Pennsylvania treasurer says ‘no’ to taxpayers footing $1M in security upgrades at Shapiro’s home

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s treasurer refused Thursday to approve payments for more than $1 million in security systems and other upgrades to the private home of Gov. Josh Shapiro, changes that were made after an intruder set fire to the state-owned governor’s residence last year in an attempt to kill the Democrat.

The treasurer, Republican Stacy Garrity, said there is no legal authorization to use taxpayer dollars to reimburse contractors for the security upgrades on private property, even the private home of a governor.

The Pennsylvania State Police submitted the reimbursement requests to the Treasury Department, but “appear to have simply ignored the statutory limits and restrictions on spending and procurement,” Garrity said in a news conference in her offices.

The state police have other options to get taxpayer dollars to underwrite the work, which has already been done and included building a security fence. That includes asking lawmakers to explicitly authorize the payments or entering the state’s settlement process for disputes between contractors and state agencies, Garrity said.

Shapiro, who is considered a potential top tier contender for the White House in the 2028 presidential election, is running for re-election this year for a second term as governor. Following last year’s attack, he emerged as a prominent voice in condemning political violence.

Garrity is expected to be Shapiro’s main opponent in the fall election. She is both endorsed by the state GOP and uncontested for the GOP nomination in Pennsylvania’s May 19 primary election.

The treasurer said the decision wasn’t political and that “I don’t play these kind of political games.” The state police had no immediate response Thursday to questions about Garrity’s decision.

The security upgrades at the governor’s residence were something of a secret until the state police informed lawmakers about it in a letter last fall. In it, the Cabinet official in charge of state property told lawmakers that “the threat to a high-profile elected official like Governor Shapiro does not end when he leaves the Governor’s Residence.”

State officials haven’t detailed those upgrades, citing safety reasons. Shapiro, his wife and two of his four children still live in the private residence, in Abington, in suburban Philadelphia.

However, the upgrades spawned dueling lawsuits between the Shapiros and a neighbor over who rightfully owns a parcel of land between the two properties.

Last year, lawmakers approved more than $22 million for renovations and security improvements to the governor’s state-owned residence, where the Shapiros often stay. Those renovations included an “anti-climb” iron fence that is much higher than the one scaled by the intruder, Cody Balmer.

Balmer last year pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Shapiro. Under a plea deal, Balmer was sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison, far less than he could have faced if the case had gone to trial.

He climbed over an 7-foot (2=meter) iron security fence in the middle of the night, eluded two state troopers stationed at the residence and used beer bottles filled with gasoline to set fire to the residence, just hours after Shapiro had hosted a Passover seder to celebrate the first night of the Jewish holiday.

The fire forced Shapiro, his wife, children and members of his extended family to flee, as firefighters battled the blaze. The residence, built in the 1960s along the Susquehanna River in Harrisburg, was badly damaged, but has since been renovated.

___

Follow Marc Levy at http://twitter.com/timelywriter