Tab for Trump will be shared

Taxpayers nationwide to help pay security costs

Palm Beach County taxpayers won’t have to bear the full burden of the growing local security costs of President Donald Trump’s frequent visits to his Mar-aLago Club. Under a federal budget deal struck over the weekend, the cost will be covered by taxpayers across the country.

The spending agreement includes $61 million from the federal government to defray those security costs. There are catches, however.

The money isn’t just for Palm Beach County. New York, where Trump spent most of his time as president-elect, is also in line to get its local security expenses reimbursed.

The allocation runs through Sept 30. Whether it’s actually enough to cover Trump-related security costs incurred by local governments depends on how much travel Trump does in coming months.

Still, U.S. Reps. Ted Deutch and Lois Frankel hailed the allocation. Deutch and

Frankel, both Democrats who represent parts of Palm Beach County, have pushed for the federal government to cover the security costs incurred — paid until now by local taxpayers — whenever Trump visits. Most of that cost has been incurred by the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office, which is funded largely through local property taxes.

“The citizens of South Florida shouldn’t be on the hook every time the president comes down here,” Deutch said Monday after a news conference in Dania Beach on other issues.

Frankel, in a telephone interview, said as a matter of fairness local taxpayers shouldn’t have to pick up the tab for security costs every time Trump visits. “Taxpayers are still paying for it, but spread over a bigger population,” she said. “If the president comes to town, he’s got to be protected.”

The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office estimates that it has cost about $3.7 million to help provide security during Trump’s visits since he was elected. That includes expenses for the Sheriff ’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies.

The Palm Beach Police Department estimates that it has racked up about $115,000 in personnel expenses related to presidential visits.

Sheriff Ric Bradshaw, who coordinates the local law enforcement response with the Secret Service, was out of the office Monday but has said he raised the issue with the president during one of Trump’s visits.

The Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the proposed federal funding, “until all the logistics get resolved,” spokeswoman Teri Barbera said.

“We understand that a lot has to be considered before the costs can be reimbursed,” Barbera said.

Getting congressional approval was expected to be the difficulty. The proposal unveiled Monday could deliver that money, though the check isn’t in the mail yet.

Congressional votes to approve the proposed spending deal could come by the end of the week.

“It was bipartisan, so hopefully we can count on those dollars,” County Administrator Verdenia Baker said. “We will be hoping that this goes through.”

Concerns about growing costs from presidential visits have prompted county officials to suggest dipping into taxes on tourists or even creating a special tax on Mar-aLago to help cover the expenses.

The bipartisan federal spending deal struck over the weekend by congressional leaders contains two allocations of money — one for $20 million and one for $41 million — aimed at defraying Trump security costs incurred by local communities since Trump was elected president. Congress is expected to vote on the agreement, which covers federal spending for the rest of the federal fiscal year, this week.

The spending measure contains $20 million for costs incurred by local governments spent protecting Trump when he was president-elect. That amount is in addition to $7 million allocated in earlier spending legislation for pre-inauguration costs. That money will be funneled through the U.S. Department of Justice, Deutch said.

The new measure calls for $41 million to reimburse communities for the costs of security after Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, Frankel and Deutch said

Deutch said the money covering post-inaugural security costs will come through the Secret Service, which handles presidential protection. Frankel said the language of the provision allows for reimbursement of extraordinary law enforcement personnel costs directly attributable to activities requested by the director of the Secret Service. It doesn’t allow for hiring of new personnel, she said.

U.S. Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican who represents northern Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties, said the spending legislation is a positive step because it is bipartisan.

Frankel said the Florida and New York congressional delegations joined to push for the appropriation. Trump spent most of his time before the inauguration at Trump Tower in New York and elsewhere in the city, which incurred its own security costs.

Deutch said a distribution formula hasn’t yet been worked out, so it’s unclear how much other jurisdictions might be able to tap into the pot of money. With the social season ending in Palm Beach, Trump might spend some of his off time at other properties he owns, including a golf course in New Jersey.

Frankel said other jurisdictions where Trump spends time would be able to tap into the money. She said she thinks the appropriation is sufficient to cover the remaining months of the federal fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30

“We’re trying to figure out how many places will have the opportunity to claim some of the money. The one thing that’s clear is that the president traveled to Florida — he was in Florida seven times, a quarter of the first 100 days of his presidency, practically — so going forward we’ll see where he winds up going,” Deutch said.

While Deutch welcomed the federal aid, he said no American taxpayer should have to subsidize weekends the president spends golfing at properties branded with his name. Deutch said Trump should pay for the security costs himself if he’s going to continue to use his own properties as his weekend vacation spots.

He also said he’s concerned about the conflicts of interest presented by Trump’s activities. “When you come to Mara-Lago on a regular basis knowing that it’s driving up the value of the club that the president still owns, it raises ethical issues,” Deutch said.

He also said national security issues need to be addressed, citing the widely reported incident in which Trump discussed a response to a North Korean missile launch in the open on a Mar-aLago terrace with the prime minister of Japan.

Frankel said there are still local hardships that haven’t been addressed. There isn’t any money to cover the losses for businesses at the Lantana Airport that must shut down because of security-related flight restrictions imposed when Trump is at Mar-aLago.