One would think that, in a time of such horrendous economic distress, those who represent us would be a little more thoughtful on how they're spending our very hard earned cash....
Trip in tough times upsets some on council
13 members attend conference in Florida
By Michael Cass • THE TENNESSEAN • November 14, 2008
As the national economy stumbles toward the holiday season and city job openings are slamming shut, more than a dozen Metro Council members are attending a four-day conference in Florida at a cost to taxpayers of more than $20,000.
The price tag on the trip to the National League of Cities conference in Orlando upsets some council members who didn't go.
"I hate to throw any of my fellow members under the bus, but with the situation we're in, I think it's a very poor choice," Councilman Jim Gotto said.
Others said the things they're learning from representatives
"This conference has been a source of tremendous ideas for the city of Nashville over the years," Councilman Ronnie Steine, who is attending the annual event for at least the ninth time, said after arriving there Wednesday.
Steine is one of 13 council members attending the conference, which started Wednesday and runs through Saturday at the Orlando World Center Marriott. Two council aides also are going.
For each of the 15, the council's $1.98 million fiscal-year budget is covering:
*The $375 registration fee, totaling $5,625.
* A $231 airfare on Southwest Airlines, which adds up to $3,465.
*A $205-a-night hotel room. Most of the group is staying four nights, but Steine is staying three and Councilwoman Vivian Wilhoite is staying two, the council office said. The 57 room nights will cost $11,685.
The council also will pay for meals and for transportation to and from the airport for Steine and Wilhoite, if they seek reimbursement, because they're on League of Cities committees. The other members and the aides are paying for their food and transportation.
The size of the contingent is relatively small. Most years, 21 to 25 council representatives
But the trip comes as the nation faces its worst financial crisis in 70 years, the culmination of months of economic trouble that have already made a mark on Metro Nashville.
Most city departments took 5 percent cuts in this budget year, which started July 1. More recently, Mayor Karl Dean instituted a hiring freeze and asked most departments to find ways to save 3 percent of their budgeted funds, squeezing them even more.
Travel and professional development are often among the first things to go in such situations. Jon Cooper, the council's staff director, said the council office did cut its budget for travel and registration fees substantially to $10,200 this year. He said the office would spend less than it budgeted in other areas to make up for the deficit on that line item.
Conference a priority
Despite the economic environment, the League of Cities conference, held annually since 1924, remains a top priority because it has a proven track record, Cooper said. He said it would be the only conference available to council members this year.
"Given the economic challenges we're facing now, it's good for council members to have access to a variety of ideas and come away with insights," said Cooper, who has attended the conference two or three times but stayed home this year.
Cooper said his office started asking the 40 council members in July if they planned to attend the event, known as the Congress of Cities and Exposition. If more members had wanted to go, their out-of-pocket expenses would have increased, he said.
Steine, a member of the League of Cities' Council on Youth, Education and Families, said the cost is "not a huge expenditure" given what participants can learn. He noted that council members serve part time.
"If we're going to make progress, particularly around these youth issues, it's vitally important that we know what's going on in the rest of the country," he said. "This makes us better at what we do."
Steine said he's seen Nashville adopt numerous ideas from the conference since he was first elected to the council in 1991.
Those initiatives have included a commission to oversee greenways development; an urban forester to enforce the city's tree ordinance; the Mayor's Youth Council to engage young people in Metro affairs; and setting aside 1 percent of the net proceeds of most construction bonds to pay for public art.
Councilman wants ideas
Councilman Walter Hunt, who has been dealing with a controversial Habitat for Humanity development near several neighborhoods in his northeast Nashville district, said he plans to bring back ideas about affordable housing and urban revitalization that might offer a more palatable alternative to Habitat's plans.
He also is interested in "human development" policies that could reduce the size of Nashville's homeless population.
"Anybody who thinks our city does not go across borders and interact with other cities, they're in the wrong business," said Hunt, who first attended the conference as an aide to then-Mayor Bill Boner 20 years ago and has gone each of the past three years.
Councilman Michael Craddock said he doesn't mind council members wanting to attend the conference; he'd prefer not to spend tax dollars on it.
Craddock said he doesn't feel any need to go, regardless of who's paying the bill.
"The way to be as good of a council member as you can be is to take care of your constituents," he said. "I don't have to go to another city to learn how to be a good council member in Nashville, Tennessee."
Nashville hosted the Congress of Cities and Exposition in 2003. About 6,000 municipal leaders, aides, spouses and others attended the event at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center.
Some council members at the time wanted taxpayers to pay for rooms at the hotel so they could stay there each night and be better conference hosts.
Then-Vice Mayor Howard Gentry squashed the idea, saying it was "not a justifiable expense."
