The department says the six-figure tab, and subsequent request for additional budget appropriation, is primarily made up of officer-paid overtime and search costs associated with the 2 1/2 -month-long murder investigation.

Lori Hacking was reported missing July 19 by her husband, Mark Hacking. Prosecutors say he later confessed to shooting his wife in the head while she was sleeping in their Salt Lake City apartment. Evidence that Mark had thrown Lori's body in a trash bin prompted police to conduct a 15-day landfill search that ended Oct. 1, when Lori's remains were found in a garbage bag.

Several police and firefighting agencies throughout Salt Lake County reported costs in excess of $300,000 associated with the Hacking case. Police and firefighters logged 3,125 hours combing the Salt Lake County landfill with rakes, costing taxpayers $106,250.

Salt Lake City's portion of the bill, which the city hopes to have relieved by the council, includes $47,103 in overtime, $41,673 in landfill-related expenses and an additional $16,795 for investigative measures.

- Michael N. Westley