President Obama's visit to Charlottesville at the end of October to campaign for Rep. Tom Perriello, D-Charlottesville, cost thousands in overtime payment to city and county employees.
City spokesperson Ric Barrick said the final expense - which the Perriello campaign has agreed to reimburse in full - is expected to be between $15,000 and $20,000. In addition to some costs not yet reported to the sheriff's office, this figure includes expenses for the city's police and fire departments. Charlottesville Police Lt. Gary Pleasants said city police overtime costs total $15,178. In addition, Charlottesville Fire Chief Charles Werner reported $2,228 in overtime expenses.
Pleasants said the two main causes for expenses were traffic and security measures. Officers were stationed all along Route 29 and surrounding Charlottesville Pavilion, where the rally took place.
"We had officers in uniform on the motorcade route and had to shut down traffic," Pleasants said. "We also had officers in and around the pavilion and officers in plainclothes spread around the area."
The event required far more work than people may have given it credit for, Barrick said. Meetings between city officials and the Secret Service began the Monday before the rally took place. The high number of on-duty officers was a Secret Service requirement that demanded the city to man the event based on the number of people expected to be in attendance, Barrick said.
Perriello campaign spokesperson Jessica Barba confirmed the congressman's intent to cover the costs to the city as soon as a final cost is reached. The money will come entirely from the campaign budget.
Because of Secret Service policy, this was a particularly welcome decision for the city.
"The Secret Service does not reimburse cities for expenses incurred, so we are grateful to the Perriello campaign," Barrick added.
Occurring just four days before the midterm election, Obama's Oct. 29 visit was a last-minute effort to push for Perriello's reelection. The number of people estimated to have crowded the Downtown Mall for the event is between 10,000 and 12,000.
Despite the large audience and the high-profile guest, Pleasants said the work required of the police department was not unusual.
"We deal with things like this in the city all the time," he said. "There are events and races. We have to shut down the city several times a year. It's just something we have to do."
Werner echoed this sentiment, adding that he has seen many important guests come through the city.
"In my 32 years, I have seen quite a few dignitaries travel in and around Charlottesville," he said, including at least seven presidential or vice presidential visits and a visit from the emperor of Japan.\nBut even though such visits are not so unusual, Werner said they can have negative effects.
"Overall I think it does put a burden on the city's resources, but this is what we do for the city," Werner said.
Nevertheless, Barrick said he believes the event to be an overall financial gain for the city. He spoke with downtown business owners, noting that - although it is difficult to know exactly what is attributable to the event - many of these people had positive things to say.
"I am pretty confident that this had a good boost to downtown," Barrick said.
Regardless of the consequences, many see the visit as a significant event for Charlottesville.
"We all need to remember that it is an honor to have the president in our city," Barba said. "It shines the national spotlight on the area"
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