From The Blade Ohio taxpayers’ tab for protecting Gov. John Kasich while he campaigns for president outside the state apparently played a role in Monday’s release of an additional $2.5 million for the Ohio Highway Patrol.
The Ohio Controlling Board, a largely legislative budgetary panel chaired by a Kasich appointee, unanimously agreed to release the money, but only after a Democratic lawmaker was denied details on specifically how much was related to the governor’s campaign for the presidential nomination.
The money was part of a broad request covering “ancillary expenses related to security and investigations.” One of the listed expenses is for “dignitary protection.”
The transfer of existing money for the fiscal year ending June 30 would prevent “cost-cutting measures,” according to the application from the Department of Public Safety.
The change increases the total appropriation for security and investigations within the highway patrol from $9.7 million to $12.2 million. Of the increase, $2.2 million is tied to payroll and $300,000 to supplies and maintenance.
“To ensure the safety and security, we do not discuss any of the resources that are used as part of the executive’s security detail,” said Maj. Marla Gatskill, commander of the highway patrol’s office of planning and analysis. “If we did so, it could potentially compromise the safety of any of the dignitaries that we are charged with protecting [under state law].”