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Towns say travel budgets justified

By Mark N. Schieldrop

South County Independent (Rhode Island)

December 12, 2008

As the declining economy forces municipalities to cut costs, local town officials are defending how they spend their travel budgets.

They say that out-of-state conferences, such as the annual International Association of Chiefs of Police conference, are cost-effective and worthwhile expenditures.

Some Rhode Islanders took issue with a recent five-day trip by a group of legislators, including Rep. John Patrick “Pat” Shanely (D-Dist. 35) of South Kingstown, to a gaming conference in Las Vegas at a cost of $2,280 per person. In 2005, North Kingstown residents called for the termination of the superintendent of schools after learning that Department of Education funds were used for an administrative retreat where lobster and steak dinners were served to school administrators.

But according to Stephen A. Alfred, town manager of South Kingstown, Alan Lord, the town’s director of finance, and local employees, the out-of-state conferences attended by town employees are educational and a far cry from wasteful spending.

Alfred said he takes issue with the term “junket” and said the conferences are essential for some employees, such as EMT workers and police officers who obtain required training at workshops and seminars, most of which occur in New England. Other employees, such as the building official and wastewater employees, depend on out-of-state conferences to stay abreast of new laws and requirements and trends in their respective fields.

“These conferences have a key educational component where experts present papers or details on programs started in various communities that may work here,” Alfred said. “Some of these organizations provide important training programs and continuing education – all of those things are important to the community.”

Lord said that each department in South Kingstown is budgeted about $2,000 for travel and education purposes. Last year, $5,771 was spent in the municipal portion of the budget for six employees to travel to various conferences in New England. For national conferences, four people went to conferences at a cost of $7,646.

Costs for a typical conference include airfare, hotel and $30 per day for food. Employees are required to submit detailed information before being approved to travel, including a brochure, list of expenses, research on the cheapest flight and nearby hotel rates. South Kingstown’s policy dictates that employees must eat food provided by conference hosts if provided and stay in hotels as close to the conference center as possible to avoid additional costs, such as taxis and shuttle services.

The typical conference is a two- or three-day affair with workshops and seminars during the day and social and networking events at night. For example, last year, from Nov. 14 to 16, Town Clerk Dale Holberton attended the National Association of City and Town Clerks conference at The Cliff House in Ogunquit, Maine. There, she was able to choose from workshops with topics ranging from “gender communication” to “working with jpg files.” Other workshops dealt with conflict resolution, making the right hiring choices, resolving tensions in the workplace and techniques in administrative management. The conference cost a total of $438.

Narragansett Police Chief Joseph Little said that the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference is an invaluable resource and worth the $1,950 it cost to fly to New Orleans and attend the conference last year.

“Being able to talk to other police chiefs and get insights from them is a tremendous help,” Little said. “Last year, for example, I attended a workshop dealing with citation problems for chronic party and noise complaints done by the San Diego Police Department. They have the same problems Narragansett has, so it’s a way to get different ideas and how to attack the problem. I can come back and decide to try and implement them or not.”

The conference is also a chance for police chiefs to look at new products, services and equipment for future purchasing decisions. A police chief receives dozens of cold calls every month from salespeople pitching scanners, computer equipment and other gear.

“The most difficult part of this job is keeping up with technology,” Little said. “We’re always trying to cast a balancing act and we have X amount of dollars to spend, so I want to see what’s out there and make better informed decisions.”

South Kingstown Police Chief Vincent Vespia said he’s been attending the IACP conference since 1982. He now sits on two standing committees, including an organized crime committee, which he describes as his “forte” from his years in the State Police. He has led workshops and seminars himself.

“The conference is beneficial to me on many levels,” Vespia said. “It’s a great thing as a professional to be able to pick up the phone and network with a counterpart from anywhere in the country on a first-name basis. That is a tremendous asset as far as I’m concerned and helpful to me over the course of years I’ve been a police chief.”

Often, Vespia spends extra money out of his own pocket. He has opted for hotel upgrades – at his expense – or paid for his wife to fly with him to wherever the conference is being held. There are also social events at night and, because the per-diem only covers breakfast, lunch and dinner, any drinks or meals beyond the allotment come out of his pocket.

Other conferences for public safety employees enable EMTs and officers to get important certification and qualifications. Little said that Narragansett has sent officers to FBI leadership workshops. There, the FBI director often addresses the group and officers learn techniques in interrogation, fingerprinting, accident reconstruction and other areas of expertise.

“It’s an investment in our officers to make them better officers,” Little said.

Alfred said public criticism of out-of-state conferences is often applied with a broad brush and unfairly characterizes the conferences as excuses to vacation. In many cases, the locale of the conferences is far from tropical.

“Is it a junket for me to send police officers to an accident reconstruction or arson investigation or chain of evidence control training session?” he asked.

Lord said that conferences have even saved the town money. Recently, by attending one himself, he was able to lead the town through the development of a request for proposal, saving the town $20,000 in fees that otherwise would have gone to a third party who normally writes RFPs for the town.

Still, Lord said, with the state reeling from another year of massive deficits, conferences will be a topic of discussion at budget time.

“Obviously, each conference will come under closer scrutiny based on the fiscal situation we’re in,” Lord said.