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The costs of last week's big Michael Jackson memorial bash are still causing much debate in Los Angeles. As previously reported, while AEG Live - the promoters of Jackson's axed O2 residency - covered the costs of the actual event itself, hosting it in their Staples Center arena, the city has picked up the tab for policing, traffic control and tidying up the streets, an exercise which somehow ended up costing $1.4 million.

With LA already in something of a financial crisis, all sorts of local politicians and journalists are kicking up a fuss about the cost of the big memorial bash. Presumably in a bid to placate the critics, the LA mayor's office set up a website where Jacko fans could make donations towards the city's costs related to the memorial, but most critics really want either AEG or the Jackson family to foot the bill, so they're still stressing.

Now one of the city's Councilmen, Dennis Zine, has called for a review of the city's costs associated with the event, requesting a full report on policing and traffic control expenditure. He told a city meeting on Thursday that he would be suggesting to the memorial's organsiers - so AEG and the family - that they might like to "reimburse the city to replenish the public safety and other critical funds".

AEG have basically said that they feel covering the costs of the event itself was a suitably grand gesture on their part, while the Jackson family have not as yet commented on the costs of the memorial event at all. There has been speculation that a DVD of the Staples Center show may be released. AEG top man Randy Phillips has admitted that that has been considered, though says any DVD release is not at the top of the music firm's agenda just at the moment, while adding that any such release would only happen with the Jackson family's agreement. But such a DVD release would presumably bring in some big bucks, so perhaps cutting the city into that project might be a way to placate those demanding LA tax payers.