Ramsey County spent $727,000 this spring on law enforcement and staff overtime, hotel rooms for the homeless and other costs associated with civil unrest after the May 25 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.
The County Board voted without discussion Tuesday to transfer that amount from its general contingency fund to cover costs incurred from May 25 to June 30. It's the first time the county has publicly released any figures associated with unrest following Floyd's death.
The largest expense was staff overtime and benefits, which totaled $596,000.
Ninety percent — or $538,149 — went to Ramsey County sheriff's staff, with $40,207 going to the emergency communications staff, $12,380 to property management, and $5,277 to public works.
The county spent $59,000 renting hotel rooms to ensure the safety of homeless residents and $45,000 on outreach and community engagement through programs that included Black Civic Network, Healing Streets and Project Restore Minnesota.
"Ramsey County does not have funding sources to alleviate these additional costs and departments are unable to absorb them," stated a staff report presented to the board.
Ramsey County's general contingency fund had a balance of $1.8 million. This will spend it down to around $1 million.
Shannon Prather • 651-925-5037
