Half true at least, donOld's campaigning bills are left unpaid wherever he goes. Never changes, he stiffed contractors, businesses, and people all his life. Now he stiffs the American people and lets our taxes pay his bills. But I'm not sure of the airport denials, would need a lot more verification from reliable sources. When Trump comes to town, he brings excitement, leaves unpaid bills Republican presidential candidate, former President Donald Trump speaks at a rally outside Schnecksville Fire Hall on April 13, 2024 in Schnecksville, Pennsylvania. Hundreds of supporters waited hours in a line stretching for more than a mile to see Trump speak in a suburb of Allentown, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to be in Bozeman on Friday for an 8 p.m., rally at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse at Montana State University. While rallies of presidential candidates are known to bring large crowds and media attention, they also bring a slew of logistical and technical challenges. “Large political rallies like this aren’t common,” says Montana State University spokesman Mike Becker, adding that the last time the Fieldhouse hosted a political rally of this scale was during Obama’s visit in 2008. “We use the same processes of working through the logistics of the event, but it’ll be unique to work with the Secret Service.” For Secret Service, the indoor venue is a welcome change from Trump’s typically outdoor rally sites, but indoor venues located in the heart of cities rather than at the airport, as Trump so often prefers, require far more safety precautions and coordination. Trump’s Sept. 6, 2018 rally in Billings at MetraPark, for example, necessitated a multitude of security measures, including protection, crowd control and traffic management. According to 2018 press releases by both the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office and the Billings Police Department additional assistance was also required from outside agencies Montana Highway Patrol, Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks, the Laurel Police Department, and both Rosebud County and Carbon County Sheriff’s offices. Even Billings Public Works employees were called on to use large city vehicles to help block off two square blocks of downtown Billings for close to 20 hours.
https://dailymontanan.com/2024/08/08/when-trump-comes-to-town-he-brings-excitement-leaves-unpaid-bills/
By: Jenna Martin - August 8, 2024 12:39 pm
The logistics
“It’s usually a pretty all-hands-on-deck situation,” says Billings Police Department Public Information Officer Lt. Matt Lennick. “We work closely with the Secret Service and usually have to bring in extra staff, because at the same time we still have to monitor our calls for service and respond to calls within the city. It’s pretty extensive for our department and costly because of the amount of overtime and things like that.”
That cost can quickly add up, and for many municipalities it’s often impossible to predict ahead of time what that cost will be. As Billings Police Chief St. John told the Billings Gazette in 2018 in preparation for Trump’s rally in Billings, “We won’t have any idea of the cost (of Trump’s visit) until we get the final bill.”
And it’s something that can’t be stuck in a budget plan.
“I’ve never seen the situation where we knew ahead of time in a budget year that we were going to have a visit because they (candidates) don’t put out their schedules that far in advance. My understanding is we normally recoup whatever cost we can on the backside,” Lennick said.
Attempting to recoup those costs is what the Billings Police Department, years later, is still trying to do.
The taxpayer burden
Trump’s campaign has been notorious for flaking on bills for security. According to a 2019 report from the Center for Public Integrity, Trump owed more than $840,000 to various city governments, and likely more, as Trump’s campaign does not acknowledge a single one of these city governments as debt in his federal campaign financial disclosures.
In Billings, the protective measures put in place for his September 2018 rally resulted in 1,362 overtime hours between Billings PD and the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s office: 951 hours from the former, and 411 hours from the latter, bringing the total cost to $58,830.
While the Yellowstone Sheriff’s office did not bill Trump’s campaign for the $12,930 cost it incurred – a standard practice the office follows for all political campaigns – Billings PD did, and as of the publication date of this article, that $45,900 bill has been left unpaid.
Earlier that year, Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump Jr. also made stops in Billings. The vice president spoke at a public rally on July 25, also at MetraPark, organized by America First Policies. Donald Trump Jr. spoke at the Republican Convention in Billings on June 22.
According to an internal memo sent to city council on Sept. 13, 2018, Vice President Mike Pence’s July 25 visit required 647.50 hours of overtime pay, totalling $31,200. Donald Trump Jr.’s visit ran $5,000 in overtime pay, bringing the total amount spent by the Billings Police Department alone on security for Trump’s campaign rallies in Billings in 2018 to $82,100.
Billings isn’t alone. Missoula county commissioners also sent a bill to the Trump campaign in 2018 for nearly $13,000 for public safety staffing costs. The county requested $10,835.41 for officer salaries, $1,059.26 for dispatcher salaries, $693.72 for Office of Emergency Management salaries, and $334.43 for miscellaneous expenses. According to Missoula County Communications Manager Allison Franz, that bill has also not been paid.
Some municipalities, like Great Falls, don’t submit requests for payment, instead eating the cost from their own budgets. The Great Falls Tribune reported Trump’s July 5 visit to Great Falls cost the city, Cascade County and Montana Highway Patrol a total of $57,236, none of which was submitted for payment to Trump’s campaign.
In total, in 2018 alone, Trump’s campaign cost various city and state departments – whether they billed for reimbursem*nt and weren’t paid, or never billed at all – at least $150,000 in taxpayer money.
“It’s a lot for a budget,” Lennick said. “It’s not something that’s built into our initial budget that we plan every year.”
A different ballgame
Trump’s rallies, while similar in size to other candidates, consistently have higher security costs. For one, he is a former president, which comes with an added layer of security compared to other candidates.
For example, Trump’s October rally in Missoula had an estimated 8,000 attendees and cost Missoula County nearly $13,000 while Bernie Sanders 2016 rally had 9,000 attendees and the mayor’s spokeswoman told NBC Montana that the cost to the city was minimal, resulting in only five paid hours in police overtime. The rest of the cost was covered by Secret Service.
Trump’s rallies are also known for their large crowds of protestors, an added safety concern for all parties involved.
“It’s important that your local sheriff is the one handling protestors because we know these people,” says Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter, adding that no matter the cost law enforcement will always be up for the job. “As local law enforcement it’s our duty to protect the process of our elections and keep our community safe when candidates and presidents show up.”
The total cost for Gallatin remains to be seen. Sheriff Dan Springer declined requests for comment and City of Bozeman Communications and Engagement Specialist Allison Killip directed all questions regarding potential costs to Trump’s campaign.
It’s unknown whether or not the assassination attempt at Trump’s July 13 Pennsylvania Rally will drive security costs further.
Montana State University however, will at least get some money ahead of time.
“Anyone who rents the Fieldhouse has to put down a deposit,” says university spokesman Mike Becker, which amounts to the first day’s cost of $3,250. “If they cancel, they’d owe $6,500.”
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