than 10 years. A graduate of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism, she focuses on the uniqueness and beauty of everyday life in a city that is too often overlooked for its treasures and pleasures. Throughout the years, Jennifer has had the honor of showcasing her work at a number of venues, including a permanent loan of images that are displayed on the front wall of Barnes and Nobel in Jack London Square. Jennifer is a featured artist documented in “Images of America: Black Artists in Oakland."
Hilary commented at Tue, 15 Nov at 4:19pm

Thanks for all the great coverage of OO. Please include the information referred to in this teaser:

"Oakland paid $3,000 to open a winter shelter at the former Army Base. early."

or replace it with a teaser referencing information actually in the story. Personally, I would prefer you included the information, as I think it illuminates several important facets of OO, but either will do. Yes, I could infer the linkage, but I think major media encouraging readers to infer linkages from information presented is a significant factor in how we got in this mess.