So, $822,000 might be a sliver of a hair of the federal budget, but when it’s spent on carnival attractions like mind readers and clowns performing at a luxe resort on the edge of the Las Vegas Strip under the guise of a conference, well, taxpayers might be a bit miffed.
But that’s the kind of stuff the General Services Administration splurged on at an October 2010 conference for the western region of its Public Building Service, according to an inspector general’s report that was released yesterday shortly after a shakeup at the top of the agency.
Martha Johnson resigned as head of the GSA yesterday shortly after firing her top deputies when details of the investigation began to leak out. The GSA, which oversees the federal government’s office space, will now be led by former D.C. City Administrator Dan Tangherlini.
The conference was held at the M Resort, a boutique hotel, spa and casino about nine miles from the main drag of the Strip. And the spending was in full swing well before the conference opened. Scouting trips and “dry runs” over an 18-month period before the October 2010 conference racked up a bill over $130,000, with agency employees noshing on pricey lunches and making “research” trips to other hotels like the Ritz-Carlton:
Significant spending on catered food and beverages during the various pre-conference trips to the M Resort, totaling over $30,000 for the scouting trip, four pre-planning meetings, and dry run. These charges included $57.72 per head lunches ($44 for lunch plus beverages and a 22% gratuity) and $48.80 breakfasts ($40 plus a 22% gratuity).
And when the conference finally took place, about 300 GSA employees filled the desert resort and supped on petit beef Wellington ($4.75 a piece), miniature Monte Cristo sandwiches ($5 each), $7,000 worth of sushi and a $2,850 cheese display. And that was just at one reception!
Then there was the entertainment, The New York Times reports:
Administration officials confirmed that the conference included a mind reader, clowns and comedians, details first reported by The Washington Post. Employees were led through a team-building exercise assembling bicycles, at a cost to the taxpayer of $75,000.
Not surprisingly, the White House put out an irate statement in response to the sudden turnover at the GSA:
White House officials described the conference as “a complete violation of administration rules,” and moved swiftly to prevent the episode from becoming a larger symbol of administration spending. Robert Peck, the Public Buildings Service chief, and Ms. Johnson’s top adviser, Stephen Leeds, were dismissed. Four General Services Administration employees who organized the conference were placed on administrative leave, according to a White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss confidential personnel matters.
“On his first day in office, President Obama made clear that the people who serve in his administration are keepers of the public trust and that public service is a privilege,” said Jacob J. Lew, the White House chief of staff, in a statement. “When the White House was informed of the inspector general’s findings, we acted quickly to determine who was responsible for such a gross misuse of taxpayer dollars.”
The GSA confab might be a glaring example, but it’s worth noting that on balance, government conferences tend not to be such spendthrift affairs. Stories of the $16 muffins served at a Justice Department conference at the Capitol Hilton might have been flogged to death, but they were based in reality. An auditor’s report last year knocked the Justice Department for spending that much on breakfast and even more for a lunch at a San Francisco conference where lunch cost $76 per person.
Read the inspector general’s report, and let us know if you come across any other fun details:
Final Management Deficiency Report_WRC_2012 April 2 (508 Compliant)
