Sheriff, Loveland police won't bill Trump for rally visit

The Larimer County Sheriff's Office, which provided more than half of law enforcement staff during Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's rally visit to Loveland on Monday, will not seek reimbursement from the campaign.

The reason, LCSO says, is simple: History has shown they won't get paid.

Loveland Police Department also will not bill the campaign. Fort Collins Police Services will.

Exact cost of the visit to taxpayers is unknown, but past presidential candidate visits to Northern Colorado have cost law enforcement upwards of $100,000.

Trump's campaign has already paid a $20,000 booking fee to the Budweiser Events Center.

LCSO provided 58 of the 108 personnel from the three agencies providing security for the campaign visit at Budweiser Events Center. LCSO spokesman David Moore couldn't provide an estimated cost but said the office is "already stretched very thin" and "budgets are extremely tight with all the overtime we've had to work this year."

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LCSO has tried and failed to bill campaigns for costs associated with their visits, so the agency didn't bother billing the campaign, said Moore, who called the issue "frustrating."

Some of the LCSO personnel were volunteers, which helped reduce costs.

FCPS billed Trump's campaign $5,860 for sending 19 personnel to control traffic in and out of the event, spokeswoman Kate Kimble said.

It's unclear if they'll get paid. FCPS efforts to bill President Barack Obama's re-election campaign for his 2012 visit to Colorado State University were unsuccessful.

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“It usually gets stuck to the locals, and that creates some grinding of teeth,” FCPS Lt. Jim Byrne said in a previous Coloradoan article. “We don’t have it in our budget. When NewWestFest puts on their festival, they pay for the services we provide in terms of public safety. When the candidates come, getting them to pay can be like pulling teeth.”

Loveland police used 31 personnel for the visit. Sgt. Jeff Pyle said costs were not "excessive."

"We don't bill candidates; we never have," he said. "Our primary responsibility is the safety of the community, and the Secret Service takes care of the actual (candidate)."