#Murrieta Mayor Alan Long: Illegal Alien Offloads Cost City $50 Thousand in Police Overtime

At the Los Angeles Times, "Murrieta's budget and image take a hit from immigration protests":

When it all blows over, Murrieta Mayor Alan Long says he might send the White House a bill.

Since July 1, when protesters turned away three buses of immigrant women and children scheduled to be processed in a local Border Patrol facility, Murrieta has become a focus of the debate over what to do with the thousands of detainees who have come across the border illegally since October, mostly from Central America.

City employees have worked long hours keeping residents informed, controlling protesters lined up in front of the station and fielding media inquiries.

That is taking an economic toll, said Long. City officials estimate they’ve doled out $50,000 in overtime pay.

“It’s a concern of ours from the very beginning,” Long said. “All of the resources and costs associated. … I joked about sending a bill [to the White House]. I think I will send it just to send it but I don’t anticipate being paid.”

To deal with crowds protesting at the entrance to the Border Patrol facility last week, the city’s police department increased its active patrol to 25 officers from the usual eight, at a time of the year when many officers typically go on vacation.

Several officers worked 18-hour shifts, six more hours than their usual workdays, police chief Sean Hadden said. And more officers have been assigned to mitigate the tensions at protest sites and city meetings throughout the week, Long said.

The city also has had to call for additional help from neighboring law enforcement agencies and the Border Patrol to quell the protests.

“It’s either going to cost you in money or efficiency of your organization because you’ve got to shift resources to something other than what you’re normally doing,” Long said.

More.