The response sounded a lot like a father’s when he was handed the bill for his daughter’s wedding reception. Joy triumphs over indignation every time.
So when the city of Los Angeles informed the Dodgers that its police and fire departments for the day of November 1 parade to celebrate the World Series championship totaling $2,028,805.19, the team was only too happy to cut the check.
THE parade started at City Hall, wound up to the Walt Disney Concert Hall and ended at Fifth and Flower streets, traveling through downtown aboard open-top double-decker buses with an estimated 250,000 fans lining the streets. Then came a noisy rally in front of 42,000 fans at Dodger Stadium.
It was the parade the Dodgers couldn’t put together after win the 2020 World Series during the COVID shutdown. It was actually their first fashion show since win the World Series in 1988.
“I tell you, the game is about the players and the fans,” the manager said Dave Roberts told the Times. “And in 2020, we just didn’t have that opportunity. … The city needed it parade.”
Learn more: Photos: Dodgers celebrate World Series victory with massive parade and event at Dodger Stadium
State law requires that applicants — in this case, the Dodgers — apply for a permit to hold a “special event” to pay “the actual cost to the city of providing the required number of police officers and other city employees necessary to ensure the safety of participants and the community.”
Therefore, it is the Dodgers – not taxpayers – who will pay the Los Angeles Police Department $1,738,621.19 and the Los Angeles Fire Department $290,184 for ensuring the celebration took place safely and orderly.
Fortunately, given the dire financial difficulties the city of Los Angeles finds itself in. City departments over budget by at least $215 million from the start of the financial year, from July 1 to October 31, according to a analysis. Costly legal settlements and judicial judgments resulting from lawsuits against the city were particularly costly.
“We have been working closely with the city for some time and will finalize the full refund soon,” the Dodgers said in a statement to the Times. “This was a great event for the city, Dodgers fans and our team, and we are grateful for the joint support of the Dodgers provided by the city as a whole, especially the Mayor, City Council, LAPD, LAFD and the (Ministry of Transport).”
According to a city spending reportAlmost all of the money the LAPD spent on the parade went to paying officers by the hour, from a communications intern to numerous officers to a deputy chief, although $415,464 was billed for “employee benefits” listed under “indirect costs.” Perhaps the blue Dodgers caps worn by several officers fell into this category.
The LAPD bill broke down the total number of hours for men and women: 8,823.
Learn more: Los Angeles toasts its World Series champion Dodgers: “The city needed this parade”
A few days earlier, when the The Dodgers beat the New York Yankees in Game 5 to win the World Series title, Unruly fans set Los Angeles subway bus on fire and commandeered street intersections for burnouts and street racing. More than 70 people were arrested for vandalism, assault on a police officer and failure to disperse.
No such behavior spoiled the parade. The only reported arrest involved a man who threw a bottle at police. A group of rowdy supporters who were hanging around afterward were chased off the parade route by officers in tactical gear marching in formation. Otherwise, it was a joyful outpouring of appreciation for the Dodgers.
All at the expense of the Dodgers.
This story was originally published in Los Angeles Times.
