HARRISBURG — New records obtained by Spotlight PA show Pennsylvania is planning to spend just shy of $1.1 million in public dollars for security upgrades to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s private family home in the Philadelphia suburbs, including $311,000 for a new security system and nearly $290,000 for landscaping and other groundskeeping.
The upgrades, the Shapiro administration has said, were recommended by Pennsylvania State Police after a middle-of-the-night arson attack earlier this year on the state-owned mansion for the governor some 100 miles away in Harrisburg. Shapiro and his family were asleep inside at the time, but no one was injured.
As work to repair the millions of dollars in fire damage at the mansion was ongoing, State Police also began quietly paying for security upgrades to Shapiro’s house in Montgomery County — a fact that was only disclosed by the administration in a letter in late October to a handful of top state lawmakers.
Publicly-funded upgrades to an elected official’s private home or other assets are rare. That is because the state has strict ethics rules that broadly prohibit public officials from personally benefiting from their positions.
Shapiro’s office has stressed that the upgrades were recommended by law enforcement for the governor’s personal safety. Administration officials have also said that before carrying out any of the security improvements at the governor’s family home, the governor consulted with the State Ethics Commission to ensure there was no improper financial gain. Shapiro, like former governors, splits his time between living in the state-owned mansion when in Harrisburg, and his private home.
In early October, the commission issued an opinion saying that the security upgrades — which the governor’s office did not detail or even broadly describe to the commission when asking for guidance — did not constitute a personal benefit, given the governor’s position in state government and the circumstances that necessitated the work.
Using the state’s Right-to-Know Law, Spotlight PA requested invoices, purchase orders, and other financial records detailing the security upgrades.
The records, provided by State Police, show that the upgrades are expected to cost just over $1,075,000. They also provide the first details of what taxpayer dollars are paying for at the governor’s private home.
The documents also confirm that some of the contractors began billing for work at the governor’s house as early as mid-August, or about two months before the ethics commission issued its opinion.
A spokesman for the governor did not respond to questions about the timing of the upgrades.
One company, Facility Optimization Solutions, billed State Police $7,560.11 for licensing and development fees on Aug. 13, according to the invoice.
That invoice, however, estimated the total job order would cost $138,717.60, and noted that it is for “Governor’s Home Security System and Fencing Install.” The dates of service are listed from Aug. 13 through the end of this month.
Spotlight PA has learned from two sources with knowledge of the purchase that though the state bought the fencing — which was nonrefundable — it did not end up being installed at the Shapiros’ house. It is not clear why, or whether the fencing can be repurposed.
Another company, I.B. Able, expects to charge State Police $598,527.12 for multiple items and services, according to a copy of the purchase order. The order was issued late last month, but lists its effective date as Aug. 12.
The company’s work includes $311,230.50 for a security system, $44,026.91 for electrical work to install the system, and $107,073.75 for engineering and design fees.
A third contractor, Lobar Associates, turned in a purchase order for $446,686.18 for work and services it will provide between mid-August and the end of this year.
That includes $12,207.15 for general construction; $81,043.84 for tree trimming; $17,968.50 for trenching to install the security system; and $288,736 for landscaping and maintenance involving the exterior grounds.
It also includes $2,327.71 for “door work,” $4,832.95 for light pole bases, and $5,430.66 for placing boulders around the home. There is also an $18,390.43 charge for an item that is redacted in the records State Police officials provided. When turning over the records, State Police officials said they removed information that could jeopardize public safety or cause a “substantial and demonstrable risk of physical harm to or the personal security of an individual” or building.
Those officials have also said some of those costs are not finalized and might change. As a result, it is not yet possible to calculate the final price tag.
One state lawmaker, however, has said the administration owes the public a more robust explanation.
Sen. Jarrett Coleman (R., Lehigh), who chairs the chamber’s Intergovernmental Operations Committee, has threatened to subpoena the administration as early as next week for detailed financial and other records about the security upgrades at the Montgomery County house.
His committee had been set to vote on the subpoenas late last month, but pulled back at the 11th hour.
The senator said at the time he would give the administration until Thursday of this week to provide the requested records, which also include emails, texts, and other written communications about how the decision was made to use public money for the upgrades. A spokesperson for the governor at the time called the threat of subpoenas a “partisan stunt.”
In a statement late Thursday, Coleman’s office said it had received some information, but the senator called it “woefully inadequate.”
“I was very clear about the information being requested, when I expected it by, and what the next steps would look like if it wasn’t provided,” Coleman said.