Rio Rancho: Trump visit cost city $239K
The city of Rio Rancho says it cost $239,475 in manpower, lost work time and more to keep the public safe during President Donald Trump’s September visit — but reiterated on Tuesday that it will not send the campaign a bill.
The city on Tuesday released an itemized list of expenses associated with Trump’s Sept. 16 rally at the Santa Ana Star Center, calling them the costs it “determined necessary to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its citizens.”
They include $96,838 in public employee time “associated with planning for the event” and $76,847 in staff time on the day of the event.
There was also $57,972 in lost productivity to close city offices for the day and $16,184 in other costs, such as traffic control.
A city spokeswoman told the Journal last month that the Trump campaign “made it clear that they would not reimburse the City for those ancillary costs that occurred outside of the event.”
The Trump campaign did, however, pay the $146,489 for the Santa Ana Star Center rental, catering, law enforcement/security, parking and more.
“The City of Rio Rancho’s goal in September 2019 was to prevent damage to property, personal injuries or lawsuits, all while respecting the rights of rally participants and protesters,” Rio Rancho City Manager David Campbell said in a news release. “With solid planning, collaboration with community partners, and some additional resources, we achieved this result. While the loss of one day’s productivity was a large component of the City’s rally-related costs, we are pleased that the event came off without harm to the public or property.”
The city says it made some money on the event — $3,675 from vendors who sold merchandise and $4,690 from the privately managed Star Center as reimbursement for emergency responder presence inside of the event.
The city of Albuquerque made national news last month when it joined a growing list of communities to bill Trump’s campaign for costs associated with such visits. It sent a $211,175.94 invoice to the campaign, which included police time and paying employees for hours not worked due to U.S. Secret Service-required closure of city buildings.
A city of Albuquerque spokeswoman said Tuesday the campaign had not paid the bill.