From: KERNS Pete M Date: June 22, 2016 at 4:05:34 PM PDTSubject: Presidential Campaign Visit Expenses
We are seeking about $92,300 from the Donald Trump Campaign to reimburse expenses associated with providing security during the campaign visit to the Lane Events Center. The cost drivers broke out as follows:• Police overtime added up to $78,000
• Fire overtime $6,800• Other City overtime $3,000
• Materials and supplies $4,500 (meals and other expenses for the more than 170 police and civilian personnel assigned to the event)
This is probably the highest cost of any campaign visit for which we've provided security. The challenges were unique and unlike any we've seen. We not only had the responsibility of ensuring the safety of a presidential candidate in a large venue with an enormous exterior footprint, but we also provided for a safe environment for people to express their opinions. Campaign rallies have been the site of violence and rioting in cities like Eugene before the visit here and there has been violence and rioting in at least one city after the visit. To put this into perspective, the last time President Obama visited Eugene, at a time where there was no trend toward violence at campaign rallies, the cost was about $29,000. During the May 2016 Trump event, the combination of ensuring the safety of the candidate, preventing violence in the venue, maintaining a secure perimeter of the fairgrounds fence-line and keeping the peace between supporters and counter protesters was a sizable task. Some of the cost was generated by the days of planning that went into preparing for the visit. Fortunately we had the assistance of about 100 officers, deputies and troopers from Portland, Springfield, Lane County, Multnomah County and Oregon State Police, all of which was provided at no cost to our City.
We have sent an invoice for the City's expenses to the Lane County Events Center. These will be sent by Lane County to the Trump Campaign as a request for reimbursement. In the meantime, expenses for police overtime, materials and supplies were paid with vacancy savings in this year's EPD budget. A reimbursement from the campaign would be deposited in the general fund. When police intervene in a riot stemming from political demonstrations the risk of litigation is high. Even a modest adjudication that includes attorney fees will well exceed the total expense for this event. To manage emotional demonstrations effectively requires early collaboration with organizers and an adequate police presence that projects a professional and courteous image. I am pleased with the planning that went into ensuring a safe visit by a presidential candidate and for the peaceful expression of opinions. In this case there was not a single incident in which police were called upon to use force. Not one arrest was made. We received a number of commendations from media and community members for the professional and courteous work of our officers and, aside from a question about temporarily blocking a bicycle path, not one complaint.