In previous posts it was mentioned that 6 individuals were going to represent Shawnee at the recent National League of Cities conferenec in Denver.
First, let's see how Shawnee compared to some other communities in the area with regards to number of individuals sent. In the past, listening to various presentations, there seems to be a trend to compare our city with some of the others. So why not this one? OK, so, how many folks represented each city?
Olathe...........................8
Lenexa..........................7
Shawnee.......................6
Mission.........................3
Merriam.......................3
Prairie Village..............3
Overland Park..............1
Roeland Park................1
Leawood........................0
Topeka..........................0
UG WyCo&KCK.............0
Now, what did this cost the citizens of Shawnee?
Jim Neighbor, Ward 1................................$2,711.60 5 nights
Mickey Sandifer, Ward 4..........................$2,677.60 5 nights
Jeff Vaught, Ward 3..................................$1,544.52 3 nights
Jeff Meyers, Mayor....................................$1,459.52 3 nights
Carol Gonzales, City Mgr.........................$1,254.57 3 nights
Neal Sawyer, Ward 2...............................$1,044.52 3 nights
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Total......................................................$10,692.33
I've always felt that conferences of this kind can be useful. The big question is, in these tough times how many folks do we need to send? I said it before the conference and I'll say it again, my opinion is that two would have been enough, 3 for this one since Mr Sawyer's registration was covered by a previous conference that he couldn't attend.
Note that 2 reps (33% of the city's delegation) accounted for over 50% of the expenses. This is not the first conference where Mickey Sandifer's expenses were near the top of the group's.
Another interesting note is the cost of the hotel rooms. At $240/night why couldn't the four council reps have done what private comapnies have gone to? Doubling up. Neighbor and Sandifer were there for 5 nights, they could have doubled up. Sawyer and Vaught were there for 3 nights. They could have doubled up. Even if there was a surcharge over the $240 for a second person, in most hotels that would not be anywhere near the cost of a separate room. Also, at a conference like this what is the need for separate rooms? One gets up, showers, has breakfast, goes to meetings, has lunch, goes to meetings, has dinner, socializes, then hits the sack. Unless the rooms are being used for mini-conferences/lectures what's the need?
My original comments, months ago suggested that just the mayor, city manager and Councilmember Sawyer should go. Look at the numbers above............the city could have saved approximately $7,000.
In March there will be another National League of Cities conference in Washington DC. It will be interesting to see how many of our city officials go to that one, and what the cost factor will be.
