Cauthen spent $32,163 on 23 trips between January 1, 2006, and October 8, 2007. That’s according to travel-expense statements released recently to The Pitch through a public-records request. The documents show that Cauthen logged 74 days traveling and spent nearly $1,400, on average, per trip.
The trips include pricey travels abroad:
• Cauthen spent seven days in Europe in December 2006 at a cost to the city of $6,213. That trip was to pitch Kansas City’s entry in the World Leadership Awards in London, but he also made stops in Paris and Bordeaux, France. Cauthen claimed $951.50 in per diem expenses, an average of $135 a day. He also claimed $982 on transportation, or $140 a day.
• In July 2006, Cauthen traveled with his wife, Rita Dixon-Cauthen, to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, for the Large Cities Executive Forum; that trip cost Kansas City $3,010. Cauthen spent seven days in Victoria for a three-day event.
• Cauthen spent $1,615 for a three-day trip to Winnipeg in May 2006 for a meeting of the Tri-National Advocacy for Efficient, Secure and Environmentally Conscious Trade & Transportation group.
• He spent four days in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in September 2006 at a cost of $1,426. His travel receipts do not explain the purpose of the trip, other than "business conference ... International-Halifax."
• In July 2007 Cauthen spent five days in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, for the Large Cities Conference, costing the city $2,458.
Cauthen’s trips include exorbitant airfare, luxury hotels and expensive transportation. Among his expenses:
• In March 2006, he traveled to the National League of Cities conference in Washington, D.C., and spent $1,524 on airfare.
• Two weeks later, Cauthen returned to D.C. for a meeting with the FAA and spent another $967 on airfare.
• For the International City/County Management Association Conference in September 2006, Cauthen charged the city for his flight to D.C. from San Antonio, Texas, but there’s no indication in the records that he was in San Antonio on city business. He flew back to Kansas City, and the three-city airfare cost the city $1,500.
On Friday, December 7, Cauthen told The Pitch that the records must be in error. “I don’t think I made a mistake,” Cauthen said. “If anybody made a mistake, it’s the person who drafted the paperwork.”
The person in charge of Cauthen’s travel expenses is his executive assistant, Terrie Smidt, who was on vacation on Friday.
Addressing questions about specific trips, Cauthen said some of the longer trips include times when he took vacation days. But the records do not reflect that, showing that Cauthen charged the city per diem expenses during what would have been his vacation time. For the Victoria trip, Cauthen said he spent three days there on business and then four days on vacation. The records indicate that he filed per diem reimbursement requests on all seven days and hotel costs of $1,427, meaning he either charged the city for hotel costs for the entire week or paid $475 a night for the three working days.
For the trip to Europe, Cauthen said he spent one day in Paris as a vacation day and another in Bordeaux to inspect the city’s light rail system. The records released to The Pitch do include an eighth day that he did not file expenses. But the records also include three days for which he charged the city for what Cauthen said were train tickets within France, at a total cost of $620. At least one of those tickets would have been for his personal trip to Paris.
"I'm just telling you that I pay for my trips. I understand the difference between business and pleasure,” Cauthen said of the personal days he has taken while traveling for business.
Cauthen said he’s conscious of trying to keep expenses down. He said he wasn’t sure why his airfare was so expensive to places such as Washington, D.C. He said one possible reason, though he couldn’t be sure, may be that he needs to book last-minute tickets to make sure he will be available to travel on those days. “Maybe we need to fire our travel agent. I don’t know,” Cauthen said. “I do the trips. I don’t do the record-keeping or the reservations.”
Many of Cauthen’s trips were booked by Wingate Travel of Overland Park. The travel agent in charge of the account declined to comment.
Cauthen says he doesn’t see a problem with how much he has spent or how many days he travels. He said his contract with the city requires him to do some traveling, including to conferences.
“I’m a city manager. I represent the city on a wide-range of things,” he said. “I’m very cautious of my travel.”
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This jerk-offs job is NOT to represent the City, it's to manage it, hence the title "City Manager". We have Council members and a marketing dept that can represent us all over the world. How can he manage if he's never here??? What a joke.
This jerk-offs job is NOT to represent the City, it's to manage it, hence the title "City Manager". We have Council members and a marketing dept that can represent us all over the world. How can he manage if he's never here??? What a joke.
I agree with the second comment, this article is extremely weak. I don't understand what the author was trying to prove. The costs for the trips don't seem outlandish by any means, and the author made no clear case of wrongdoing or illegal behavior by Cauthen.
I'm not trying to defend Cauthen, I don't know him or anyone in City Hall, but I don't think this article tells us anything.
I agree with the second comment, this article is extremely weak. I don't understand what the author was trying to prove. The costs for the trips don't seem outlandish by any means, and the author made no clear case of wrongdoing or illegal behavior by Cauthen. I'm not trying to defend Cauthen, I don't know him or anyone in City Hall, but I don't think this article tells us anything.
No one is saying the city manager shouldn't take trips.
You just can't get reimbursed for non-official activities, like vacation. How hard is that to understand?
