Face The State Staff Report
Four years after a CBS 4 investigation revealed lavish spending by the Arvada Urban Renewal Authority, the board has curbed some of its spending while still engaging in the occasional taxpayer-funded splurge.
The AURA boardAURA
Board member Tim Geisler, for example, went to a conference in New York City in June and stayed at the luxurious Waldorf Astoria hotel for $410 per night. The total cost of the weekend trip was $1,883, which included two nights at the hotel, airfare, meals and transportation to and from the airport (PDF). Conference registration was an additional $1,925 (PDF).
After CBS 4's Brian Maass exposed AURA spending in 2005, the board apologized and implemented a new policy that said, “Reasonable diligence will be used to make sure the lowest reasonable rate is obtained.” Maureen Phair, AURA’s deputy director, defended the board's subsequent expenses according to that guideline. “We have a seven member board and encourage them to attend these seminars and conferences to make sure they are educated on urban renewal,” she said.
Phair said members are allowed to attend two out-of-state conferences a year and AURA does not limit the number of board members who can attend each conference. Other conference destinations include Miami, Las Vegas and Washington D.C. She said board members always try to stay at the hotel where the conference is being held.
Board members John Carpenter, John Boettiger, Page Bolin and executive director Tim Steinhaus all attended the Urban Land Institute Conference in Miami in October. According to documents, airfare, hotels and meals for the Miami trip cost over $5,000 (PDF).
The board's members also routinely eat dinner out after their monthly meetings, regularly spending hundreds of dollars. Phair, however, says board meetings are during the dinner hour and members try to support local restaurants by always eating at a restaurant in Old Town Arvada.
Maass' investigation found that the board spent over $160,000 on eating, drinking, traveling and retreats from 2002 to 2004. Fair says new policies were implemented after that have curbed board spending to $45,000 annually for travel, training and meetings. According to AURA's Web site, "urban renewal allows Tax Increment Financing, which is a vehicle where sales and property taxes may be leveraged to help finance projects like infrastructure, environmental clean up, or provide the public improvements necessary for the development to occur." The board's budget is taken from sales and property taxes in the city's urban renewal districts.
In 2008, the seven member board spent $32,300 on food, lodging, travel and memberships.
Arvada resident and property rights activist Tom Wambolt said he is glad AURA has cut back but thinks the spending is still too extravagant. “Now, people are losing their jobs and everyone needs to be scaling back,” he said.
Despite the downturn in the economy, AURA still held its annual Christmas party in December, spending $739 for 18 people, at a cost of $41 per person (PDF). Phair said the party has been significantly scaled back and was held at a local clubhouse. “It’s just kind of a [Bring your own beer] thing, and AURA just pays for the food,” she said.