Houston's Burial Cost Westfield Taxpayers $9,000

Whitney Houston's Feb. 19 burial at  cost Westfield taxpayers $9,000, The Star Ledger reported Friday morning. 

"That was to, primarily, maintain traffic flow and safety on and along the roads," Mayor Andy Skibitsky told the Ledger. "And I know Fairview Cemetery incurred significantly more than that in expenses to provide security at the cemetery."

Following Houston's burial, the private 105-acre cemetery employed off-duty police officers to ensure that only those with loved ones buried on the property were admitted. 

The Newark Police Department spent $187,621 in overtime costs for personnel staffing the funeral of Houston, whose star-studded memorial service in February drew a horde of media from around the globe to the city. 

The information on police overtime was obtained under a public records request. The Newark Police Department did not immediately respond to additional requests for information last week. 

Police officers were stationed at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark within hours of the singer’s passing Feb. 11 in Beverly Hills. Newark police were also on hand the following day, when normal Sunday services were dedicated to Houston's memory and reporters gathered at the church to interview congregants.

The Essex County Sheriff’s Office spent close to $2,000 in overtime, according to Sheriff Armando Fontoura, who told the Ledger that he used members of his "volunteer deputy division" to stave off manpower costs. The only officers who required overtime were the K-9 and Bomb Squad units who checked the church in the hours before the funeral began.

The 48-year-old singer, who was found dead in the bathroom of her Beverly Hills hotel room on Feb. 11, was buried next to her father, John Houston.