Floridians paid $700,000 for Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp’s travel and protection

By Josh Hafenbrack and Peter Franceschina | South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 27, 2009

TALLAHASSEE - A personal chauffeur and bodyguard, multiple airplanes and three sport utility vehicles stationed around the state are all part of an elaborate network used in transporting Florida's lieutenant governor, Jeff Kottkamp.

Records obtained by the Sun Sentinel this week show that Kottkamp, criticized for his frequent use of the state's executive aircraft fleet, also has flown extensively on a plane owned by the Florida Highway Patrol, which is charged with protecting the lieutenant governor.

On the ground, the highway patrol drives Kottkamp around in three SUVs purchased for more than $80,000 after he took office in January 2007. One is based in Fort Myers, where Kottkamp has a home, another in Tallahassee and the third in Central Florida.

The total tab for Kottkamp's travel and protection for his first two years in office: more than $700,000.

Kottkamp was not available for comment, despite requests for an interview. A spokesman for Gov. Charlie Crist's office said Kottamp has begun using cars to minimize air travel.

Kottkamp's family flew for free on state planes. After the Sun Sentinel reported earlier this month that the lieutenant governor's tab on the executive aircraft had topped $400,000, Kottkamp reimbursed the state $6,600 for flights his wife and young son took. Then on Feb. 19, a week after the newspaper requested Kottkamp's Highway Patrol flight records, he wrote a $3,836 check for his family's travel on that plane.

The Highway Patrol's twin-engine Piper Navajo is not part of Florida's executive air fleet, which includes two planes reserved for the governor, lieutenant governor, Cabinet members and high-ranking government leaders. The Highway Patrol has seven single-engine planes for surveillance and search and rescue and uses the six-seat Piper for law enforcement personnel and senior officials, including Kottkamp.

The lieutenant governor flew 34 times on the Piper. The plane made another 24 flights to pick up Kottkamp or return after dropping him off. Most of those flights were empty, except for a pilot and co-pilot.

Using an hourly cost to operate the plane, the Highway Patrol calculated the tab for Kottkamp's travel was more than $22,000. That figure, however, does not include salaries for pilots or maintenance workers.

Kottkamp's wife Cyndie took 14 rides on the plane, with son Jackson aboard four times. State law requires reimbursement for family members, but the Highway Patrol never charged the Kottkamps because the agency considers flying state officials and people accompanying them a free service, said Lt. Col. Ernesto Duarte.

Like Kottkamp's flights on the executive aircraft, many of the trips he took on the Highway Patrol plane were to or from his hometown of Fort Myers. At least one appeared to be a family vacation.

In April 2007, the plane flew the Kottkamps from Tallahassee to St. Augustine then returned two days later to bring them back to the capital. While in St. Augustine, Kottkamp's schedulers marked "personal days" on his calendar.

On the Friday after Thanksgiving last year, the Highway Patrol dispatched an empty plane to pick up the Kottkamps in Fort Myers and fly them to Tallahassee for the weekend. Kottkamp had nothing listed on his calendar while in the capital. On Monday, the plane took them back to Fort Myers.

"Our state plane is used for state business, but it's also available for senior officials, for the lieutenant governor," Duarte said. "If they ask us for a ride, we're going to provide the transportation for them."

Kottkamp has flown on the plane more than his predecessors, Duarte said. "The transportation of the lieutenant governor has obviously increased quite a bit," he said, but noted that Kottkamp's usage dropped 24 percent from 2007 to 2008.

In an e-mail to supporters earlier this month, Kottkamp criticized media reports about his travel and said his family stopped flying on state airplanes in July, when the Department of Management Services, which oversees the executive aircraft, began billing for family members.

"Cyndie and Jackson have not been back on a state plane since DMS changed its policy, nor will they in the future," Kottkamp wrote.

But the family continued flying on the Highway Patrol plane, records show. Cyndie Kottkamp flew four times from October through December, bringing their son along on two flights.

Kottkamp's travel on the executive aircraft triggered a pair of ethics complaints this month by two residents.

"It's just the sense of arrogance," said David Plyer, 62, of Clearwater, who lodged a complaint against Kottkamp this week with the Florida Commission on Ethics. "I voted for Crist, and I guess Kottkamp came with the package. They're supposed to use our money prudently, but here's a guy who decides to use the money to make his commute easier."

Kottkamp's expenses have focused attention on the job and cost of the lieutenant governor in Florida. On top of the travel and protection, salaries and benefits for Kottkamp, who is paid $127,399, and his six-person staff cost the state about $700,000 a year.

The lieutenant governor's main job, outlined in Florida's constitution, is to replace the governor if he dies, resigns or is otherwise unable to serve.

Whether the job is worth the expense is a "discussion we should be having," said Eric Jotkoff, spokesman for the Florida Democratic Party. "At the very least, why does the lieutenant governor need such a huge staff, when he doesn't really have any responsibilities? Unless the lieutenant governor is going to start fighting fires or prosecuting criminals, we should be cutting his budget before we cut firefighters or prosecutors."

The Highway Patrol budgets about $170,000 a year to protect the lieutenant governor.

In early 2007, the agency bought three SUVs - each priced from $26,000 to $29,000 - to transport Kottkamp, his staff and luggage, Duarte said. In ordering the vehicles, the state added an upgrade to one: a power moon roof costing $950. At the time, the state's finances were flush, Duarte said.

The Highway Patrol had just one vehicle for Kottkamp's predecessor, Toni Jennings - a Crown Victoria sedan, Duarte said.

Kottkamp's road operation includes another major cost: round-the-clock security.

In addition to a $73,000 base salary, Kottkamp's full-time bodyguard, called an aide-de-camp, has charged more than $65,000 in travel expenses the past two years. The guard collects an $80-a-night per diem while watching Kottkamp in Fort Myers - even though he keeps his permanent home there, property records show.

The guard is eligible for the lodging payments because his base station is Tallahassee, said Duarte, who noted the guard has to pay out of his own pocket to maintain a residence in the capital.

Protecting the lieutenant governor is a critical mission, Duarte said.

"We're not going to operate under the assumption that, in a state of 17 million people and 80 million visitors, that there isn't one person out there who wants to harm the lieutenant governor," Duarte said. "The odds are, absolutely, that nothing's going to happen. But we prepare for the worst and hope for the best."

Staff Researcher John Maines contributed to this story.