“Essential”: Social Security Conference Totals At $700,000
Jul 16, 2009 2 Comments ›› Erik Wong
PHOENIX — A Social Security Administration motivational management conference held at a high-end Valley resort last week cost $700,000, the SSA told the ABC15 Investigators.
Costs for the conference at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa included airfare, hotel entertainment, dancers, motivational speakers, and food, an administration official said.
A spokesperson outside the SSA’s Phoenix office declined to comment.
A spokesperson from the SSA’s regional office said the conference was essential, that teleconferencing was not an option, and that all 675 managers needed to meet in person.
The SSA provided ABC15 with a list of courses provided at the conference, which included “Techniques to Empower You,” “Mentoring the Generations,” and “Emotional Intelligence.”
But the information provided by the SSA did not mention an after-hours casino trip, family members staying at the hotel, or the 20-minute dance party ABC15 observed.
Rooms for the conference were booked at $85 per night, far below the $400-plus room rate in prime season.
The SSA said the entire conference was put out to bid and all employees flew coach class, including the commissioner.
The conference cost was still a tough pill to swallow for taxpayers.
“It sounds like a big rip off to me,” one Phoenix resident said.
“That’s not right,” another Valley resident told ABC15 after watching video of conference events.
Social Security trustees said in May the program will start paying out more in benefits than it collects in taxes in 2016, and the program’s trust fund will be depleted by 2037.
