In the gambling business, hitting a trifecta wins you big bucks based on a series of decisions. But in the case of the 2008 trifecta of eyebrow-raising incidents in Wake County government, taxpayers were big losers, not winners.
First there was the outrageous travel of the now-former recycling manager, which was revealed this summer. Craig Wittig’s taxpayer-funded jaunts — about two per month over two years — included trips to Disney World and a whale-watching cruise off the coast of Maine. Cost to taxpayers: at least $160,000.
That was followed by the trip to Los Angeles for a software conference taken by a dozen Wake County employees this fall. Cost to taxpayers: $29,825.
Now comes word of specialized training for the county’s human services manager — a man who allegedly made insensitive comments to some employees. Cost to taxpayers: $5,680.
Is it fair to lump these incidents together and assume they reflect a pattern of poor judgment? It’s at least worthy of discussion and is particularly valid since the county is facing a budget shortfall but spent money this year as detailed above.
I know one thing for sure: If I spent money from my household budget this way, I’d have a lot of explaining to do to my key constituent.
