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They'll go to Hawaii; we'll get the bill

Four Pinellas County commissioners will attend a national conference for county officials. The cost to county taxpayers: about $18,000.

By BILL VARIAN and NICOLE JOHNSON
Published June 18, 2005

Brochure photos for the July conference promise killer waves, white-sand beaches and hula sunsets.

Attendees will pay $195 to $295 a night for a room at the Hilton Hawaiian Beach Resort & Spa. They will be feted at the private, oceanside estate, Lanikuhonua (translation: heaven on earth.)

In between, about 3,000 county officials from around the country are expected to attend seminars on subjects like "Buying Smarter - Five Surefire Ways to Save Procurement Dollars." Greetings from the National Association of Counties' 70th annual conference and exposition in Honolulu.

Those in attendance will include four Pinellas County commissioners - John Morroni, Susan Latvala, Ken Welch and Calvin Harris - plus three top administrators. The projected cost of heaven to Pinellas County taxpayers: $18,060.

The Pinellas contingent is the exception in the Tampa Bay area. Like many of their counterparts around the nation, most county officials from the region are taking a pass on this year's pilgrimage. They're citing high airfares starting about $800 round trip and expensive accommodations that would be hard to defend on the stump.

"I just don't see anything to be gained from county commissioners in Florida attending a conference in Hawaii," said Hillsborough Commissioner Kathy Castor, who tried unsuccessfully to get her fellow board members to sign an abstinence pledge.

Still, no Hillsborough commissioners plan to attend. Only County Administrator Pat Bean will represent Hillsborough, and she says she plans to pay her own way, plane ticket, registration fee, lodging, food and all.

Marilyn Smith, a longtime citizen critic of Hillsborough government, said she sees no problem with Bean attending, even if the taxpayers pay. But commissioners?

"They don't need to go. They can get all of this stuff on CDs and DVDs," Smith said. "I think we should have one person there. But we don't need a gaggle of geese going over there like a junket."

Pasco County officials greeted requests for attendance confirmation with laughter. Conference brochures quickly found trash bins. Ditto Citrus County.

Hernando Commissioner Chris Kingsley is the only one from his county who will make the trek. He, too, will pay his own airfare, a $570 ticket secured early.

In Pinellas, they're not so squeamish.

Along with the four commissioners, assistant county administrator Elithia Stanfield, director of information technology Paul Alexander and director of human services Evelyn Bethell are going.

The expenses range from $2,000 to $2,900 a person. That's because some could get cheaper airfare and lodging than others. Bethell, whose total expenses are $2,000, is paying for her own airfare.

All point to roles they play in the organization and workshops they say will help them do their jobs better back on the mainland.

"One of the things we've been working on is a bus rapid transit system," said Harris, a three-year member of NACO's transportation subcommittee. "A lot of counties in the organization have already figured those things out and it will be helpful to attend those meetings to hear what worked for them."

Harris attended the 2002 national conference in New Orleans, as well as the organization's legislative conferences in 2004 and 2005.

Latvala will serve on two panels during the conference. "They always go some place nice," she said. "But I have work to do when I go, and I wouldn't have it any other way."

It's the first national conference for Morroni, the commission's chairman. He will accept the 2005 Achievement Award for Intergovernmental Cooperation for Fort De Soto Park's Ecological Enhancement Program on behalf of the county.

Despite the accolade, Morroni said the conference's lush location could be ill-received.

"The perception of it being in Hawaii isn't great, but we don't have any control of where they have it," Morroni said."I knew going was going to be more expensive than say, Los Angeles, but, as a conservative, I'm trying to go as cheap as possible."

Welch said a trip to Washington D.C. can be just as expensive.

"If it was a conference in Nevada or California, I don't think the cost would be that much different," said Welch. "Either our constituents want us to travel and connect with other policymakers, or they don't. . . . I think the benefits outweigh the cost."

Commissioner Bob Stewart said he isn't so sure. He's not going.

"It's too far, too expensive and not meaningful enough," Stewart said. "Based on my past experience, and looking at the agenda, I didn't see enough relevence to the issues and challenges facing this county to justify that type of a trip."

Friday was the last day to pay the $415 early-bird registration. So far, about 2,900 people have registered, said Tom Goodman, NACO public affairs director.

About 3,200 people attended each of the past two annual conferences in Phoenix and Milwaukee. More than 4,000 attended the conference in New Orleans.

The locations are picked seven years ahead of time based on applications from prospective host counties by the NACO board of directors, which includes county officials from all 50 states. A nice location is a factor for people considering arriving early or staying later, Goodman said. But people are expected to attend the seminars.

"Counties across the country face lots of the same problems," Goodman said. "Some may have found solutions. What we try to do is share that information so they don't have to start from the beginning."

Hillsborough Commissioner Tom Scott acknowledged that commissioners everywhere have been anticipating the conference, though he said he would not be attending. A day after, when a reporter was requesting Commissioner Jim Norman's calendar entries for the July 15-19 conference dates, Norman called from his inner office, "I'm not going."

Hillsborough Commissioner Ken Hagan said he initially considered going, but changed his mind.

"I think that someone should be there," he said. "It's a shame if people are ashamed to go or afraid to go because it's in Hawaii."

Times staff writers Bridget Hall Grumet, Will Van Sant and Justin George and researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Bill Varian can be reached at 813 226-3387 or varian@sptimes.com

[Last modified June 18, 2005, 00:46:08]