What did it cost to send 6 council reps, the mayor, and the city manager to Boston for the National League of Cities conference this past November?
Before I post the figures, keep in mind that previously on many occasions, I have said it was not necessary to send more than four people to these conferences, and that for a short period of time the number of people going had been reduced. See my post of 10/23/12 at http://www.shawneeray.blogspot.com/2012/10/from-shawnee-to-boston.html#links
Then on 10/26/12, I posted info that we were sending more folks than other cities in JoCo http://www.shawneeray.blogspot.com/2012/10/shawnee-is-number-1.html#links
So, what were the costs? Oh, as predicted, Mickey "Travelin' Man" Sandifer led the field in money spent:
Councilmember Sandifer $2,389.42
Councilmember Vaught 2,358.91
Councilmember Kuhn 2,162.48
Mayor Meyers 1,887.05
City Manager Gonzales 1,812.99
Councilmember Neighbor 1,812.51
Councilmember Willoughby 1,753.00
Councilmember Sawyer 1,335.99
Total $15,512.35
Besides reducing the number of folks going, another way to save money on these types of trips is for these city officials to do what corporate America makes its employees do..............double up in the rooms. We had 6 males and 2 females.................instead of 8 rooms that could have been reduced to 4 rooms/per day. That could have been a savings of approximately $1,000/night.
But, when participants bring guests along, it is difficult to have them double up. So, in effect, the bringing of guests (even if the city does not pay for transportation and meals) costs the city by not allowing the city to save on room rates.
