MOSCOW, July 9 (RIA Novosti) - Los Angeles authorities spent a total of $1.4 million on the memorial service for the late pop star Michael Jackson, the Los Angeles Times reported on Thursday.

According to official information, some $1.1 million was spent on overtime payments to 4,100 policemen who maintained order at the Staples Center and other venues. The remaining $300,000 went on traffic control and cleaning the streets after the event.

The city's mayor office said an attempt to make up for the losses via online donations yielded only $17,000.

Many officials argue that the ceremony was too expensive.

"This was a private memorial for a celebrity singer, Michael Jackson. And no disrespect to him, his family or his fans, but why should the people of Los Angeles be obligated to pay for what they decided to do?" the paper quoted Dennis Zine, a member of the city's council, as saying.

City Attorney Carmen Trutanich said this week that an inquiry into the matter had already been launched "to determine the expenses incurred by the city and unravel who authorized the city's response."

Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said the visitors that flocked to the city after Jackson died on June 25 spent $4 million on food, hotels and parking.

Jackson's memorial service was broadcast live on 19 channels and was watched by over 31 million people in the U.S., according to the Nielsen Media Research company. The figure does not include those who watched the ceremony on the Internet.