CLEVELAND — During a finance briefing at Public Hall on Wednesday, Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson announced that the unrest that came following the George Floyd demonstration will cost the city over $3 million in overtime.
"The social unrest pretty much shut downtown," Jackson told the gathering.
Jackson says the majority of the expense came as a result of public safety needs, but other departments like streets and parks also had employees work overtime.
"Fortunately, we only had one day of social unrest while other cities had four, or five or more days," Jackson added. "Some cities are still going through it."
The exact cost of the overtime expense for the week of May 30 through June 6, when the city was also under a curfew, is $3,066,151.68.
The mayor says it's too soon to know how this unexpected expense will impact the city's balance sheet. "We're going to have to pay attention so that by the end of the year, we don't break the budget."
You can watch Jackson's remarks below.
Earlier this month, Jackson and his administration announced that the city has developed a program to assist small businesses impacted by the social unrest. The Department of Economic Development will issue grants of up to $25,000 to assist businesses with repairing property damage, acquiring equipment and restoring inventory.
Grants will be scaled based on the recovery costs incurred by the businesses.
- Businesses suffering up to $20,000 in costs can receive a grant of up to $5,000
- Business suffering more than $20,000 in costs can receive a grant of up to 25% of their costs, up to $25,000.
Businesses will be required to submit documentation of loss and insurance coverage.
You can watch the announcement of this program below.
As had been occurring in cities throughout the nation, a demonstration calling for justice for the killing of a Minneapolis man named George Floyd, who died while being arrested by four officers on Memorial Day, began in downtown Cleveland on May 30. As the protests progressed, they ultimately became violent, with multiple police cars being set on fire and businesses in the area being vandalized.
Jackson asked Gov. Mike DeWine to call out the Ohio National Guard to support local law enforcement. The city was also under a curfew for several days.