The El Paso City Council voted 6-2 to direct the city manager and city attorney to develop a policy to safeguard taxpayers from covering public safety and venue costs when candidates visit the city on the campaign trail. The policy would include an upfront deposit to cover projected event costs.

Background

The proposal was prompted by an investigation that revealed the City of El Paso did not discuss costs with then-President Donald Trump’s campaign before his February 11, 2019, re-election rally at the El Paso County Coliseum. The city remains impacted by the past campaign visit, with a $600,000 bill from the Trump campaign still unpaid.

City Council Rep. Lily Limon highlighted Trump’s rally, noting that the city had efforts to collect, but there was no request for an advanced deposit or payment. Limon clarified that the proposed policy is forward-looking and addresses future scenarios, not specifically past presidential visits.

At the time of the event, the campaign paid a $5,000 rental fee and an additional $1,000 non-refundable deposit for the Coliseum. However, the city billed Trump’s campaign more than $470,000 about a month after the event, records show. A one-time 21% delinquency fee later increased the total bill to nearly $570,000.

Policy Development

City staff will present the developed policy to the council within 60 days. The policy aims to prevent similar situations in the future by requiring candidates to pay upfront deposits for public safety and venue costs.

City Council Rep. Art Fierro sought to clarify the proposed process for candidates, asking if a candidate renting a facility would have to pay “the rent, the fee, the deposits, everything upfront like everybody else who rents from the city?” City Manager Dionne Mack confirmed that this would be the case.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.