As Coloradans suffer through the recession, it’s easy to fault the cities and towns that spent thousands to send large numbers of officials and representatives to a three-day conference in Vail this week.
But we don’t begrudge the Colorado Municipal League for holding its 87th annual conference at the mountain resort; nor do we take issue with cities that kept their attendance to a more modest level.
Though the posh setting may raise eyebrows, Vail is a member of the league, too, and CML tries to rotate the event through member cities large enough to host the gathering. It chooses locations by competitive bid, and Vail won this year by charging off-season rates.
Past venues have included non- resort communities such as Greeley, Pueblo and Grand Junction.
That said, we question the decisions by several tiny communities with recession-weakened budgets to send large contingents at taxpayer expense.
The community of Limon saw its budget drop from $2.4 million in 2007 to about $1.98 million for the 2009 budget year, according to The Post’s Christopher N. Osher. Regardless, Limon sent the town manager, the assistant manager and the five town board members to the conference.
Montrose, which has furloughed employees, also sent seven.
Tiny Federal Heights spent taxpayer money to send its city manager and six members of the seven-member council. Fort Collins sent 10 officials.
Some of the state’s largest cities, like Denver and Aurora, sent smaller numbers of officials — five and four, respectively.
The CML conferences do allow for entertainment, such as golf outings and nice meals. They also feature numerous panels and discussions important to city governance. Discussions count for continuing-education credits for some officials.
The CML’s fee for the three days is only $190 per person.
The league’s director, Sam Mamet, tells us that some cities did decide to reduce attendance levels this year, due to budget cuts. The roughly 530 officials who attended represent a 10 percent reduction from last year’s conference.
No doubt, not all attendees take the panels seriously. 9News journalists caught a few goofing off.
But for those motivated to learn and engage, Mamet said, the materials and access are significant.
Silverton’s mayor, for example, cornered Gov. Bill Ritter to talk about the mountain town’s ongoing efforts to obtain broadband Internet service.
“Is that a junket?” Mamet asked.
Yet Mamet agrees that cities need to consider how trips to Vail during a recession look to taxpayers.
City government benefits from having informed officials and representatives at the helm. In these tough economic times, however, governments need to consider any spending very carefully.
