(AP) At more than $480,000 and counting, Pike County spent nearly double the $250,000 it earmarked for convicted cop killer Eric Matthew Frein's capital murder trial.

County officials do not anticipate any trouble covering the additional cost, however.Matthew Osterberg, county commissioner chairman, said officials faced a tough decision when they put the budget together in November. They knew costs might exceed the budgeted amount. There was also a chance the cost would be substantially less if Frein pleaded guilty.They chose the $250,000 figure, knowing they could dip into the county's fund balance, which was $1.6 million at the start of this year, if it went over, he said."We tried to be as responsible to taxpayers as we could, keeping in mind we have money in the bank that could pay for it if it went above $250,000," Osterberg said. "That is the reality of what happened. It's the cost of justice. Is it unfortunate? Yes."Frein, 34, was convicted April 19 of first-degree murder and 11 other offenses for killing Cpl. Bryon K. Dickson II of Dunmore and wounding Trooper Alex T. Douglass of Olyphant in a sniper attack outside the Blooming Grove state police barracks on Sept. 12, 2014. He was sentenced to death April 26.Records show Pike County spent $481,503 on the case as of Thursday. The largest expense was $245,901 in legal fees and other costs incurred since Frein's arrest to his attorneys, William Ruzzo and Michael Weinstein, who were paid $125 per hour, according to court documents that recently were unsealed.Part of the fees charged by the attorneys included reimbursement for hotels and meals during jury selection, which took place in Chester County, and for Ruzzo's hotel stay during the trial.Ruzzo stayed at the upscale Hotel Fauchere, but received a steep discount. The total cost for Ruzzo's 26-day stay was $2,125, which averages to about $81 a day.Sean Strub, owner o f the hotel and mayor of Milford, said he was approached by the prosecution and defense about providing discounted rooms and was pleased to do so. He said he also offered free rooms to members of Dickson's family during the trial.The second-largest expense was for defense experts, who were paid $125,101. Of that, $89,499 went to Louise Luck, a mitigation expert who earned $100 per hour to develop evidence for the defense in the death penalty phase.The defense expenses do not include fees for work Ruzzo, Weinstein and Luck performed during the April trial, or any work the attorneys did this month in relation to Frein's appeal. Those bills have not yet been submitted for payment.Other costs include $68,784 to lodge, feed and transport the Chester County jurors that heard the case, said Pike County Chief Clerk Gary Orben, and $41,717 prosecutors spent on experts, travel and lodging for trial witnesses and expenses related to jury selection in Chester County.Orben said he has not yet calculated additional costs the county incurred in overtime for sheriffs deputies and court staff that worked the trial. He also is awaiting a bill from Chester County for certain costs it covered for the jury, including meals and lodging during jury selection.Whatever the final total, Osterberg said he is confident the county can pay all the costs from money it already has."We've always been fiscally responsible so it's not like all of a sudden this case hits and we are going to be out of money," Osterberg said. "When it's all done and settled we will see what shape we are in. I don't think it will deplete all the carryover (fund balance) for next year."