To put it bluntly, the City of Newport Beach says it's not giving away its time, even to the current and perhaps future President of the United States. City officials say they can't do that when overtime for a Lieutenant costs 97 dollars per hour.
The City will calculate its costs for Mitt Romney's two hour private fundraiser Friday night at the Balboa Bay club and send him an invoice, just as city officials did when President Obama came to Newport in February.
Back then, police say they had to provide crowd control, close off streets, and place detectives in the field for a private breakfast that cost supporters between $2,500 and $10,000 each.
The security costs add up. The bill for the event came to $35,043.04. The Obama for America Campaign is supposed to pay the bill by June 9.
"No matter what political persuasion, if you’re coming here to raise money, it should not be a taxpayer expense," said Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff.
The presumptive GOP nominee hopscotched the Southland Thursday and Friday. Romney was in Riverside Friday morning at the Victoria Country Club, just hours after he attended a $50,000 per couple fundraiser in Beverly Crest.
Residents seem to agree that politicians should reimburse cities for extra costs associated with their fund raising. It doesn't seem to be a political issue.
Local
Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
"They get a lot of donations at these things," said hairdresser Sima Azmoudeh. "They can spend some of that on the cities where they go and disrupt operations."
Follow NBCLA for the latest LA news, events and entertainment: iPhone/iPad App | Facebook | Twitter | Google+ | Instagram | RSS | Text Alerts | Email Alerts
