Trump's Park City Rally Cost Local Agencies More Than $200,000 in Overtime and Equipment

Figures from Sedgwick County and the Wichita Police Department show that President Donald Trump's Oct. 19 midterm rally in Park City cost local agencies more than $200,000. The agencies expect the Republican National Committee to reimburse the money.

The Wichita Police Department said it assigned 174 employees to support the visit. That work produced 1,215 hours of overtime at a total cost of $112,544.79. The department said the resources included the Bomb Squad, SWAT, motorcycle units and personnel assigned to traffic control along the motorcade route. Some employees were also held over to keep up coverage of routine 911 calls while other personnel supported the event.

WPD Captain Aaron Moses confirmed the plan to seek repayment. "WPD plans to submit a request for reimbursement to the Republican National Committee for overtime expenses associated with the visit," he told 12 News.

Sedgwick County submitted its own breakdown to the RNC for overtime and equipment costs, totaling $100,004.89. The largest piece was 801.5 hours worked by the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office, at a cost of $60,574.28. Additional support from Fire District 1 and Sedgwick County EMS came to about $28,600. Public Works accounted for $7,316.62, and Sedgwick County Emergency Communications for $1,977.36.

Within the county's total, equipment costs from the fire department and Public Works came to $1,454.27. Overtime pay to support the event reached $98,550.62 for 1,455.3 hours.

The Park City rally will likely be the president's only stop in Kansas before the midterm election on Nov. 3. The Kansas Republican Party confirmed on Thursday that it had canceled a rally planned for Saturday in Salina.

Party officials said Trump is changing his approach for the final push to boost Republican congressional candidates. Those include Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall, the incumbent, who is in a tight race with Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton.

Rob Fillion, executive director of the Kansas Republican Party, said the president decided to hold tele-town halls before the general election in order to reach more voters. "Salina and Kansas are very important to our nation, but there are a lot of other races that are in play," Fillion said. He added that the president being able to "hit multiple locations at the same time is probably more valuable for his time."