{"id":17504,"date":"2025-10-28T09:42:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T09:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/17504\/"},"modified":"2025-10-28T09:42:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T09:42:20","slug":"pennsylvania-taxpayers-fund-1m-in-security-upgrades-to-gov-josh-shapiros-private-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/17504\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania taxpayers fund $1M in security upgrades to Gov. Josh Shapiro’s private home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spotlight PA<\/a>\u00a0is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania.\u00a0Sign up for our free newsletters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

HARRISBURG \u2014 Taxpayers are paying for roughly $1 million in security upgrades to Gov. Josh Shapiro\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

In an Oct. 24 letter to legislative leaders, administration officials said improvements include \u201cerecting physical and visual barriers on the property, installing enhanced security technology, and other steps.\u201d They then noted that due to safety concerns, they could not provide more details about the work being conducted at Shapiro\u2019s private home.<\/p>\n

Cameras, overnight watch: How Pennsylvania tries to safeguard the Governor’s Mansion<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u2019s official residence in Harrisburg, including $8 million to retrofit the mansion with new windows that are bulletproof and shatterproof.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cThe 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,\u201d Paris and McNeill wrote. \u201cNo family should have to live behind bulletproof glass or behind large walls \u2015 but the nature of the threats against elected officials<\/a> today require us to take these important steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

They added: \u201cUnfortunately, the threat to a high-profile elected official like Governor Shapiro does not end when he leaves the Governor\u2019s Residence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gov.<\/p>\n

Gov. Josh Shapiro, right, talks with Tommy Ridge, the son of former Gov. Tom Ridge, after Shapiro announced funding for two local economic projects during a visit Oct. 17 to the former GAF Materials Corp. site along Erie’s bayfront.<\/p>\n

In a statement, Shapiro spokesperson Rosie Lapowsky said state police conducted a security review of the governor\u2019s personal residence and recommended a number of improvements. Before carrying out any of those improvements, she said the administration \u201cconsulted the Ethics Commission \u2026 to ensure there is no improper private, pecuniary gain from these security improvements.\u201d<\/p>\n

More: Man who set fire to Pa. governor’s mansion sentenced to 25-50 years after pleading guilty<\/a><\/p>\n

Harrisburg resident Cody Balmer\u00a0pleaded guilty<\/a>\u00a0in 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\u2019s 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\u2019s first floor.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

The Democratic governor has said he and his family are still\u00a0struggling with the emotional toll<\/a>\u00a0of the attack, but stressed that he will not be deterred from continuing in public service.<\/p>\n

It is not clear what prompted Paris and McNeill\u2019s letter. Spotlight PA in October submitted a public records request for all taxpayer-funded expenditures at the governor\u2019s private home.<\/p>\n

Also last week, Republican state Sen. Jarett Coleman, who chairs the chamber\u2019s Intergovernmental Operations Committee, fired off a letter to Paris seeking similar information about physical improvements to Shapiro\u2019s Montgomery County home, among other items.<\/p>\n

Coleman told Spotlight PA Oct. 24 that his committee will \u201ccontinue to investigate\u201d spending at the governor\u2019s private residence \u201cto protect taxpayers as this unprecedented project is being completed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Spotlight PA in September reported that the\u00a0state has spent more than $6 million<\/a>\u00a0to repair extensive damage from the fire at the governor\u2019s official residence \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0disclosed the donors\u2019 identities<\/a>, the amount they contributed to the fund, or provided a general description of what that money has or will be used for.<\/p>\n

More: Report details security lapses in Shapiro mansion fire. Its findings are hidden.<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Security upgrades and improvements to the official residence, however, are not covered by the state\u2019s insurance plans. The security improvements \u2014 recommended by\u00a0a third-party review commissioned by state police<\/a>\u00a0in the wake of the attack \u2014 there include<\/p>\n

an estimated $14 million to replace the 6-foot fence that Balmer scaled with a \u201csingle material, 10-foot barrier resistant to vehicle damage or climbing;”<\/p>\n

an estimated $6.3 million to install updated cameras, improve lighting, and add motion detection sensors in the residence\u2019s yard;<\/p>\n

an estimated $8 million to retrofit the residence\u2019s existing windows with bulletproof and shatterproof glass; and<\/p>\n

an estimated $4 million to install a comprehensive fire suppression system in the residence, one of the largest state-owned buildings without one.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 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,\u201d by the state, Paris and McNeill wrote. \u201cTo avoid risk of a successful security threat against the property or the Governor in the future, we cannot disclose all of those recommendations publicly.\u201d<\/p>\n

More: Who protects Pennsylvania’s governor? What to know about the Executive Services Office.<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

BEFORE YOU GO\u2026\u00a0If you learned something from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at\u00a0spotlightpa.org\/donate<\/a>. Spotlight PA is funded by\u00a0foundations and readers like you<\/a>\u00a0who are committed to accountability journalism that gets results.<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: PA Gov. Josh Shapiro getting private home security upgrades<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spotlight PA\u00a0is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17505,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[12569,12571,7371,12572,33,200,12568,28,30,29,1224,12570,1478],"class_list":{"0":"post-17504","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-pennsylvania","8":"tag-administration-officials","9":"tag-bulletproof-glass","10":"tag-christopher-paris","11":"tag-commonwealth-property","12":"tag-josh-shapiro","13":"tag-montgomery-county","14":"tag-official-residence","15":"tag-pennsylvania","16":"tag-pennsylvania-headlines","17":"tag-pennsylvania-news","18":"tag-pennsylvania-state-police","19":"tag-security-technology","20":"tag-spotlight-pa"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}