Sullivan: Selectmen Will Likely Vote on Obama Costs

Town Administrator Dave Sullivan said on Friday that an agenda item for the next Board of Selectmen meeting will likely be added to address whether the town should pay public safety costs for tomorrow's visit from President Barack Obama.

That next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 27, and Sullivan indicated that it is ultimately up to the board members to make a decision. He added that a vote could take place earlier, but a special meeting would have to be called.

Sullivan said that he has spoken with every board member but Phil LoChiatto and that the board is split on the subject.

A rough estimate of public safety costs given by Sullivan earlier this week indicated that there will be a bill of $4,600 for the Obama visit. Current numbers from Sullivan this morning have increased that cost to between $5,000 and $6,000.

Selectman Chair Bruce Breton has publicly stated that he wants the campaign to reimburse the funds.

LoChiatto agreed with Breton today, indicating that the nature of the visit requires reimbursement.

"If you are here in an official capacity as President of the United States, the town should do what it needs to do to take care of security measures," he said. "As a campaigner, his campaign should pay for whatever that (cost) is."

Selectman Roger Hohenberger said that he is "strongly leaning" toward the town paying the bill, and that if Sullivan comes back and tells him that Windham has never back-billed a campaign in the past, it will seal the deal for him.

"We're footing the bill to pay for police and fire that are there for the people," he said. "I don't think the police and fire are specifically to support him. We're really supporting the people that are going to the high school to see him. Those are mostly townspeople."

Selectman Kathleen DiFruscia did not lean one direction or another, saying that she wants to have a conversation with the whole board to hear what the other members have to say.

She also criticized what she called Breton's decision to "step forward and unilaterally speak for the (Board of Selectmen)" on the issue. DiFruscia called the media attention an embarrasment, saying that the headline should be that Windham is welcoming the President of the United States to the community, regardless of party affiliation.

Board member Ross McLeod was not immediately available for comment.

Americans for Prosperity – New Hampshire sent a letter to Breton, Sullivan and the police and fire chiefs asking which budget line item will cover the cost of a political visit.

AFP-NH Director Corey Lewandowski, also a Windham resident, questioned whether another line item approved by town voters will be cut to cover the fees of the campaign stop.

Sullivan issued the following response to Lewandowski this morning:

Any salary expenses associated with this issue, estimated to be around $5,000 - $6,000 based on current numbers, would come from the Police and Fire overtime accounts. If the Board elects to bill the campaign for these costs, the expenses would be transferred to the Public Safety Contracted Services Account and billed out accordingly.

At this point in the year no line items will be reduced due to these costs as we operate on a "bottom line" budget and it has not been determined with four months to go in the year whether it would be necessary to reduce any expenses due to these costs.

The school district indicated earlier this week that other costs associated with the visit will be paid for by the campaign through the standard rental agreement.

According to School District Business Administrator Adam Steel, that agreement charges political groups only for custodial overtime and utility charges of $20 per hour.