The localized version of the anti-Wall Street protest, Occupy Phoenix, has cost Phoenix $204,162 since protesters began their demonstrations on Oct. 14, city officials said.

The cost has prompted Councilman Sal DiCiccio to suggest charging protesters for costs associated with their demonstrations.

In a memo obtained by The Arizona Republic, acting Police Chief Joe Yahner wrote that police officers, parks employees, firefighters, city prosecutors and others accrued about $177,997 in the initial round of overtime pay relating to their work for the first three days of the protest.

Those days included an Occupy Phoenix demonstration on Oct. 14 at Civic Space Park and another protest on Oct. 15 at Margaret T. Hance Park in downtown Phoenix, where 45 protesters were arrested - most of them accused of staying too long after the park had closed at 6 p.m.

Also in the memo sent Thursday to Assistant City Manager Ed Zuercher, Yahner wrote that another $26,165 in overtime pay was accrued from Oct. 17 to 25. The protesters have set up tents and kiosks on Cesar Chavez Plaza outside of City Council Chambers, where they are seen each day mingling or holding small anti-corporation demonstrations.

On a tight budget

Phoenix is on a tight budget this year and the City Manager's Office has been discouraging overtime to cap expenses.

"Whenever possible, the Police Department and other city departments used on-duty personnel to manage out-of-pocket costs," Yahner wrote. "However, on-duty resources are committed to regular community duties first."

On Friday, city officials declined to release further details to explain their math. The number of employees - such as officers and city attorneys - who are involved with monitoring, enforcement and prosecution of violations is unknown.

Occupy Phoenix started as a large group. About 300 protesters demonstrated at Civic Space Park near Arizona State University at the downtown Phoenix campus on Oct. 14. An estimated 400 protesters walked through Hance Park on Oct. 15.

Since the protest moved to the plaza at Washington Street and First Avenue, the group has shrunk to around 60 to 80 people who do shifts at the plaza, Occupy Phoenix protesters said Friday.

The protesters said for the two weeks they've been in downtown Phoenix, the city has assigned too many officers to monitor what has been a very peaceful protest.

"It's totally over the top," said Jason Goguen, 22, of Peoria, while discussing the issue with fellow protesters. "They've spent money on us. That's their choice."

Goguen said he believed the number of police at the Hance Park march was "disproportionate," and their presence on the plaza has been excessive.

He said this as three uniformed police officers stood near the Calvin C. Goode Building, watching him and the other protesters.

While speaking with The Republic, Goguen was approached by a plainclothes officer, who asked him to move any suitcases out so he is not accused of "camping" on the plaza, a potential violation of city law.

Protesters said they set up their kiosks in the morning and then remove them every day by 6 p.m., when the plaza closes, to avoid arrests or citations.

Protest remains calm

Compared with the Occupy Wall Street protests in some cities, such as Oakland where protests grew violent and injuries were reported, Occupy Phoenix has been relatively calm.

Protester Paul Puchalski, 22, of Colorado Springs, Colo., said he feels uncomfortable with the constant police presence in Phoenix, but this protest has been peaceful and the group plans to stay for a while. "We'll stay here until we get through to someone," Puchalski said.

DiCiccio, who represents residents in Ahwatukee Foothills and portions of the East Camelback Road area, said he had asked Zuercher's office about the city's costs and was floored by the preliminary estimate.

DiCiccio said that although he knows people have a constitutional right to protest, it is expensive. He said he would like to see protesters, of any group, reimburse the city for the costs of enforcement.

"I don't think it's an unreasonable request. I would like to see any group have to pay for some fair share of the costs," DiCiccio said. "We picked up the tab on that."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona said judges have repeatedly rejected government efforts to charge protesters for public demonstrations.

"The city has no right to impose a price on speech and charge more for controversial speech that attracts a different number of demonstrators," said Alessandra Soler Meetze, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona.