The world may have mourned the death of Whitney Houston, but the residents of Newark, N.J., are raging mad about the high cost of the singing legend’s funeral.
According to CBS, taxpayers in Newark, though sad about the loss of Houston, are outraged about footing the bill for her pricey funeral, which reportedly cost more than $187,000 in police overtime, representing 5 percent of the $4 million budget for the year.
“I think it’s absolutely ridiculous when you have people who are unemployed and homeless, people walking up and down the streets,” said Newark resident Quincy Ruffin.
Ruffin also believes that Houston’s family should have paid for the officers.
“If they wanted it to go that far, do that much, they should have been the ones providing for it,” Ruffin said.
Others were angry that such an expensive service was open to superstars like Tyler Perry and Alicia Keys, but not the taxpayers footing the bill, while others questioned paying so much for a star with a drug-addiction, citing Houston’s recent autopsy report which indicated her cocaine addiction as a partial cause for her death.
However, officials such as Democratic Councilwoman Mildred Crump said that the more than 200 police officers working the funeral was necessary to control the massive crowds.
Let us know what you think about the price of Houston’s funeral and check out some more expensive funerals below. –nicholas robinson
