City Covers Police Overtime Costs for Sponsor

Carnival Organizer Also Wants Waiver

The District plans to pay the overtime incurred by police officers and other city employees who worked Sunday at Eastern Market Day -- a tab that is supposed to be picked up by event organizers.

Overtime for festivals, street fairs and other programs can cost the city several thousands of dollars -- or more -- for each event.

After last week's fire that destroyed most of the 134-year-old market, City Administrator Dan Tangherlini decided to make an exception for Friendship House, the city's oldest social-services agency, which has held Eastern Market Day for 44 years.

Tangherlini factored the work of Friendship House, which benefits the homeless, into his decision, said Mafara Hobson, a spokeswoman for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D).

Five police officers worked eight hours each, Hobson said. According to a city schedule of fees, event organizers must pay the city $57.94 an hour for each officer. At that rate, the cost for the officers would be $2,317.60. The cost for city cleanup crews came to $2,820, according to Charles Allen, chief of staff for D.C. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6).

In a letter to Wells two days before Eastern Market Day, Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said that Tangherlini "has authorized a waiver of all fees for this event."

Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), who oversees the police department's budget, questioned whether the decision was hasty and whether Tangherlini bypassed a process for the rarely issued waivers. That process is supposed to be led by the Mayor's Special Events Task Group, which manages parades, festivals and other events.

"They're supposed to have some rules in place," he said. "I understand that there are a lot of people who want to help Eastern Market rebuild. There still needs to be some judiciousness."

Wells went through proper channels to make the request for Friendship House, according to Allen. On April 21, more than a week before the fire, Wells asked the city to waive fees charged by the police department, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs and the Department of Public Works, Allen said.

DCRA and Public Works initially denied the request for waivers, Hobson said yesterday, but Tangherlini also approved those exemptions. The fees included $1,500 for permits from DCRA.

In the future, money will be pulled from a "special events fund," Hobson said.

Loughton Sargeant, president of DC Caribbean Carnival Inc., which holds an annual parade on Georgia Avenue, said he has already contacted the mayor's office to help with this year's event, to be held June 23 and 24.

"Based on the last two years, the figures range from $150,000 to $300,000" for city services paid for by the carnival organizers, said Sargeant, who hopes to get waivers this year.

The Caribbean parade route stretches about three miles down Georgia Avenue, so the coordinators have to hire many police officers.

Sargeant said his group has never received an official waiver but has managed to get help from council members through the years.

"The fees across the board have gone through the roof," Sargeant said. "It's not cheap to put on an event in the city."