Grand Forks council backs $50,000 to boost security at large public events

The Grand Forks City Council on Feb. 2 approved a $50,000 addition to the city’s event-coverage budget to provide more officers, vehicle barriers and coordination for large, outdoor public events.

Police Chief Friedman told the council that open, outdoor events — roughly 15 to 20 major gatherings each year — have multiple vulnerabilities including wide access points, known timing for planning, and the increased risk of vehicle-borne attacks. "We need to add more people," he said, adding that the city should place officers "in positions of advantage" to detect and stop developing threats.

Friedman said a mix of overtime for police, fire and streets, plus vehicle barriers and better unified command arrangements, could likely be covered by about $50,000. "We believe that $50,000 would likely cover all of the overtime cost for police, fire, streets, etcetera," he told the council.

Councilmembers asked whether costs would be shifted to event organizers. Friedman said organizers already pay for services in many cases but emphasized that shifting costs could make some open public events unviable. City staff told the council the funds would come from the economic-development sales-tax fund and would increase the existing event overtime budget from $50,000 to $100,000.

The council moved and approved the allocation unanimously and suggested embedding the increased figure in the 2027 budget process.

What’s next: staff will administer the additional funds for event overtime and report back with budget details and any event-by-event billing or cost-sharing plans.