MADISON, Wis. -- The public cost of Freakfest is the focus of a new debate after a relatively calm weekend on State Street in downtown Madison.

READ: Down On The Street: Wandering Through Freakfest | READ: Authorities Say Freakfest Went 'Extremely Well' |READ: WISC-TV Reporter Gets Firsthand Look At Freakfest | READ: Journalism Students Conduct Homework During Freakfest | SLIDESHOW: View Freakfest 2007 Images (Vol. 1) | SLIDESHOW: View Freakfest 2007 Images (Vol. 2) | VIDEO: Officials Examine Ways To Cut Costs | VIDEO: WISC-TV Reporter Gets Firsthand Look At Freakfest

Once a black eye in the community, the city's annual Halloween celebration has transformed into a ticket-requiring event called Freakfest. City officials said that Freakfest is quickly becoming something Madison can be proud of.

City officials and law enforcement said that last year's inaugural Freakfest set a new tone because it involved ticket sales and gating in State Street. This weekend's installment had even fewer incidents than last year. There were a lower number of arrests compared to the past three years and no reports of property damage.

However, given the positive direction the event appears headed in, some are beginning to ask if they can cut the costs associated with the event. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is one of them.

"I think we're starting to discover perhaps we won't need as many police officers in future years as we had in previous years," said Cieslewicz.

Madison Alderman Mike Verveer said that everyone knows that the event's financial costs stems from the amount of security required.

"The vast, vast majority of our costs are absolutely with the police personnel," said Verveer, whose district includes State Street.

The Madison Police Department said that the cost of law enforcement last year totaled about $700,000 and officials said that they expect costs to remain around the same cost this year or lower.

Still, some officials said that with Freakfest's new tone established, now it's time to bring down the number of officers.

"Now that we have two years under our belts, now I really do think we've turned the corner and set the tone, I do think we can seriously look at cutting back on the number of cops especially for that off night," said Verveer.

Verveer said that he thinks the Friday proceeding Freakfest could be a time when costs can be reduced.

"On the night when we don't have the concerts, we don't have the gates up, I don't think we need anywhere near as many cops as we had this Friday night," said Verveer. Madison Police Chief Noble Wray said that he's willing to examine the issue, but urges caution.

"We needed every officer there for Saturday. We'll be looking at Friday and see if there are things we can do, but I'm very cautious of giving absolutes at this particular time, given that next year we'll be looking at Halloween taking place on Friday," said Wray.

Authorities said that more than 300 police officers patrolled State Street both Friday and Saturday.

With a year of planning ahead, both sides of the debate agree: The goal is to balance safety and costs.

"We will access what took place this year with the understanding of what we may be looking at next year and we will staff accordingly with the understanding of trying to reduce cost where we can," said Wray.

Police officials said that they will know in a couple of weeks the amount of overtime incurred at Freak Fest. Meanwhile, city officials will be meeting with the Madison Police Department in the coming months to determine what if anything can be cut.

Stay tuned to WISC-TV and Channel 3000 for continuing coverage.