Marchers' Freedom Comes With Cost To Community
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
They have a right, under our Constitution, to have their march and espouse their particular world view.
And they are doing it at a significant cost to the taxpayers of Warsaw, Kosciusko County and the state of Indiana.
They are members of the Ku Klux Klan, who have selected Warsaw as the site for a march.
Because of the propensity for controversy, additional police officers will be brought to town.
"Firm costs aren't available for what this community will have to pay, but over 200 law enforcement officers from all over northern Indiana who are here will be on overtime," Capt Steve Foster, of the Warsaw Police Department, said. "Plus, you have fire department personnel that will have to be on hand, EMS personnel, county highway and city street departments on hand.
"If they all average five hours, that's 1,000 man-hours at the overtime rate - that's $20,000," he added.
Foster said that estimate is only for the cost of the additional law enforcement presence. The total cost estimate would have to include a much wider array of considerations.
"You also have the cost of the additional fencing and the cost of a reduction of services for the rest of the community and the inconvenience of the necessary security precautions and the economic impact of the loss of business," he said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that on the conservative side, this will cost the taxpayers $30,000 to $40,000. And, that assumes that there are no problems. That they just march, then go away."
The Klan is not responsible for defraying any of those costs. According to Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine, the Klan only needed to get the authorization to march from the Kosciusko County Commissioners.
"The group didn't even have to pay a permit fee for the right to conduct their march here," he said. "They just needed to get the okay from the commissioners."
Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said he didn't know what the cost would be and he really didn't care because there's nothing the city can do to prevent the march from occurring. However, he did ask that city and county residents stay away from the downtown area between 1 and 3 p.m., the time the Klan is authorized to conduct their march.
"They just want the publicity that the reaction of protesters will bring," he said. "I just want everyone to stay home and the Klan will go away..." [[In-content Ad]]
They have a right, under our Constitution, to have their march and espouse their particular world view.
And they are doing it at a significant cost to the taxpayers of Warsaw, Kosciusko County and the state of Indiana.
They are members of the Ku Klux Klan, who have selected Warsaw as the site for a march.
Because of the propensity for controversy, additional police officers will be brought to town.
"Firm costs aren't available for what this community will have to pay, but over 200 law enforcement officers from all over northern Indiana who are here will be on overtime," Capt Steve Foster, of the Warsaw Police Department, said. "Plus, you have fire department personnel that will have to be on hand, EMS personnel, county highway and city street departments on hand.
"If they all average five hours, that's 1,000 man-hours at the overtime rate - that's $20,000," he added.
Foster said that estimate is only for the cost of the additional law enforcement presence. The total cost estimate would have to include a much wider array of considerations.
"You also have the cost of the additional fencing and the cost of a reduction of services for the rest of the community and the inconvenience of the necessary security precautions and the economic impact of the loss of business," he said. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that on the conservative side, this will cost the taxpayers $30,000 to $40,000. And, that assumes that there are no problems. That they just march, then go away."
The Klan is not responsible for defraying any of those costs. According to Sheriff Aaron Rovenstine, the Klan only needed to get the authorization to march from the Kosciusko County Commissioners.
"The group didn't even have to pay a permit fee for the right to conduct their march here," he said. "They just needed to get the okay from the commissioners."
Warsaw Mayor Ernie Wiggins said he didn't know what the cost would be and he really didn't care because there's nothing the city can do to prevent the march from occurring. However, he did ask that city and county residents stay away from the downtown area between 1 and 3 p.m., the time the Klan is authorized to conduct their march.
"They just want the publicity that the reaction of protesters will bring," he said. "I just want everyone to stay home and the Klan will go away..." [[In-content Ad]]