Editorial: Commission did the right thing
Publication Date: 07/19/03
The St. Augustine City Commission in June voted 3-1 to pay for their spouses to travel with them on official trips. Commissioner Errol Jones was the lone dissenter and Commissioner Susan Burk was absent. The other three commissioners -- Mayor George Gardner, Don Crichlow and Bill Lennon -- voted for it although later Lennon told The St. Augustine Record he didn't realize the action would include the official trip to Aviles, Spain, the home of our city's founder, Pedro Menendez de Aviles.
The Record took the commission to task for adopting such a policy questioning the need for tax dollars to be spent on spousal travel. The commissioners were told by staff that there would have to be official duties for the spouses to perform to qualify for the travel payment, and staff was scrambling to find "official duties."
Last Monday night, the commission had a change of heart, and rightly so.
The new policy was rescinded.
The St. Augustine City Commission made the right decision. It's never OK to use taxpayers dollars for personal gain.
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