CBS2 reports Newark, New Jersey residents are not too happy to learn that they will have to pay the bill for extra security that was provided for Whitney Houston‘s funeral in February.
The city racked up $187,000 in police overtime during the pop icon’s funeral service, representing 5 percent of the $4 million budget for the year.
In Westfield, where Houston was laid to rest, $9,000 in police overtime was spent, a necessary cost to make sure no one got hurt, officials said.
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous when you have people who are unemployed and homeless, people walking up and down the streets,” resident Quincy Ruffin said, suggesting the family should pick up the tab. “If they wanted it to go that far, do that much, they should have been the ones providing for it.”
At least one official defended the outrageous expense for the drug-addled star, who drowned in her bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, with evidence of recent drug use discovered by officials on site.
“I was able to be witness to the thousands upon thousands of people who were desperate to attend service but held back by barriers and officers of the law,” said Democratic Councilwoman Mildred Crump. “If they had not been there someone may have been trampled, seriously hurt.”
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