Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative and public service journalism that has the power to respond and drive positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters.
HARRISBURG — Late last year, Pennsylvania’s top law enforcement agency revealed that taxpayers would pick up the tab for more than $1 million in security upgrades at Gov. Josh Shapiro’s private family home in Montgomery County.
Now, those bills are coming due — but the plan to use public dollars for all the work there has hit a roadblock.
Records obtained by Spotlight PA show the Pennsylvania Department of the Treasury is questioning whether state procurement rules allow public money to be used for construction work on non-state-owned property like Shapiro’s home.
Records show that since late January, employees have been asking the Pennsylvania State Police, the agency that underwrote the upgrades, to provide a “detailed” legal justification.
“How does the location in question constitute public real estate?” they wrote, adding: “Please provide any policies or guidelines related to defining public property to include private residences.”
Treasury spokesman Steve Chizmar did not elaborate on the agency’s concerns, saying: “We are currently auditing them. [bills] and the audit is expected to take several weeks.”
The Treasury Department is led by Republican Stacy Garrity, who is seeking the party’s nomination to challenge Shapiro for governor in November. Government revenue is deposited into the Treasury, which uses the money to pay bills for things like contracts and workers.
The upgrades to Shapiro’s home in Abington were recommended by state police officials after a midnight attack last April on the state governor’s mansion in Harrisburg, where Shapiro and his family stay in Harrisburg. The Democratic governor and his family and friends were sleeping inside, having just finished celebrating Easter the night before, when a man entered and set several rooms on fire.
Although no one was injured, the man who carried out the attack – Cody Balmer of Harrisburg – told law enforcement that if he had met the governor during the break-in, he would have beaten him with a hammer. He pleaded guilty to attempted murder and other charges.
The attack triggered a top-to-bottom re-evaluation of the security protocols in place for the First Family. The state police hired an outside contractor who recommended changes to the protections for the governor, who is guarded by a special state police unit. The contractor’s report was never made public, but soon after, the state launched extensive security improvements and repairs to the state governor’s mansion.
State police also quietly authorized upgrades to Shapiro’s personal home. Those upgrades, which began over the summer, were only publicly disclosed by state police for the first time in a letter to top lawmakers late last year.
In an email Tuesday, State Police spokesman Logan Brouse said that while the state-owned residence was being restored, Shapiro had to live in their personal residence full-time — a move that required “serious security enhancements” at the governor’s private home.
Those expenses, Brouse wrote, were necessary to carry out the duties of the state police, which include protecting the governor.
State police determined that making these security improvements to Shapiro’s private home was the best option, rather than alternative plans such as renting an alternative property to temporarily house the First Family.
Brouse also said the Treasury Department paid two bills related to work at the governor’s private residence.
Asked for details on those invoices, the Shapiro administration provided copies of two invoices for license and administrative fees incurred by one of the contractors related to the security upgrade. The invoices do not say whether the work was for Shapiro’s private residence and are dated to September of last year, a month before state police revealed that publicly funded security improvements had been made there as well.
The security upgrades to the governor’s family home were made under emergency construction provisions of the state’s procurement code, which sets out the (often complicated) process and steps that state agencies must follow to purchase goods and services and execute construction projects.
The state’s public procurement manual defines emergency construction as “the process of constructing, altering, improving, or demolishing any public structure or building or other public improvement of any kind on any public real property to eliminate or correct the basis of the emergency.”
It is not silent on whether private property qualifies for publicly funded emergency construction.
A spokesman for the General Services Department, which oversees public procurement issues, did not immediately respond when asked what section of the emergency procurement code would allow taxpayer dollars to be used for emergency construction on a private structure.
Brouse also did not cite a specific section of the emergency procurement code for the work on Shapiro’s family home. Instead, he said emergency purchases are allowed when there is a threat to public safety.
Publicly funded upgrades to an elected official’s private home or other assets are rare. That’s because the state’s strict ethics rules broadly prohibit public officials from personally benefiting from their positions.
A Shapiro spokesman told Spotlight PA last year that the governor consulted with the state Ethics Commission to ensure there was no improper financial gain.
But records obtained by the news organization show the governor didn’t ask for that guidance until at least two months after construction began on those improvements at his Abington home. Its spokespeople did not comment on the timing of the advisory.
The administration did not consult with Treasury officials who are now flagging the spending.
According to records obtained by Spotlight PA through a public records request, the upgrades include $311,230.50 for a security system, $81,043.84 for tree trimming and $288,736 for landscaping and maintenance involving the outdoor grounds.
Spatial planning can end up costing the state even more. The Shapiros and one of their neighbors are locked in a heated court dispute over the boundaries of their property. The neighbors sued Shapiro and the state police in federal court, alleging that the landscaping work was trespassing on their land. The Shapiros sued in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.
Asked who is paying Shapiro’s legal bills, spokesman Will Simons said the governor is paying out of pocket for his lawsuit. Meanwhile, the governor’s Office of General Counsel is representing him and the state police in federal court (in that suit, Shapiro is being sued both personally and in his official capacity).
The work at Shapiro’s private home also caught the attention of lawmakers.
A legislative panel led by Republican state Sen. Jarrett Coleman of Lehigh County late last year subpoenaed the Shapiro administration for a trove of records related to upgrades to the governor’s personal residence. Legislative subpoenas are rare and have become mired in litigation when issued in the past.
Coleman’s office said it has received records from the administration and plans to hold a hearing on the issue when the state Senate returns to session in mid-March.
Asked if he believed the state’s procurement code extended to work on private property, Coleman said, “The state emergency procurement policy is black and white. It limits construction to public property, as it should. The governor’s private residence is not public property.”
He added: “It appears that these invoices cannot be paid and may never have had a legal basis for the purchase in the first place.”
BEFORE YOU GO… If you learned anything from this article, pay it forward and contribute to Spotlight PA at spotlightpa.org/donate. Spotlight PA is funded by foundations and readers like you that engages in accountability journalism that gets results.
Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
For the latest news, weather, sports and video streaming, go to ABC27.