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One Commissioner Skips Conference At Luxury Resort Amid Layoffs
June 26, 2008
Four of five Escambia Commissioners are attending a conference in Miami this week, but one commissioner skipped out, saying it was not the right thing to do as the county faces a budget crunch.
District 5 Commissioner Kevin White chose not to attend the annual Florida Association of Counties Conference this week. Commissioners Gene Valentino, Marie Young, Mike Whitehead, and Grover Robinson all flew to Miami on Tuesday at the county’s expense to the conference at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa.
The conference includes multiple workshops, seminars and evening socials marked on the conference brochure with pictures of a martini glass.
“At a time when the budget is being cut, I didn’t see it as prudent be off at the conference like that,” White told NorthEscambia.com. “We are laying people off and cutting back. And I was suppose to go to a conference like that?”
White acknowledged that the conference is a good source of information for commissioners, and overall is a good thing. But he said the public perception of the trip had to be weighed against the good of the trip.
The conference will feature such workshops about budgeting, wellness programs, walkable communities, emergency planning, public speaking, media training and water quality. It began Tuesday with a four hour golf outing.
The county budgeted for the trip, and the commission gave public notice at a recent metting that it would take place so the four commissioners would not violate Florida’s Sunshine Law.
Registration for the conference was $325 each, or $1,300 total for the four. The listed conference room rate at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa was $130 per person. The commissioners will turn in travel expense reimbursement requests for the rooms and airfare once they return to Pensacola.
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