When five Charlottesville government officials wanted to go on a business trip on the city’s dime to Italian sister city Poggio a Caiano last week, they didn’t expect the intense public reaction against the use of its hard-earned tax dollars. The strong response might have all been a matter of timing. The trip became front-page news when city School Board member Charles Kollmansperger expressed his frustration in The Daily Progress on November 1, six days before the trip’s departure and, more importantly, five days before election day.
 Mayor David Brown’s travel expenses total $2,910.63 since taking office in 2004, which on a per-year basis is less than has been spent so far by councilors Dave Norris and Julian Taliaferro, who took office in 2006. |
Of those city school officials planning to go on the trip was Kollmansperger’s colleague and School Board chairman Alvin Edwards, who was up for re-election in a race with four seats up for grabs. Whether or not the move was political, Edwards was re-elected by a mere 518 votes and joined Mayor David Brown and Superintendent Rosa S. Atkins on the trip. Vice Mayor Kendra Hamilton and Assistant Superintendent Gertrude Ivory were slated to go on the trip but, after much debate, decided not to attend.
"All in all, it was unfortunate," says city spokesman Ric Barrick, noting that Brown said Council will try to be more sensitive to the public’s reaction about the use of city funds. "Still, I don’t get the sense that people regret the trip."
Each year, Council has a subset travel budget approved in the overall annual budget. This year, Council set aside $10,000 for travel relating to city business, according to Council Secretary Jeanne Cox. Through Brown’s expenses on this most recent trip, Council has spent $3, 592.49 of the funds budgeted for this year. Only Brown’s airfare for the six- day trip to Italy is covered, costing $911.43.
This marks the second time that Brown has traveled overseas for a business trip. In May 2006, Brown jetted to Charlottesville’s other sister city, Plevin, Bulgaria, for a cool $1, 413.92 in city funds. To date, Brown’s travel expenses total $2,910.63 since taking office in 2004.
City-sponsored travel, however, is not just limited to the Mayor. Looking at the current Council, councilors Hamilton, Dave Norris and Julian Taliaferro have taken their fair share of trips as well. Even though Hamilton announced she would not go on the Italian trip last week, she caught a glimpse of Poggio a Caiano in 2004 for a cost of $1,226.49. Since being elected to Council in 2006, Norris has taken four trips to conferences in Virginia Beach, Williamsburg, Washington D.C., and Arkansas at a cost of $2,207.43. Taliaferro has spent slightly more than Norris, with five trips to conferences in locations within the state and in North Carolina, costing the city $2,385.09.
City officials have the option of paying for trips sponsored by the city themselves or through the financing of a private sponsor if they wish, according to Barrick. Atkins’ travel expenses to Italy on the recent controversial city trip, for example, were sponsored by an anonymous donor. Discussing the travel of other city officials, Barrick mentioned that City Manager Gary O’Connell is "very sensitive of public funds" and regularly has opted to "err on the side of caution" by paying for some trips himself. Barrick estimates that Charlottesville’s travel spending is typical of a comparably sized city.
C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.