Fresno foots hefty bill for Presidential candidate security

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- As the Presidential candidates prepare for the national conventions, cities along the campaign trail are left with big bills.

That includes Fresno, which provided security at rallies for Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton.

In total, the city paid more than $51,000 for the rallies. That was overtime for officers not normally scheduled to work on those days.

And although some say the candidates should pay the bill, the police chief says that's just not the way it works.

Each rally attracted hundreds of people - some inside, many outside.

And even though it cost the city more than $51,000, Dyer says being there is a part of their job.

"At this point in time, it's the cost of doing business to keep your city safe," Dyer said. "We wanted to make sure that people could come, attend the rally, protest, everyone be safe and go home safe, and that was what occurred."

Whether it's for a President or a candidate, police presence is a request from the secret service.

But Donald Trump's arrival made them plan a bit differently, even reaching out to other agencies for help.

"What differed in this one was the fact that we have never seen a Presidential nominee rally draw so many people on the outside of the event for the purpose of protesting," Dyer explained.

Over 200 officers were working the Trump rally, making it the most expensive.

And although it's a cost they didn't anticipate, he says it's still not a big hit to their overtime budget of about $3.5 million.

"The truth of the matter is, when you look at it, is it really the responsibility of the Trump party to pay for the policing of those individuals who came to protest?" Dyer asked. "We either bill all of them or none of them. In this case, we're not sending bills."

And for some people, that's a bitter pill to swallow.

"It's a lot of money to spend on that kind of thing," Rosario Cardenas of Fresno said. "They need the money for the citizens for whatever they need, for the people here."

"They should be paying for their own campaign," resident Haley Meissner said. "They should be paying for their own stuff."