Obviously, if the civilian flaggers cost MORE than the cops, then we should use the cops. I find it hard to believe, however, that it costs $60/hour to pay civilian flaggers as the Boston.com article suggests (not hard to believe that that's what they'll charge if they can get away with it). In this economy, we ought to be able to find flaggers at near minimum wage. If we pay them say $15/hour (a pretty good wage for doing very little), and assume that benefits, insurance and whatnot double that, it's still 30% cheaper than cops. Are these numbers even in the ballpark?