New Castle Seeks to Recoup Police OT Costs for Clinton Security
Chappaqua has been the home of Bill and Hillary Clinton since before they left the White House in 2001.
But having that distinction last year looks like it may cost the Town of New Castle tens of thousands of dollars it hadn’t planned on spending.
Town officials plan to contact Rep. Nita Lowey in hopes of getting reimbursed for police overtime associated with helping the Secret Service provide additional protection for Hillary Clinton during a portion of last year’s presidential campaign.
Supervisor Robert Greenstein said that the town was on the hook for expenses to provide extra police service after it was apparent that Clinton would be the Democratic nominee.
“She’s a candidate for president and we have to provide police service because she’s a candidate for president and we didn’t get reimbursed because she didn’t win. That’s ridiculous,” Greenstein said.
While Town Administrator Jill Shapiro was unable to provide precise overtime expenses for the police service for Old House Lane, the street where the Clintons live, according to a Mar. 10 communication from Comptroller Robert Deary, the majority of the town’s overtime of $159,197.91 that went over budget last year was as a result of that service.
Shapiro said the extra coverage started on June 7 and lasted through Election Day. The town’s responsibility of additional police service took effect whenever Hillary Clinton was at home during that five-month period, she said.
The cost of the regular level of Secret Service protection provided the former president and first lady does not cost the town extra money, Shapiro added.
Greenstein said he wasn’t optimistic that the town would recoup any portion of the money, but thought it was worth the effort to make the request to Lowey.
“Considering our history when Bill Clinton was president and how long it took us to get reimbursed for that, I’m really not very hopeful, but I think we should try,” he said. “It’s writing a letter to our congresswoman, which is not that big a deal. But I can’t say that I’m hopeful.”
Last August, a few weeks after Hillary Clinton officially became the nominee, Old House Lane was blocked by the town to anyone who didn’t live on the street or needed to reach one of the other houses for the remainder of the campaign amid security concerns.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/