Have you ever wondered where a person would eat if he didn’t
have to pay for it himself? Well, while it is not something I have given much
thought to in the past, I did think about it when I got copies of the city
manager’s credit card.
'Moments before the beginning of a Richardson City Council
meeting, council member Mark Solomon turns his attention from his strawberry
dessert and taps Mayor Pro Tem Bob Townsend on the arm.
“I’ll make the motion,” he informs him.
Then Solomon returns to his strawberry, cuts it in half and
looks up at council member Scott Dunn.
“This is good,” he says.
“Huh?” Dunn asks.
“This dessert. It’s good.”'
Most of the places he eats are places I have never been to. There
were also several I have never heard of. But there were a few places I have
been, like Café Amore (2 times), Cindi’s NY Deli (2 times), Pappadeaux Seafood
(2 times), Soulman’s BBQ (more than a
few times) and Southern Recipes (too many times to count).
For the city manager, it seems that Ye Shire Tavern is his
most favorite place. During 2013-2014 he made 45 visits there and spent $2,188.15
of taxpayer’s money there with an average cost of $48.63 per visit. If you have
ever watched or talked to the city manager, the last thing that would come to
mind is that he is a lush. He would appear to be anything, but, sharp as a tack. So rather than
buying a bunch of booze, it is probably the food he is interested in, and
likely good food at that.
His second most favorite place appears to be the Renaissance
Hotel Food Bar. During 27 visits there, the taxpayers have purchased almost
$950 worth of food averaging about $35.18 per visit.
Where the most money was spent is Pappas Restaurants. Over
the 2 year period $2,306.37 was spent. Given how thin the city manager is, it
is pretty obvious he was not dining alone. Each visit averaged $576.59.
In total, on the city manager’s credit card, $14,902.41 was
spent on food for the calendar years of 2013 through 2014. Each time he whipped
out that credit card, the average spent was $65.08 on 229 visits at 59
different restaurants.
If he purchases that much food for himself and the ones who
eat with him, it does get me to wondering how much food the taxpayers purchase
for others in the city, like the council, other committees and board.
2013 – About $249,000
2014 – About $313,000 (for just January through November)
No comments:
Post a Comment