If it's in my interest, it's in the public interest, too!
Hoo Boy! So this is how a self-proclaimed fiscal conservative squanders our money.
In the fall of 2008 Pam Keller attended the California League of Cities Annual Meeting, a useless agglomeration of bureaucrats and bureaucrat lovin’ electeds who like to micromanage everybody’s life while we pay for it.
The event was held at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach, a luxury hotel, exactly 26.1 miles from Fullerton. The distance is so vast that Pam decided to stay at the hotel for three nights and amassed a bill of $1236.10. Check out the payment vouchers, the hotel invoice, and even a handwritten request for nine buck’s reimbursement for parking, here.
We had a Santa Ana Councilwoman named Dan Grisett and another named Pat McGuigan who spent tens of thousands of dollars on these League of Cities junkets over their terms in office. I wish the O.C. Register would request info from all the O.C. cities on what they have spent on these. It’s not just electeds either. LOTS of staff members go on these. Nice work if you can get it!
Larry Gilbet does keep records.
Back on April 8, 1999 I received a response to a Public Records request to obtain information on a League of Cities meeting held in Long Beach, CA.
My request was the same form of documentation we used in our corporation and the same that you might be asked to produce for the IRS.
It’s real simple. In this case if you are listing an expenditure of taxpayer money at one of these meetings and take a group out to dinner I asked for a list of the participants and the purpose of the meeting.
Their reply reads:
Item #1 “The City of Mission Viejo does not have a record of the attendees at the City dinner on Oct. 3, 1998, in Long Beach, during the League of Cities meeting.
Verbal request. The City of Mission Viejo does not have a document stating the purpose of the dinner mentioned above.”
They also added:
“The Public Records Act does obligate the City to provide documents that it has in its possession, that exist as part of the public record. However,if no such document exists, the City is not obligated to create one in response to a request.”
Now isn’t that an acceptable stonewalling!!!
No, they weren’t simply blowing me off. They simply didn’t expect someone to question them.
I for one don’t mind Pam spending a little to get so much in return. These meetings may sound like fun but they are a lot of work too. There are full agendas of lectures which help them become better leaders. I’d rather have Pam rested and refreshed and ready to work than driving back to Fullerton late. Some of these post meeting meetings go late and it would not be good for her to drive back from the L.B. so late I think. I’d ask that O.J. readers wait to hear from our elected leaders about these meetings before passing judgement. Have you invited Pam to respond to you here on the blog? I’m sure she can give a report about what she did at the meetings and you will stop all the negative comments.
“We had a Santa Ana Councilwoman named Dan Grisett and another named Pat McGuigan who spent tens of thousands of dollars on these League of Cities junkets over their terms in office”
Try Hundred’s of thousands of dollars over the terms of these two! Both were on the council a LONG time and took every League of City trip ever offered. Annual trips to D.C. plus MANY others to other U.S. states and don’t forget the annual Monterey “leadership” conferences. There is also an annual City Manager’s conference in Monterey where they meet on the Tax payers dime to figure out how to juice up their contracts (Can you say Evergreen!) Santa Ana and Anaheim pulled out of the League of Cities for a year or so but then jumped right back on the gravy train! Every trip means hotels, fine dining, airfare or other transportation. We are talking BIG bucks!
Orange Country residents need to start asking where the moeny is going. I requested information on Providence Community Service (contracted by the Supervisors for Mental Health services) they just recieved over 7mil, but recieve their funding from prop 63. Why did they need 7mil??
I can not find out because they are a contracted company and therefore are covered by the public records act… The reason the Sups contract out, “THE PUBLIC CAN’T GET PUBLIC RECORDS FROM A PRIVATE/NON-PROFIT”.
ANYONE THINK CALOPTIMA!!!!!!
PTO Mom, you must be joking! First the conferences are a big gab-fest. Do you think there’s a test at the end? There ought to be!
It’s a half-hour drive from Keller’s house to DT Long Beach. Is that worth $400 bucks a day? We welcome an “explanation” from Keller here, or at out blog. I don’t see how she can do anything but make it worse, but she can try.
Pam “rested and refreshed” now that’s just funny.