ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has referred former President Donald Trump’s campaign to a collection agency over nonpayment of a bill related to security costs for a campaign rally he held in 2019.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said the bill for $211,175.94 covers security costs stemming from Trump’s overnight stay in Albuquerque before the rally in Rio Rancho on Sept. 16, 2019.
The costs include blocking access to parts of downtown, paying overtime for police officers and covering paid time off for city workers who had to stay home.
“We actually treated it like any other debt, and so it goes through a somewhat process where you send a bunch of letters out,” Keller said. “We got no response from those letters. And then automatically, it does go to an agency that helps try and collect debts.”
City spokesperson Lorena Sanchez said the city resent the bill originally addressed to New York-based Donald J. Trump for President Inc. to a new address at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Sanchez said the collections agency is still pursing the issue.
Keller appeared on the Daily Show and said he does not expect the collections agency to get any money from Trump.
“I don’t really expect us to get paid,” he said. “But it’s important that we do, and you know, we would do it for anyone else, so he’s no different.”
The Albuquerque Journal reported that the Trump campaign told Public Integrity in 2020 that the U.S. Secret Service — not the campaign — should get the bills for public safety costs associated with rallies. The Secret Service said it does not receive funding for such expenses.
KOB-TV reached out to the Trump campaign to find out if it plans on paying Albuquerque. The campaign replied with an email that stated the campaign is “reviewing your request.”
