Pennsylvania taxpayers fund $1M in security upgrades to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s private home

Taxpayers are paying for roughly $1 million in security upgrades to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s private home in Montgomery County, according to information the administration disclosed to top lawmakers about its expenditures in the aftermath of the brazen arson attack on the first family earlier this year.

In an Oct. 24 letter to legislative leaders, administration officials said improvements include “erecting physical and visual barriers on the property, installing enhanced security technology, and other steps.” They then noted that due to safety concerns, they could not provide more details about the work being conducted at Shapiro’s private home.

The letter, authored by Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Christopher Paris and Department of General Services Secretary Reggie McNeill, also disclosed safety upgrades totalling $32.3 million at the governor’s official residence in Harrisburg, including $8 million to retrofit the mansion with new windows that are bulletproof and shatterproof.

The attack occurred at the 29,000-square-foot mansion this past April while the governor and his family were asleep inside.

“The horrifying attack on the Governor, his family, and Commonwealth property, coupled with the unfortunate rise in political violence across our country, has made these updates necessary to protect the Governor and his family and ensure the continued operation of the executive branch of the Commonwealth,” Paris and McNeill wrote. “No family should have to live behind bulletproof glass or behind large walls ― but the nature of the threats against elected officials today require us to take these important steps.”

They added: “Unfortunately, the threat to a high-profile elected official like Governor Shapiro does not end when he leaves the Governor’s Residence.”

In a statement, Shapiro spokesperson Rosie Lapowsky said state police conducted a security review of the governor’s personal residence and recommended a number of improvements. Before carrying out any of those improvements, she said the administration “consulted the Ethics Commission … to ensure there is no improper private, pecuniary gain from these security improvements.”

Harrisburg resident Cody Balmer pleaded guilty in October to attempted murder, aggravated arson and other charges related to the attack in the dead of the night April 13. That is when Balmer scaled the perimeter fence at the governor’s official residence along the banks of the Susquehanna River, broke two windows and used crude, homemade Molotov cocktails to set fire to several rooms on the residence’s first floor.

Shapiro, his family, and friends had celebrated Passover just hours before and were asleep on the second floor of the residence when Balmer broke in. Balmer told authorities he would have beaten Shapiro with a hammer he had with him if he had encountered the governor.

The Democratic governor has said he and his family are still struggling with the emotional toll of the attack, but stressed that he will not be deterred from continuing in public service.

It is not clear what prompted Paris and McNeill’s letter. Spotlight PA in October submitted a public records request for all taxpayer-funded expenditures at the governor’s private home.

Also last week, Republican state Sen. Jarett Coleman, who chairs the chamber’s Intergovernmental Operations Committee, fired off a letter to Paris seeking similar information about physical improvements to Shapiro’s Montgomery County home, among other items.

Coleman told Spotlight PA Oct. 24 that his committee will “continue to investigate” spending at the governor’s private residence “to protect taxpayers as this unprecedented project is being completed.”

Spotlight PA in September reported that the state has spent more than $6 million to repair extensive damage from the fire at the governor’s official residence — but that the administration is shielding information about nearly a quarter of those expenses, including who was paid and exactly what the money was spent on.

The news organization has also reported that private donors have separately contributed to a fund managed by a Harrisburg-based nonprofit to help restore the mansion. So far, neither the organization nor the administration has disclosed the donors’ identities, the amount they contributed to the fund, or provided a general description of what that money has or will be used for.

In the letter sent to legislative leaders, the administration shed light on at least some of those questions. The officials said that to date, the state has submitted $4.5 million in expenses to one of its insurers, which in turn has so far approved $2 million in reimbursements.

Security upgrades and improvements to the official residence, however, are not covered by the state’s insurance plans. The security improvements — recommended by a third-party review commissioned by state police in the wake of the attack — there include

• an estimated $14 million to replace the 6-foot fence that Balmer scaled with a “single material, 10-foot barrier resistant to vehicle damage or climbing;”
• an estimated $6.3 million to install updated cameras, improve lighting, and add motion detection sensors in the residence’s yard;
• an estimated $8 million to retrofit the residence’s existing windows with bulletproof and shatterproof glass; and
• an estimated $4 million to install a comprehensive fire suppression system in the residence, one of the largest state-owned buildings without one.

“In addition to the visible and extensive building security enhancements outlined above, additional recommendations on things like staffing, internal systems, and other technology improvements have been implemented,” by the state, Paris and McNeill wrote. “To avoid risk of a successful security threat against the property or the Governor in the future, we cannot disclose all of those recommendations publicly.”

The two men noted that the fire damaged multiple decorative items inside the residence, including chandeliers, china, pianos and artwork. Most of those items, they said, do not qualify for insurance reimbursement, and their repair or replacement will be funded by private dollars.