N&O front pager on Raleigh Housing Authority’s phat Christmas party:
The Raleigh Housing Authority holds an annual Christmas dinner for board members, their spouses and nine agency department heads at Second Empire Restaurant on Hillsborough Street, which carries a four-diamond rating from AAA.
…Last year, the public housing leaders had a four-course meal with a variety of wines, beer and bourbon. The bill came to $77 per person for food – 25 people attended – and the alcohol cost a total of $254. The agency, which gets three-quarters of its budget from federal housing dollars, footed the entire bill, which came to $3,082 including tax and tip.
…The housing authority’s executive director, Steve Beam, says no federal funds are used to pay for the dinners. “I don’t think it is unreasonable at the conclusion of a successful year at RHA to offer a single token of thanks which wouldn’t even replace the board’s personal expenses, much less compensate them for the time they invest,” Beam wrote in an email.
…Despite the criticism, Beam said this year’s Christmas dinner is still on. He says the invitations to Second Empire will be going out soon.
Doesn’t say exactly who bankrolls the party if it’s not federal funds, but it doesn’t take much reading between the lines to assume it’s Capitol Area Development, the housing authority’s nonprofit that holds its board meetings at Second Empire.
Meanwhile the N&R editorializes on Greensboro Housing Authority director Tina Akers Brown’s fat salary, which the Charlotte Observer exposed last week:
Regarding “public servants” making really big money, during and after their careers, taxpayers struggling with their own finances might be forgiven if they feel exploited.
Especially when the people who care so much —so much more than the average taxpayer— are partying on.
