Bush Visit Costs Denver $57,500 In Police Duty

[Champ]

City Does Not Expect To Be Reimbursed

DENVER -- President Bush's one-night fund-raising visit cost the city $57,500 for police protection and traffic direction, but the police chief doesn't expect to get a refund.

"A couple of times (in the past), we looked into trying to get reimbursed," Chief Gerald Whitman said Wednesday. "But, the answer you typically get is that you participate in federal grant programs, and a large part of that money you can use for overtime."

It cost an estimated $41,000 to assign on-duty and overtime officers for Bush's visit Tuesday. Officers directed traffic for Bush's motorcade and provided security at the Phipps Mansion, where he appeared at a fund-raiser that drummed up $2.2 million in campaign donations.

Police also provided security at the Brown Palace Hotel, where Bush stayed.

It cost $16,500 more for barricades, helicopter patrols and other details.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/3376803/detail.html

[havocmom]

1. This amounts to a forced campaign contribution at a time when local

governments are cash starved due to policies at the federal level. It should not be tolerated that local $$ has to be paid to finance campaign expenses when schools, emergency response teams and local services are having serious funding shortfalls in most places.

States should enact laws requiring that any extra law enforcement costs shall be paid by the campaigns of candidates, and that candidates should have to post hefty bonds PRIOR to any visits to assure the costs will be paid. Failure to post such a bond should result in NO extra effort for traffic and/or crowd control from local government entities. Basically, pay up or let ALL taxpayers across the nation foot the bill via using just Secret Service to serve as protection.

Why should locals have to foot the bill for the manpower it takes to basically keep locals from voicing their feelings on candidates?

bush*/Cheney 04 is nothing but a thug crime ring going around the nation, squeezing local governments into paying protection money.
No Child Left Behind, indeed; they will keep going until they have squeezed the milk money from anybody with two legs.

edit: typo

[TahitiNut]

2. Those speech gulags aren't "free," are they?

Not only are conscientious citizens kept out-of-sight and out-of-mind of the DimSon Chimperor of Mendacity, their taxes are diverted to pay for the infringements on their own rights. Welcome to the Police State economics of the Plantation Plutocracy.

[maggrwaggr]

3. seeing as how the only reason for the visit was to RAISE MONEY

I'd send the goddamn Bush/Cheney04 campaign a bill, and if they didn't pay it, I'd sue them.

But I'm not the mayor of Denver unfortunately

[nolabels]

4. Check your pocket book

http://costofwar.com/

[denverbill]

6. Wow. Those are really eye-opening stats. Good link. n/t

[nolabels]

7. Denver $176,410,023 and counting

Yikes, I am not going to check out the them ticking stats on L.A.,
I lost my chin in Denver :wow:

[SeattleDem]

5. easy answer, stop providing protection

It isn't the jop of local police to protect the president - it is the job of the Secret Service.

Who cares if the President's motorcade is slowed down in traffic? Let's let him experience life on typical highways in America (eg. rush hour gridlock, etc).

Sorry, but a private function for the President MUST be paid for with the President's private funds.