President Obama Continues to leave a Trail of Debt at a time when the Cities Can Least Afford it.
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| President Obama's motorcade pulls onto Hunts Point Road last month on the way to a private fundraiser at the home of former Costco CEO Jim Sinegal. |
Local law-enforcement agencies spent nearly $100,000 in overtime to protect President Obama during a fundraising trip to the Seattle area last month, according to records released by the groups involved in the effort.
The roughly $98,500 tab, which won't be reimbursed, could have been much higher — the largest security force in the presidential motorcade, the Washington State Patrol, adjusted its schedules, shifting troopers from regular duties to avoid what would have been an additional $60,000 in overtime.
The single largest overtime tab came from the Bellevue Police Department, which paid $28,817 extra to some 60 officers involved in securing the Hilton Bellevue Hotel, where the president spent the night.
In all, dozens of employees from nine local agencies were involved in security for the July 24-25 visit, Obama's sixth to the state as president. Although the Secret Service coordinated the protection effort, local agencies also had to spend hours helping to craft a 72-page incident plan, officials said.
The costs are not unique to Obama; all presidential visits require intense security, and President Bush's trips to the state cost about the same, officials said. Security is also required for Republican Mitt Romney, although his status as only a candidate means the costs are lower.
The local expenses are in addition to costs handled by the federal government, including the operation of Air Force One, which is estimated at about $180,000 per hour. The Obama campaign is required to cover part of the federal expenses, but not local ones.
Those local costs for Obama's July visit represented only a small fraction of the budgets of the law-enforcement agencies.
Still, some people wondered why taxpayers must pay for security for a strictly political visit that did not include any public events.
The president attended a $35,800-per-person round-table with business leaders and a $5,000-per-ticket dinner at which he spoke for 13 minutes before reporters were escorted out. He raised about $1.75 million from the events, both at the Hunts Point home of Costco co-founder Jim Sinegal.
