At the 2020 millage rate hearings in August, I mentioned some of the most extravagant expenses I saw in the 2020 budget. One of those expenses was over $100,000 for travel.
During the hearing, you can only speak for 3 minutes and they cut you off if you go over that, so I didn't have time to elaborate then. I wanted to come back and talk about it more, though.
The actual amount that the City of Sugar Hill budgeted for travel in 2020 was $116, 925. That was down a little bit from $123,795 in 2019, but still, a lot.
The top 5 big spenders in the travel category are:
- "Administration", which I think includes the City Manager. $37,000
- Mayor and City Council $27,500
- Economic Development $15,000
- Planning and Development $13,525
- Bowl/Plaza Events $5,450
These are not the only departments mentioned in the travel budget, however. The Street Department, Recreation, Stormwater, Gas, the Golf Course, and even the Cemetery have money budgeted for travel. This is in addition to any money for the fleet vehicles the City owns or the gas for them.
You can see for yourself in the 2020 Budget, which I have with all of the travel items highlighted for your review. I also have a list I wrote up that details which groups have a travel budget and how much it was.
To get a better idea of the nature of this travel, I filed a series of Open Records Requests to obtain expense reports and travel-related receipts for City-issued credit cards. Because 2020 travel was restricted everywhere temporarily due to the pandemic, I asked to see what happened in 2019.
See the results of my open records requests in Traveling on the Taxpayer Dime, Part 2.
