Story highlights Mayor originally estimated removal cost to be $170,000City says protest are to blame for increased cost(CNN) The controversial removal of four Confederate monuments in New Orleans cost the city $2.1 million, far more than what it said the price tag would be. Mayor Mitch Landrieu originally said the project would cost just $170,000 and that private funds would pay for it. The increased cost -- all of which the city bore -- comes from lengthy litigation and safety concerns about protest groups that wanted to leave the monuments up, Deputy Mayor Ryan Berni told CNN. "I wouldn't call it a price discrepancy, he said, "but certainly a major escalation [in price]."

Source: CNN June 12, 2017 19:41 UTC