Garrity says State Treasury has no legal authority to pay for governor’s private residence security upgrades
Pennsylvania State Treasurer Stacy Garrity, also the probable Republican nominee for governor, announced on Thursday that the Treasury Department has declined to pay for security upgrades to Governor Josh Shapiro’s private residence after his official Harrisburg residence was attacked last year.
“Treasury does not have the legal authority to use taxpayer funds for improvements to private property,” Garrity said in a statement Thursday.
Spotlight PA had reported earlier that Pennsylvania was planning to spend just shy of $1.1 million in public dollars for security upgrades to Shapiro’s private family home in Abington, including $311,000 for a new security system and nearly $290,000 for landscaping and other groundskeeping.
Pennsylvania State Police had approved the use of public funds for the upgrades, which Garrity said the Treasury formally rejected paying.
“Payment requests for security construction upgrades to the Governor’s private home with state funds is unprecedented,” Garrity said, adding a claim that State Police “simply ignored the statutory limits and restrictions on spending and procurement.”
Saying that the Treasury is bound to fiscal rules set by state lawmakers and the state’s fiscal code, she said any capital projects that cost more than $600,000 require “explicit authorization” and were not included in the State Police’s budget requests.
“Without authorization for these expenses, we simply cannot approve the payment,” Garrity concluded. She also insisted the decision is not related to her campaign, and acknowledged that the Treasury would pay if lawmakers add the renovations to the state budget.
The Shapiro For PA campaign was swift with its condemnation of Garrity’s decision.
“This is an unprecedented, shameful political attack from Stacy Garrity,” said spokesperson Manuel Bonder on social media. “She is brazenly using the Treasury to go after the Governor, his family, and the State Police after an assassination attempt. Unbelievable, even for Garrity, who seemingly can always find a new low.”
On the official side, Rosie Lapowsky, a spokesperson for Governor Shapiro’s office, called the move “completely unprecedented and shameful political action without legal basis.”
“PSP authorized these payments to fulfill a core mission of their duties – to protect the Governor and his family after the Governor’s Residence was firebombed and rendered uninhabitable for several months,” said Lapowsky. “PSP is exploring all options to ensure the State Police’s authority is protected and the vendors who completed this work are paid in full. The Treasurer should put partisanship aside, follow the law, and show some humanity for a family that has experienced real trauma, the state troopers who protect them every day, and the vendors and workers who the Treasurer has now refused to pay.”
Steve Ulrich is the managing editor of PoliticsPA, where this article originally appeared.
