TRAVERSE CITY -- Taxpayers spent $3,059 to send two managers from the cash-strapped Grand Traverse County Road Commission to Las Vegas for a conference.
Road Commission Manager Mary Gillis and Maintenance Supervisor Jim Valade attended a conference that spotlighted technology and equipment at the Las Vegas Convention Center March 11-15.
Road commission financial records show officials stayed three nights at Caesar's Palace. The two rooms and air fare cost $2,936. A taxi, airport parking and registration fees made up the balance.
"I don't think it was in any way out of what should be reasonably expected," Gillis said. "I think it's part of my job to keep up on technology and equipment."
Gillis had never been to a heavy-construction equipment conference, she said. She and Valade were able to garner valuable information on equipment the road commission wants to acquire, including specifications from different vendors on global positioning systems for plow trucks they will use in a federal safety grant application, she said.
"We want to get the best equipment that fits our needs," Gillis said. "We don't want to buy something when there is a better product that we just don't know about."
Road Commission Board Chairman Walter "Jay" Hooper said he wouldn't hesitate to spend the $3,000 again, despite the commission's tight budget that may require employee layoffs.
"It's an every-three-year conference and it is the conference everybody goes to to find out what's going on in the industry," Hooper said.
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