Taxpayers were billed nearly $185,000 for travel-related costs for Governor Christie’s security detail during the first three months of the year, including the governor’s trade mission to England.

Christie’s office released the latest figure Monday in response to an Open Public Records Act request. The cost to taxpayers has grown as Christie has stepped up his out of state travel, visiting 36 states and Washington DC campaigning for GOP candidates last year and visiting early presidential voting states this year as he considers a presidential bid. Those costs will likely grow substantially if Christie enters the crowded GOP primary field, a decision he has said he’ll make this month.

Taxpayers have been billed $1.34 million in travel-related security costs since February 2010, Christie’s first full month in office, records show.

During the first three months of this year Christie attended gubernatorial inaugurations in Florida, South Carolina, Iowa and Maryland. He attended Dallas Cowboys playoff games in Texas and Wisconsin. And the governor went to political events through his political action committee, Leadership Matters for America, in Iowa, Illinois, New Hampshire, California, Michigan and Texas.

While the political action committee pays for the cost of Christie’s travel and accommodations, taxpayers are left to foot the bill for his security detail. Christie has defended that policy in the past saying he has no control over how many troopers travel with him and that he adheres to the same standards other governors followed when they travelled outside the state.

Christie’s administration fought to keep the security costs from being made public, denying several records requests and eventually providing only gross amounts — as the result of a lawsuit filed by North Jersey Media Group, which publishes The Record — and not itemized bills detailing the travel expenses for the state police security team. His administration successfully fought the release of itemized credit card bills in court, citing a threat to the governor’s security.

The only documents his office releases are memorandum sent from the Governor’s Office to the State Police seeking reimbursement for travel costs related to Christie’s security detail, also known as the executive protection unit. The memorandum for Jan. 1 through March 31 was the most recent record available.

The latest documents come after Christie’s office released the cost of security on his three most recent foreign trips on June 13. Taxpayers were billed about $124,000 for Christie’s trade missions to Mexico in September, Canada in December and England in February. Of that $114,275.25 was related to security.

Email: hayes@northjersey.com

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