So if you combine vacation with each of your trips (and how nice to get 23 vacations in 2 years!) then you have to pop for your own meals, hotel, and transport for those vacation days. Period!
No business allows you to expense personal vacation days.
The above is the primary issue. If this is what happened, he should be prosecuted for fraud.
The secondary issue is more subtle and is a judgement call. If you are combining vacation with all your official business, and all of this official business just happens to be in nice locations, there is a potential to go to meetings that are in nice places, so that you can do your vacation at the same time. What if there were more appropriate meetings that were held closer to home that weren't attended because they didn't provide good vacation opportunities? The combining of vacation with official business has the real chance of clouding your judgement and should probably be avoided.
The third issue is one of personal judgement: If you are spending the taxpayers money, you have a responsibility to use the least expensive, within reason, alternative. Which means using a 300 dollar flight to DC, not a 1500 dollar one. This is just being obnoxious.
So, at the end of all of this, if you continually show poor judgement and/or illegal behaviour, I would hope there is some consequence, i.e. being fired.
NO NO NO!!! Someone slammed Kaye for KC Waldo,Cronkite,Barnes...etc... This is our Hillary.Our next Senator.Never state a position.Always keep your hand out. Please tell me what she stands for on anything.Wayne and Ms.Cronkite,Barnes,Waldo etc... are like two pigs in slop. By the way is Kristy code for Wayner? Nice try sweetheart.
Okay lets stay in KC and not do anything, Welcome to the 21st century and get off your ass and go see the world and what other cities are doing. Mr. Cauthen is the first City Manager to do anything in KC. Ask the Funk if he has been to the Sprint Center. Probably not, they don't have aerian brotherhood meetings there do they. What a joke. Tell the funk to go back and work @ the Tax Man.
No one is saying the city manager shouldn't take trips. You just can't get reimbursed for non-official activities, like vacation. How hard is that to understand? So if you combine vacation with each of your trips (and how nice to get 23 vacations in 2 years!) then you have to pop for your own meals, hotel, and transport for those vacation days. Period! No business allows you to expense personal vacation days. The above is the primary issue. If this is what happened, he should be prosecuted for fraud. The secondary issue is more subtle and is a judgement call. If you are combining vacation with all your official business, and all of this official business just happens to be in nice locations, there is a potential to go to meetings that are in nice places, so that you can do your vacation at the same time. What if there were more appropriate meetings that were held closer to home that weren't attended because they didn't provide good vacation opportunities? The combining of vacation with official business has the real chance of clouding your judgement and should probably be avoided. The third issue is one of personal judgement: If you are spending the taxpayers money, you have a responsibility to use the least expensive, within reason, alternative. Which means using a 300 dollar flight to DC, not a 1500 dollar one. This is just being obnoxious. So, at the end of all of this, if you continually show poor judgement and/or illegal behaviour, I would hope there is some consequence, i.e. being fired.
NO NO NO!!! Someone slammed Kaye for KC Waldo,Cronkite,Barnes...etc... This is our Hillary.Our next Senator.Never state a position.Always keep your hand out. Please tell me what she stands for on anything.Wayne and Ms.Cronkite,Barnes,Waldo etc... are like two pigs in slop. By the way is Kristy code for Wayner? Nice try sweetheart.
Okay lets stay in KC and not do anything, Welcome to the 21st century and get off your ass and go see the world and what other cities are doing. Mr. Cauthen is the first City Manager to do anything in KC. Ask the Funk if he has been to the Sprint Center. Probably not, they don't have aerian brotherhood meetings there do they. What a joke. Tell the funk to go back and work @ the Tax Man.
Remember�..Cauthen is a hold over from the former Mayor and City Council where illegal-under the table deal making and bid rigging was business as usual. I know as our business saw it first hand�..Barnes and her city council gang of thieves were corrupt to the core. During the Barnes administration the FBI internal files stated the KC metro area was third behind Cook County, Illinois and the State of Louisiana for government corruption. I would expect nothing less from Cauthen�steal from the taxpayer all the while smiling�..To bad we can�t tar and feather this guy and head him out of town on a rail car��
Remember…..Cauthen is a hold over from the former Mayor and City Council where illegal-under the table deal making and bid rigging was business as usual. I know as our business saw it first hand…..Barnes and her city council gang of thieves were corrupt to the core. During the Barnes administration the FBI internal files stated the KC metro area was third behind Cook County, Illinois and the State of Louisiana for government corruption. I would expect nothing less from Cauthen…steal from the taxpayer all the while smiling…..To bad we can’t tar and feather this guy and head him out of town on a rail car……
No need to get worked up about Cauthen. Even if it his last act as Mayor, the Funk is totally committed to get rid of Mr. Cauthen. And we all know how single minded and stubborn the Subprime* Mayor can be.
* subprime in his job as Mayor as well as a subprime mortgage borrower. I base this last comment on the appearance (and maybe even the fact) that the Funk or his husband Gloria has a loan on his home in excess of the value of his home. He has defended this borrowing and as it relates to his personal business that's fine and dandy by me but I hope he doesn't use this wizard like financial strategy as the Mayor of Kansas City (however long he holds on to that moniker).
