Tour Organizers Regularly Enjoyed Taxpayer-Subsidized Booze, Expensive Meals & Room Service

A review of Tour of Missouri expense reports and receipts shows that race organizers regularly paid for liquor and expensive meals with taxpayer-subsidized Tour funds. 

A number of these questionable expenses were highlighted in an independent accountants' report released earlier this month, which when combined with other documents obtained via a separate Sunshine request, show that organizers not only ran up monstrous bills for VIPs in the days surrounding the race, but also treated themselves year-round with Tour funds at restaurants and bars in Jefferson City, Columbia and other cities in Missouri.

Here's a sampling of the meal and alcohol charges you helped pay for:

• $371 at the Doubletree restaurant in Jefferson City (March '09, ~7pm) for Crown Royal, wine, mahi mahi, more
• $33 for two at Addison's in Columbia (February '08, ~7pm)
• $211 for 3 people to eat one meal at Union Station in St. Louis
• $186 at Applebee's one evening in Jefferson City (~10pm) for vodka, gin, beer, steak and more
• $172 at 12 West Bar & Grill in Farmington (March '09, ~8:30pm) for surf & turf, rib eye, lots of wine
• $80 at Prison Brews in Jeff City (August '08, ~8pm) for food and beer
• $50+ at El Jimador in Jefferson City (January '08, ~8:45 pm)
• $112 for two people to eat at Romano's Macaroni Grill in Springfield (May, ~8pm)

• $271 at J. Buck's in Springfield (July, ~9pm)
• $255 at Ruby Tuesday's (December, ~6:40pm) for wine, beer, salmon oscar, ribs and shrimp
• $158 at O'Donoghue's in Jeff City (~7:00pm), without a full breakdown of the expenses
• Blizzards and a shake at Dairy Queen (May '09, ~1:30pm)
• $57 for room service, $44 at the hotel bar  (April '08)
• $48 in room service (July '09)
• $78 at Madison's in Jefferson City (January '08, ~10:20pm)

More scanned receipts may be viewed here.

Like many things involving the Tour of Missouri, the line between private and public activities is blurred.  Tour of Missouri, Inc.'s Executive Director -- who approved the expenses -- is the Deputy Lieutenant Governor. The Tour's project manager -- who submitted many of the expenses listed above -- is a state employee in the Division of Tourism and paid consultant for Peter Kinder's campaign committee. Both are assigned Tour-related duties as part of their official responsibilities, and expensed and authorized payments "in connection with [the] Tour of Missouri" with public/private Tour of Missouri, Inc. funds.

However, as stated in the accountants' report, there were no guidelines put forward by Kinder and his team for what constituted an allowable expense.

Still, since the Tour is heavily subsidized with taxpayer funds and taxpayer-finance staff time, it seems entirely reasonable to expect state staffers doing Tour business to adhere to the the state's policies for travel and meal expenses that would apply to any other state employee. Specifically, state policy requires the following:

Travel to conduct state business should be accomplished in the most economical and efficient manner possible...This policy applies to any official or employee who travels as well as anyone who arranges, approves, pays for or processes transactions related to travel.

The standard you should apply is that each travel expense should stand on its own without the need to seek further explanation. In other words, an individual who did not take or approve the trip could review the trip documentation and readily understand what expenses were incurred and why and how they relate to transacting state business...

Expenses incurred for your sole benefit, such as any type of insurance, Individual Business Travel Card late payment fees or finance charges, travel loan finance charges, personal credit card fees or dues, entertainment such as television or movie charges, bar bills, fitness membership fees, extra meals or snacks, bulk food/beverage purchases, newspapers, magazines and other like charges are not allowed as reimbursable travel expenses...

In addition, state travel regulations are very clear about the propriety of alcohol charges.

Officials and employees shall not incur expenses for the purchase of alcoholic beverages for reimbursement as a travel expense or payments made directly by an agency.

Reflecting on the accountants' report and other public documents pertaining to Tour spending, it's clear that there have been few controls in place to limit extravagant spending by and for Tour organizers.  Given the huge sums of taxpayer money required to make the race happen in recent years, we should expect better.

Every dollar counts.

Image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mobikefed/ / CC BY 2.0