Presidential Greenwich Visit Cost Town $22,000 for Security Detail

This week’s presidential visit to Greenwich that infused the coffers of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee will end up costing Greenwich taxpayers.

According to Greenwich Police James Heavey, there isn’t any mechanism for the department to be reimbursed for the approximately $22,000 it cost to provide security for President Barack Obama’s Oct. 7 visit to attend the fund-raising dinner at the Conyers Farm estate of longtime Democratic supporters Richard and Ellen Schapps Richman.

The $22,000 for the Presidential visit is in addition to the $15,300 it cost to provide the security detail for Vice President Joe Biden who visited town for a fund-raiser on Aug. 20.

Heavey said of the expenses, “I will not seek additional monies from (Board of Estimate and Taxation and the Representative Town Meeting) at this time but we are still only in the second quarter of the fiscal year.”

In contrast, when Republic New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie visited Greenwich to attend three fund-raisers with gubernatorial candidate Tom Foley on July 21, there wasn’t additional cost to the town. Heavey said, “On-duty personnel and his own security was sufficient to cover his security requirements which are different than a presidential protection detail.”

Heavey wouldn’t say how many officers were involved in the Obama and Biden visits. “We do not comment on the actual details of a security plan but we utilized Special Officers and Fire Police personnel, who are volunteers, to supplement our operation in addition to officers from every division in the department (operations, patrol, detective).”

Heavey added, “The command staff did an excellent job in coordinating the efforts of many other agencies and jurisdictions. This also assisted us in training our EOC (Emergency Operations Center) and volunteer personnel in responding to disasters and other emergencies. I am very proud at the high level of dedication and professionalism of all the members of the department.”

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White House Press Pool Photo: President Barack Obama walks off Marine One after arriving for a fundraiser, on Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014, in Greenwich, for a Democratic fundraiser. Credit: AP Photo/Evan Vucci.