OUPD estimates spending around $35,000 on overtime and APD estimates around $80,000.
Come fest season, the Athens Police Department and the Ohio University Police Department are planning on shelling out about $115,000 on overtime for their officers.
For some partygoers, that would buy 11,500 18-packs of Natural Light.
Athens Mayor Steve Patterson said APD typically pays about $80,000 for each year's street fests.
As far as OUPD goes, they’re estimating $35,056 for overtime patrol of the parties, according to OU Spokeswoman Katie Quaranta.
“That’s a lot of money that we have to pay for non-sanctioned events,” Patterson said. “For us, to staff them with adequate police protection, it’s expensive. We also end up having to pull in partners from around the state, certainly across the counties for enhanced police work for the fests.”
Patterson added that fests lead to a strain on the city’s budget.
“We only bring in 'X' millions of dollars a year, and that gets filtered down to the different departments and the departments are having to find ways to stretch our law enforcement,” he said. “It’s expensive.”
OUPD Lt. Tim Ryan said fest season brings a lot of work and officers will be on duty more on the weekends.
“We typically bring in other officers from outside agencies and we post overtime for ourselves,” Ryan said. “(Fests) are typically off campus, but they are adjacent to campus, so we work together to patrol them.”
He added that the station is “about ready to get busy and stay busy until commencement.”
Jenny Hall-Jones, interim vice president for Student Affairs and dean of students, said some administrators may work extra during fest season, but because they are paid with a salary, there is no overtime benefit.
“Usually during some of the big events, I’ll go hang out, thank the cops and the city folks just to kind of keep an eye on it, see what’s going on.” Hall-Jones said. “But there’s no expectation that you have to show up.”
Patterson said the city is lucky to have support from the university and OUPD during the parties.
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“It’s a burden that’s incurred by the city and the city having to be responsible in terms of just protection of everyone who lives here, whether you’re transient or you’re not transient,” Patterson said. “I always view the city and Ohio University as one, anyway you look at it.”
—Emily Bohatch and Megan Henry contributed to this report.
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