‘Show me the gold:’ Florida’s Gold Coast county seeks to recoup Trump security costs

$60,000 a day security costs, local airport business losses chafing Palm Beach County during Trump visits

 

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Update: According to reports, the trillion-dollar federal budget deal reached over the weekend includes a $68 million protection package to reimburse Palm Beach County and New York City for costs associated with President Trump’s visits.

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Palm Beach County officials have a message for President Trump: They would like to be reimbursed for the nearly $4 million they’ve spent to provide security for his visits since he became president-elect in November.

The local security costs are about $60,000 a day for the county whenever the president wings his way south from the nation’s capital to weekend at his private club, Mar-a-Lago, according to Anthony Rodriguez, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman.

The president has spent seven out of 13 weekends of his presidency during “high season” on the Gold Coast including visiting there in November and December, before his inauguration.

“We’re about $3.5 million into this,” Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said recently, in a video the Sheriff’s Office posted to Twitter.

The county expected to see the security cost jump to $250,000 from Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent visit. Most of the costs are related to law enforcement overtime pay: police work in 12-hour shifts, with vacations and time-off canceled.

During that stay, the police not only had to make sure Mar-a-Lago was secure, but the hotel where Xi was staying as well, where temporary security fences were erected. Roads also had to be closed for motorcades of both presidents.

The sheriff has said he was told personally by Trump that the feds would pay up, but county commissioners aren’t holding their breath.

County Eyes Cuts, Raising Taxes

 Palm Beach County Mayor Paulette Burdick is worried that the county could see cuts in services or increased taxes. if the federal government doesn’t reimburse them. “Like any household or local government, we’ll have to look at our budget,” she said, adding that any time there is a squeeze on the budget, it’s parks and recreation that sees cuts in hours, programming and sports.

She added that the county “fully accepts and wants to protect the president of the United States.”

The mayor also expressed her concern over the impact of the president’s visits on the county-owned Lantana Airport, where there are 250 full-time employees. The airport has to be shut down each weekend the president visits.

 

County-owned Airport Grounded

The Palm Beach County Park Airport, located in Lantana and often called Lantana Airport, has had to close during the weekends that Trump visits due to security concerns from the Secret Service.

The airport, which employs 250 people full-time, lost $440,000 after a flight school moved away March 1 due to the ongoing problems.

More than 20 businesses, including a helicopter sightseeing business, have been left in limbo during the weekends the president visits. Also banned at the airport during Trump’s stays: parachuting, banner-towing and sightseeing. Mike Simmons, airport director of finance, has been providing updates to county commissioners on the situation and shared a letter written by Jonathan Miller, president of Stellar Aviation Group.

The company sub-leases the airport space to tenants, which said in part: “Continued and repetitive TFRs (temporary flight restrictions) will cause many more operators to flee the airport, and the long-term damages will literally kill this airport. The losses can easily be forecast to exceed over $1 million in the first 12 months, given the likelihood of the future visits and TFRs.”

The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association wrote to the FAA requesting modifed future flight restrictions to create a “cutout” to exclude the airport from the “no fly” zone.

The group said while it respects the need to provide increased security, “the FAA and Secret Service should consider the economic and operational impacts to the surrounding community.”

County Could See Tourism Bounce

Is there an upside to the presidential visits? Palm Beach County is in the spotlight. The county-sponsored Discover the Palm Beaches Florida has received inquiries from Chinese journalists traveling with the Chinese president about dining, shopping and hotels, said its president and CEO Jorge Pesquera. Chinese visitors typically spend more than $7,000 per trip when they visit the United States, according to the U.S. Travel Association.

 “From a tourism perspective, we expect that the renewed media focus on the president’s oceanfront retreat will raise the profile of The Palm Beaches and entice curious travelers to explore the vast array of recreational and cultural activities, innovative restaurants and award-winning hotels that these headlining celebrities frequent during their regular visits,” Pesquera told USA Today.

New York, New Jersey also Paying

President Trump’s frequent visits to Palm Beach County are saving money for one local government: New York City. While the city is shelling out money to protect the first lady, it’s not as bad as providing additional protection for the president.

Home to Trump Tower, the Big Apple spends an estimated $127,000 to $146,000 a day to protect first lady Melania Trump (living there with the Trumps’ son until he finishes school) and would be spending even more any time the president visited.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio asked Congress for $35 million to cover costs associated with protecting the president there in December.

New Jersey Rep. Leonard Lance (D) is also asking for the feds to reimburse security costs for Trump’s visit to Trump National Golf Course and said that Bedminster Township, Somerset County and the state of New Jersey could be in for more costs down the road.

Trump could likely return to the area during the summer months, when some expect Palm Beach County to get a little too warm for presidential golf outings.

Bedminster logged 103 hours of overtime during a weekend visit from Trump back in November, costing the town nearly $4,000.