Last year, city tax dollars paid some $900 for Loveland Councilmembers and their spouses to attend a “Candlelight Dinner Show,” $4,800 for a facilitator named Rob Tipton to work 1 ½ days and $1,200 for catering during the Saturday retreat held in meeting rooms at Group Publishing in Loveland.
Loveland staff have proposed the same agenda this year for early January with the following expenses:
Candlelight Dinner – $900
Facilitator (1.5 days) $4,800
Catering $1,200
Expensive council eating habits has its roots in a letter dated January 28, 2008 by a planning committee for the council’s 2008 retreat. Carol Johnson, according to the letter to her colleagues, determined in consultation with other committee members that “no more rubber chicken” would be tolerated for council members to eat during future retreats. This is ironic because it was Carol Johnson who recently protested to her newer colleagues during a public council meeting that she thought a dinner and show wasn’t really a necessary expense this year for their annual retreat. We agree.
Last year’s $900 meal at the Candlelight Dinner Theater near Johnson’s Corner was unanimously approved. Former Councilman David Clark arranged the pricey dinner including meals and drinks at the restaurant using Loveland taxpayer dollars. Clark argued that as a part owner in the business he was getting the city a better deal than they paid at the Bent Fork in 2008 for just a dinner but no live show. We wonder how anyone can argue that a dinner theater event involves city business and must be paid from city tax dollars when so many Loveland resident are struggling financially.
According to one city employee, the following issues were not given enough thought or consideration by staff before proposing the budget for this year’s council retreat.
1. Rushing the retreat to early January means no representative from Ward 1 may attend. A special election to fill the Ward 1 council seat occurs in early March. Given the current composition of Loveland’s council, it is likely a number of decisions on how to direct staff will end in tied 4 to 4 votes. Without the 9th member the meeting could be useless.
2. Retreats managed by a facilitator are normally held to IMPROVE bad or tired working relationship where there are difficulties within the group. Loveland’s new council has only just met and are still on their honeymoon. As one observer commented, “it is like inviting a marriage counselor to your honeymoon.”
3. Residents of Loveland are being asked to do with less services as the city cuts services in an effort to balance its budget. We don’t believe most Lovleand residents see the retreat as a necessary governmental expense.
The retreat needs to be postponed until the entire council for 2010 is present and seated.
