Buried in the avalanche of the WikiLeaks email drop that brought down Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz is an interesting item closer to home — this one dealing with President Obama’s fundraising visit in February to the Atherton home of millionaire businessman and former state Controller Steve Westly.

Not everyone in the exclusive Peninsula enclave has been happy about the president’s repeated drop-ins. After a fundraising event in 2013 wound up costing Atherton about $8,000, the City Council drafted an ordinance allowing the town to seek repayment from hosts of such large-scale gatherings.

The leaked emails show that Atherton officials sent Westly an itemized invoice to cover $5,909 for the February fundraiser, including the pay for eight police officers, a police sergeant, a dispatcher and a public works crew.

The emails also show that upon receiving the invoice, Westly wrote to Democratic National Committee officials, asking, “How you like us to handle this?

“I will do whatever you would like here, including paying the bill,” messaged Westly, who has been eyeing a 2018 run for governor. “We are all very loyal to you and the president.”

DNC officials weren’t quite sure how to respond, telling Westly in April that they were talking to their lawyers and finance chief. But they added, “If all else fails and you want to take care of the bill to get them off your back, the DNC will most definitely reimburse you.”

A bit later, DNC event director Ellen Thrower sent a message to a fellow staffer, saying: “Hey! If he were to pay for this, do you think he’s actually expecting reimbursement. I’m not saying that he wouldn’t; I’m just curious.”

From there the email string trails off. But the upshot:

Atherton City Manager George Rodericks told us this week that last month — after repeated nudging — Westly paid up.

On the other hand: Farther north, the little town of Cloverdale is having no such luck with former Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders.

The Vermont senator put the Sonoma County town on the political map in June when he held a rally at its airport just before the California primary.

“We got about two days’ notice,” said City Manager Paul Cayler.

Cayler said Cloverdale officials agreed to help out with traffic, parking and emergency medical needs if the campaign would pick up the costs.

“They agreed, and we got a $2,500 deposit,” Cayler said.

The city later sent a bill for the remaining $23,000 to the Sanders campaign. After a bit of back and forth, Cloverdale officials got a letter from Sanders’ advance director, Casey Sinnwell, telling them “they should discuss matters related to costs with the Secret Service.”

When the officials contacted the Secret Service, they were told that the agency covered only candidate protection. Crowd control, traffic and the like were up to the locals.

“We got left holding the bag,” Cayler said. “The irony here is that they told us the senator picked us because he values small-town America.”

Museum react: Amid allegations of misspending by the nonprofit board that runs the de Young Museum and Legion of Honor, San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin called Tuesday for hearings into the city’s funding of the Fine Arts Museums.

While the two museums are largely run with private donations, they are owned by the city and receive $16 million annually in public money for such things as janitors and security guards.

“For our $16 million, we ought to be able to to demand transparency,” Peskin said.

We reported the other day that the museums board has agreed to a $2 million settlement with its whistle-blowing former chief financial officer, Michele Gutierrez, to keep her from filing a wrongful-termination lawsuit. Museum officials have declined to discuss where the money came from, though speculation is they relied on a board insurance policy, donors and other private sources.

It wouldn’t be the first time. In April, museum officials said they had tapped private sources to recoup the $450,000 that Gutierrez said board President Dede Wilsey had ordered spent without board authorization on a former museum staffer who had gone out on disability.

Peskin’s call for hearings comes as the city controller’s office is wrapping up an audit of the museums’ payroll practices to determine if there was additional potential misuse of money.

In our story this week, we reported that Wilsey is expected to give up her board presidency and museums CEO position in October. She has not responded to our repeated calls for comment. But she did find time to email friends to insist she was still in charge, and — without further elaborating — call our story “pure fabrication.”

Then again, the facts are what they are.

MIA: Not at the Democratic National Convention this week is one of the biggest California Democrats — Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Spokesman Tom Mentzer explained via email, “Family health issue is keeping her in California this week. That’s all I have.”

Mentzer couldn’t tell us whether the issue involved her husband, Dick Blum, or someone else.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross