NEW YORK FACES HIGH GOP COSTS:

The New York City’s police department’s security costs at this summer’s Republican National Convention could climb to $65 million, far higher than the city’s previous estimate, according to an estimate by Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. Mayor Michael Bloomberg had said the city would spend $22 million for police protection, plus $5 million for insurance and sanitation for the convention, to be held at Madison Square Garden from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2. The federal government has agreed to provide $25 million for security costs. But Kelly’s estimate would mean city security expenses would outstrip even the $64 million the convention’s organizer, the New York City Host Committee, raised privately to hold the convention. No host committee funds would be used for security. Police spokesman Paul Browne later corrected Kelly’s figure, saying security costs would be about $47 million, still far more than previous estimates. Kelly testified that the expenses include special training for some 6,000 officers, new surveillance cameras, 300 motorized scooters for officers and special portable barricades capable of stopping trucks that will ring the Garden. The convention’s total budget is $91 million, including all security costs. The $64 million raised by the host committee has been designated for costs such as a podium, an entrance carpet at the Garden, renting the space and transporting delegates. Boston, host of the Democratic convention in July, has estimated security costs at $40 million. It also has been allotted $25 million by the federal government for security.