Albuquerque, NM, bills Trump campaign $211K for recent visit

The city of Albuquerque says President Donald Trump's recent visit cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in police service and lost work time, and now it wants him to pay up. The city sent a $211,175.94 invoice last week to the president's campaign organization, Donald J. Trump for President Inc. Trump visited New Mexico last month for a campaign rally, not official presidential business.

The Albuquerque Police Depart ent incurred $71,242 in expenses to provide “1,528 hours of additional police coverage required by the campaign visit,” according to an Oct. 17 letter the city included with the invoice. Albuquerque also charged the campaign $7,102 for barricades.

And because the president spent the night in downtown Albuquerque, the U.S. Secret Service required local governments to vacate nearby buildings early on Sept. 16 and open late on Sept. 17. The city paid all the employees for the hours they did not work, which amounted to $132,832.

“Our resources for law enforcement are critical and limited. The President's campaign stop in the Albuquerque area cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, including over 1,500 hours of police overtime that was required by the campaign,” Mayor Tim Keller said in a written statement. “We are asking the Trump campaign to pay our taxpayers back for the costs from his campaign stop.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1382205/albuquerque-bills-trump-campaign-other-local-agencies-say-they-wont.html