GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Last year’s riots in downtown Grand Rapids were expensive for businesses.
Owners had to fix broken doors and smashed windows.
Insurance likely picked up a good portion of the tab, but the city itself had its own bill.
City officials sent out an assessment team the day after to go over the damage caused by the civil unrest and put a figure to what the graffiti, broken windows and fires left behind.
That number came to $448,000.
Plus, an internal sprinkler system at Kent County’s Ionia facility was also affected, and that price tag came to $300,000.
The riots affected several city departments and their staff, hardest hit being the Grand Rapids Police Department.
Overtime alone cost GRPD half a million dollars ($503,141.73 to be exact).
They also spent more than $100,000 on supplies, $350,000 on equipment and $245,000 on vehicles.
That means GRPD spent more than $1.2 million for the weekend of violence and a couple days after.
Wyoming police also responded to help GRPD.
During the riot, the department had five cars set on fire and destroyed. The total cost to replace them all and the equipment inside came to $338,000.
Wyoming officers also helped GRPD with protests throughout the week, adding another $65,000 in overtime costs.
The Grand Rapids Fire Department responded, too. It paid more than $56,000 in overtime.
A big part of the aftermath was the cleanup, with Public Works paying more than $57,000.
A majority of that went to equipment, covering things like dump trucks, sweepers, pick-ups and loaders, to miscellaneous and waste disposal. They also paid more than $8,000 in overtime.
Mobile GR, which operates several parking lots and ramps, spent nearly $3,000 in personnel costs and more than $2,600 on equipment, paying out more than $5,500.
The development center – which deals with planning permits and inspections – paid $1,210 in overtime.
That means the riot on May 30, 2020 and the days following had a big price tag for Grand Rapids, costing the city $748,000 in damage assessments and more than $1.3 million with all departments combined.
The Secretary of State’s office also had damage.
It paid more than $72,000 for damage and repairs that included new windows and doors, carpet, ceilings and drywall, along with graffiti cleanup.
Some of those costs did, however, include pre-planned restorations since the Secretary of State of consolidating three offices and just decided to do it all at once.
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