No need to get worked up about Cauthen. Even if it his last act as Mayor, the Funk is totally committed to get rid of Mr. Cauthen. And we all know how single minded and stubborn the Subprime* Mayor can be. * subprime in his job as Mayor as well as a subprime mortgage borrower. I base this last comment on the appearance (and maybe even the fact) that the Funk or his husband Gloria has a loan on his home in excess of the value of his home. He has defended this borrowing and as it relates to his personal business that's fine and dandy by me but I hope he doesn't use this wizard like financial strategy as the Mayor of Kansas City (however long he holds on to that moniker).
Everyone at the Hall knows that Wayne is an elitist, a racist, and an opportunist. He has functioned as a conduit for employment of primarily African-American buddies from all over the country. Every time Abouhalkah whines about institutional racism at City Hall, we stare at each other in wonderment. There's racism all right, but it's reverse racism! I defy you to spend two weeks working there and not noticing these things. Everyone on the 29th Floor on the C.M.'s side, expects and demands special treatment. That is not leadership and it certainly sets a poor example. These expenses come as no surprise. He's like the short guy who has to over-compensate. I'm sure he went first class all the way, and cost-cutting be damned.
Seems Soon to be Gone City Manager C charged the City for a few days he shouldn't have. If pressed, I am sure he will give back what was mistakenly charged. In the mean time, $32,000 over a year and a half? Big Deal!! His response means nothing since he is about to be pushed out. Next story please.
Everyone at the Hall knows that Wayne is an elitist, a racist, and an opportunist. He has functioned as a conduit for employment of primarily African-American buddies from all over the country. Every time Abouhalkah whines about institutional racism at City Hall, we stare at each other in wonderment. There's racism all right, but it's reverse racism! I defy you to spend two weeks working there and not noticing these things. Everyone on the 29th Floor on the C.M.'s side, expects and demands special treatment. That is not leadership and it certainly sets a poor example. These expenses come as no surprise. He's like the short guy who has to over-compensate. I'm sure he went first class all the way, and cost-cutting be damned.
Seems Soon to be Gone City Manager C charged the City for a few days he shouldn't have. If pressed, I am sure he will give back what was mistakenly charged. In the mean time, $32,000 over a year and a half? Big Deal!! His response means nothing since he is about to be pushed out. Next story please.
There is something wrong when the city manager spends more to fly all over the world than what a lot of us make in a year. What's going on with his response? Why not live up to it? He needs to admit he screwed up. He sounds like an arrogant prick.
There is something wrong when the city manager spends more to fly all over the world than what a lot of us make in a year. What's going on with his response? Why not live up to it? He needs to admit he screwed up. He sounds like an arrogant prick.
How can the news not be obvious? Regarding the Europe trip: even if the amount of money spent was reasonable, how can one justify charging the city a per diem and hotel when one is on vacation? Regarding Halifax: again, even if the amount spent is reasonable, how does the City/Mayor/Taxpayer know the amount spent was for city business? A scribbled note indicating "business conference" might justify a trip to Jefferson City, but not Nova Scotia. In short, there may be times when the City Manager legitimately travels on behalf of the City -- but these trips don't seem to qualify
How can the news not be obvious? Regarding the Europe trip: even if the amount of money spent was reasonable, how can one justify charging the city a per diem and hotel when one is on vacation? Regarding Halifax: again, even if the amount spent is reasonable, how does the City/Mayor/Taxpayer know the amount spent was for city business? A scribbled note indicating "business conference" might justify a trip to Jefferson City, but not Nova Scotia. In short, there may be times when the City Manager legitimately travels on behalf of the City -- but these trips don't seem to qualify
Extremely lacking article. Where's the news here? Let alone the writer making misleading and inappropriate accusatory comments on the price of travel. What's the problem with 6K for a week in Europe? This is lower than a friend of mine spent a couple years ago. When I go to the Halifax area (family) I drop more than $2K. This article should not have gotten past the asst. editors desk let alone been published. Last, most of these conferences need to have a representative of Kansas City and someone has to go that adequatly represent the city. This is the mayors job. Is the author clueless as to North American Trade issues and how much of that goes through the local highways and railroads? Learn to do some real reporting.
Since the Funk says he's so big into keeping KC's budget in tip-top shape, when is he going to ask his manager for our money back? Maybe then all of us taxpayers could take a trip with Cauthen's refund money.
Extremely lacking article. Where's the news here? Let alone the writer making misleading and inappropriate accusatory comments on the price of travel. What's the problem with 6K for a week in Europe? This is lower than a friend of mine spent a couple years ago. When I go to the Halifax area (family) I drop more than $2K. This article should not have gotten past the asst. editors desk let alone been published. Last, most of these conferences need to have a representative of Kansas City and someone has to go that adequatly represent the city. This is the mayors job. Is the author clueless as to North American Trade issues and how much of that goes through the local highways and railroads? Learn to do some real reporting.
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