T

he mayor and Birmingham City Council just went to the beach.

On your money.

The mayor and council brought aides and staffers – 30 employees in all, at an average cost of $661 a person. They stayed at the Grand Hotel Marriott in Point Clear, during Mardi Gras, when it ain't cheap.

And they paid for it with your money.

The trip last weekend, billed as a joint work session to discuss long range plans, council priorities and strategic development, came to $25,130.57 in all. The city advanced employees $19,850.57 for travel, and spent $5,280 for hotel facilities and a facilitator. (You can see the individual costs below).

And you bought it.

Oh, and they brought their husbands and wives too, their significant others. The city will tell you those partners had to pay their own way, but let's face it. They did not sleep alone. They stayed in the rooms with their sweeties.

So one way or another, you paid for that, too.

At least one thing good came out of it the whole thing. Mayor William Bell and Councilwoman Lashunda Scales – who typically get along like Vladimir Putin and Boy George -- posed for a sweet, if uncomfortable, photo.

A peace shot, if you will. You paid $1,149 for the two of them to go to the beach, to find a place and a moment where they could bury the hatchet.

Councilman Steven Hoyt snapped the shot of that tender moment. Consider his $743 ticket a photographer's fee.

Council members, at least some of them, will tell you it was money well spent, that what took place in Point Clear was well worth the cost. The retreat helped them communicate and understand and see a vision for the city's future.

And it's just $25,000. And what is $25,000 to the city of Birmingham?

It's nothing. Just the list price of a council member, almost enough to pay for a member if the Birmingham Water Works Board. It is more than the average Birmingham resident makes in a year. It is the amount of sales tax money the city brings in every time people like you spend $625,000 on food, or clothing, or brick and mortar.

You pay for it. Every single day.

Even though there are plenty of places in Birmingham to meet, and communicate, and envision the future.

Like the crossplex, or the BJCC. If they are good enough to advertise, to promote to outsiders looking for a venue, they ought to be good enough for our own city officials.

Like the public library, or Vulcan, or William Bell's house. If you just want to talk, you don't need the beach.

Shoot, they could probably get into that old Social Security Building for a few days, just to give it a dry run to see if it is really worth renting. For $5 million a year.

It has a lot to offer, the city believes. Just not a beach.

What is $25,000 to the city? It is nothing. Nothing but your money.

And your money is no object.

John Archibald is a columnist for Alabama Media Group. Jarchibald@al.com

Below is a list of city employees who received pre-paid expenses to attend the retreat in Point Clear Feb. 28-March 2.