Trip to China on taxpayer money, anyone?

[spidey]

Beijing, Shanghei, and Hong Kong? Yeah, I'd love to go there. Let's see at $5250 each, double occupancy, if you're a chamber member, that would mean the City is spending $31,500 of our taxpayer money to go to China, at the same time they are wondering how they will make the budget after the next round of state cuts to property taxes. Hmmmm...what's wrong with that picture? Or did the Chamber take up a collection to pay for them to go? Has that ethics legislation regarding gifts been passed yet?

Here's the folks scheduled to go in March:

Raul Alfonso — Jacksonville Port Authority; Ron and Hilah Autrey — Miller Electric; Bob Baldwin — the Chamber; Ron Barton, Jacksonville Economic Development Commission; Charles Berman — Berman Bros, Inc.; Ed Burr and Billie Jo Burr; Walter Dickinson — Colliers Dickinson; Leila Duncan — the Chamber.
Eloise Feather — Colliers Dickinson; City Council member Art Graham; Sandy Harbison — Travel Authority; Mike Hightower — Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida; City Council member Stephen Joost; Alyson Lee — Jacksonville University; Wally Lee — Chamber president; Wei-Tieng Li and Robin Li — Pappas, Metcalf, Jenks & Miller; James Love and Robin Love — State Farm Insurance; Jerry Mallot — executive vice president, economic development of Cornerstone; Suzanne Montgomery — Montgomery, Copley & Associates; Bandele Onasanya — ONAS Corporation; Mayor John Peyton and Kathryn Peyton; Guy Preston — Colliers Dickinson; Kerry Romesburg — president, Jacksonville University; Adekunle Sogbesan — Twins Mortgage. Robin Sorensen — Firehouse Subs; Michael Stewart — Jacksonville Aviation Authority; Frank Ting — Colliers Dickinson; James Tyler and Kellie Tyler — Haskell; Anna Valent — the Chamber; Alan Vinson — James Taylor Vinson Co.; Denise Wallace — BCM Services, Inc.; Steven Wallace — president, Florida Community College at Jacksonville; and Amelia Wallace — FCCJ.

http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showst...Story_id=49137