The barrage of presidential campaign rallies and photo-ops staged in southwest Ohio this year are over, but Barack Obama and Mitt Romney both left behind big bills for local taxpayers.

Area governments have spent tens of thousands of dollars on overtime pay for police and firefighters, cleanup and other costs associated with the campaigns swooping in for dozens of visits in an attempt to win Battleground Ohio, a Dayton Daily news analysis has found.

And the campaigns aren’t paying for much.

The city of Dayton estimates it has spent $100,311 on police, fire, public works and airport staff for six visits by the candidates and their wives since July.

“We’re getting nothing out of it except for a bunch of traffic delays,” said Dayton Mayor Gary Leitzell, a political independent who pointed out that the campaigns had more than $2 billion at their disposal.

“They can certainly afford to pay the municipality the additional $15,000 to $20,000 in overtime costs from while they’re here,” he said. “(By utilizing local government for free), they’re both able to use taxpayer dollars to support their campaigns.”

In the final days of the campaign it seemed the presidential race was only being held in southwest Ohio: President Obama and Romney and both of their wives held events in Hamilton, Springfield, West Chester, Oxford and Cincinnati since last Thursday.

Security is the biggest cost when high-profile candidates come to town. Every stop is accompanied by an entourage from the Ohio State Highway Patrol. Off-duty police officers and firefighters are brought in on the clock to handle traffic, security and provide support.

The most expensive visit to Dayton was the Oct. 23 rally at Triangle Park attended by both the president and vice president. It required 91 police officers, many called in from neighboring jurisdictions, according to city records.

The total cost for the event was $39,681. The only payment from the Obama campaign was $300 to rent a park shelter.

The Triangle Park visit also cost the Montgomery County Sheriff’s office $4,245.

Springfield officials say the cost of supporting political events could cost the city up to $40,000. Clark County commissioners there are considering sending the campaigns a bill.

The campaigns point out that security for presidential candidates is the job of the Secret Service. The Secret Service’s election budget this year is $58 million, though the agency will not release how much it spends on any one state or visit.

“We rely heavily on our local, state and federal partners to do our mission,” said Secret Service spokesman George Ogilvie. “The Secret Service doesn’t have a mechanism in place to reimburse local agencies that assist us in our mission.”

The Highway Patrol is tasked with helping the Secret Service protect candidates when they’re in the state and has been involved in more than 55 election-related security details this year. The Highway Patrol refuses to release the cost associated with any security details, citing safety concerns. They also don’t bill the campaigns.

The Highway Patrol budget line that includes security for dignitaries also includes protecting state buildings and undertaking investigations involving state property. That total budget is $6.4 million this year.

“I can say that our role is primarily for the security of the motorcades while traveling,” said Lt. Anne Ralston, Highway Patrol spokeswoman. “I can tell you that the Patrol will use on-duty units whenever possible and does what it can to minimize or eliminate costs associated with these security details.”

In addition to security, there’s the cleanup after rallies such as Romney’s West Chester event that drew 30,000 people or Obama’s Triangle Park visit that drew about 9,500 people.

West Chester Twp. officials said they plan to invoice the Republican National Committee for the Union Center rally just as they would any public event held by a private individual. Township officials are crunching numbers and would not provide an estimate of what the event cost.

“(The RNC) has indicated we should invoice them,” said township spokeswoman Barbara Wilson, though it’s not clear how much of the bill will be paid by the party or campaign.

Wilson said such events are a plus for the community.

“We have done this before and this type of event makes West Chester very visible on a national level,” she said.

Kettering schools officials have sent a roughly $2,000 bill to the RNC for security guards and other incidental costs from Romney’s visit to Trent Arena on Oct. 30. Political campaigns don’t have to pay the $1,500 rental fee for the Fairmont High School gym.

Officials from neither the Romney campaign nor the RNC would comment on how much, if any, of these bills they’ll pay.

Kettering City Manager Mark Schwieterman said the Trent Arena whistlestop cost his city a little less than $1,000 in extra fire department overtime. He said they didn’t bill anyone because they’ve never been reimbursed for security.

“Whether they should or they shouldn’t (pay up), the fact of the matter is they don’t, and our job is to provide public safety,” he said.