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President-elect's visit costs local law enforcement agencies

Posted at 5:34 PM, Nov 23, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-23 17:34:02-05
President-elect Donald Trump arrived in West Palm Beach on Tuesday evening and security was a priority.
 
"It's a tremendous effort," said Stuart Kaplan, a former FBI agent. 
 
The Secret Service is the lead organization but federal agents can't do it all on their own. 
 
"Local law enforcement is really a very critical component to work with the Secret Service," Kaplan said. 
 
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deployed several deputies to work on traffic, perimeter and crowd control. 
 
"More visible police uniform presence is very import and very integral in protecting the president," Kaplan said. 
 
The presence by local law enforcement quickly adds up. New York City predicts it will cost the city $1 million a day to make sure the President-elect and his family is safe. 
 
"This is a very substantial undertaking," said New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. "It will take substantial resources. And we will begin the conversation with the federal government shortly on reimbursement for the NYPD for some of the costs that we are incurring."
 
Three local agencies are involved with the security measures surrounding the President-elect's visit to Mar-a-Lago over Thanksgiving.
 
The Palm Beach County's Sheriff's Office told NewsChannel 5 the sheriff will also ask the federal government for reimbursement.
 
Palm Beach Police did not respond to our inquiry in time for this story.
 
The West Palm Beach Police Department, which is the least involved agency of the three, said they had three officers involved and 10 1/2 hours of overtime yesterday.
 
"Local law enforcement can in fact seek reimbursement from the federal government," Kaplan said. 
 
However, he admitted they might not get it.  
 
While local law enforcement tallies the cost for this visit, past visits might be a predictor for the future.
 
President Obama's weekend visit to the St. Lucie County in the summer cost the county agencies $65,000 in taxpayer money.
 
PBSO officials said they will not have a final figure of the President-elect's visit until after he leaves the area, which is expected to be sometime late Sunday or early Monday.