Governor Josh Shapiro’s private residence in Abington Township is receiving roughly $1 million in security upgrades following the arson attack on the Governor’s Residence in Harrisburg in April.

According to a letter from the Department of General Services and Pennsylvania State Police sent on Friday to Pennsylvania House and Senate leaders, upgrades include “erecting physical and visual barriers on the property, installing enhanced security technology, and other steps”.

From the letter:

While unsuccessful, the incident showed that major security updates were needed to protect public visitors to the Governor’s Residence, the current First Family, and all future governors from active threats at a time when elected officials across the country are facing rising political violence.

Unfortunately, the threat to a high-profile elected official like Governor Shapiro does not end when he leaves the Governor’s Residence. To that end, PSP in consultation with independent experts, conducted a security review of the Governor’s personal residence, which he and his family continue to utilize. PSP decided on several recommendations for security improvements at the Governor’s private residence, including erecting physical and visual barriers on the property, installing enhanced security technology, and other steps. These security improvements, which cannot all be disclosed to the public for safety reasons, are estimated to total around $1 million. As these costs are related to the work of the Executive Services Office of PSP, PSP General Government Operations funding will be utilized to implement the recommendations. 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. 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.

Senator Jarrett Coleman, Chairman of Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee, said in a statement that “The Intergovernmental Operations Committee will continue to investigate how this decision was made and what steps are being taken to protect taxpayers as this unprecedented project is being completed.”

NBC10 reported that reporters are “working to confirm where all of the money to cover the security upgrades to both the Governor’s Residence and Shapiro’s private home is coming from.”

In a statement, Shapiro spokesperson Rosie Lapowsky said the administration “consulted the Ethics Commission … to ensure there is no improper private, pecuniary gain from these security improvements.”

According to a September Spotlight PA article, more than $6 million in public dollars were spent on repairs to the Governor’s Residence over the past four months.

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