In just more than two years, the federal government has stuck the District with more than $1.3 million in costs for escorting VIPs around the city.
From fiscal 2004 until the first quarter of fiscal 2006 — the latest date for which figures were available — the District had to pick up the tab for overtime and staff costs for escorting the president, vice president and other dignitaries around the capital, according to records provided by the D.C. finance office.
Staffing costs run particularly high because the D.C. police department tries to use off-duty officers to run the motorcades so that it doesn’t have to pull on-duty officers from their beats — a practice that often triggers overtime rates.
District officials have been frustrated by the expense of the motorcades for years but say there’s little they can do about it.
U.S. law requires towns and cities to help protect national leaders and foreign dignitaries, but it doesn’t require the government to cover costs associated with the protection.
“At least once a year, we engage [the White House] in discussion on this issue,” Ed Reiskin, deputy mayor for public safety and justice, said in an e-mail to The Examiner. “So far, to no avail.”
Vincent Morris, spokesman for D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, said the problem is aggravated by the fact that the District doesn’t have a voting member in Congress and therefore has little leverage.
“We’ve struggled with this issue for many years,” Morris wrote in an e-mail.
Neither federal nor District officials would say how many officers are tied up in motorcades. But the numbers are set by the U.S. Secret Service.
Secret Service spokeswoman Kimberly Bruce said local police are desperately needed. “Otherwise we couldn’t get our motorcades through town,” she said. “We understand it puts a big burden on the communities but we’re not equipped for it.”
A price tag on safety
The amount the District has spent on staffing federal motorcades in recent years:
» Fiscal 2004: $283,763
» Fiscal 2005: $821,320
» Fiscal 2006: $227,187 (first quarter only)
Source: D.C. finance office
