Lisle Mayor Joe Broda is
NOT a voting member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The USCM
membership fee for municipalities with a population under 30,000 is $1,992 per year.
There are 1299 cities, villages and towns in the State of Illinois - each with a mayor.
Only
11 mayors in Illinois used taxpayer funds to pay airfare, conference fees, transportation and expenses for the 4 day Las Vegas conference. That comes to less than 1% ( 0.85% to be exact ) of Illinois mayors taking taxpayers' money to pay for a trip to Vegas.
Lisle Mayor Joe Broda is the 1%
Only 180 municipalities throughout the entire 50 states chose to send their mayor to this year's conference in Las Vegas according to the USCM registration website. Over
1000 mayors were expected to register. Many municipalities cut the trip due to necessary belt-tightening as employee health care benefits and pensions costs increased at the same time aging infrastructure replacement, maintenance and improvement costs strained budgets. Other municipalities simply did not see the trip as a necessary public expenditure and could not justify the benefit to their town was worth the cost of the trip.
Only 5 non-member municipalities in the entire country chose to use taxpayer money to fund a trip for their mayor to Las Vegas - a trip where they have no voting rights on any official business. Lisle is one of those 5 municipalities in the entire country that chose to spend taxpayer's money to send a non-voting mayor to Las Vegas. (see USCM registration website)
Mayors from the following Illinois municipalities attended the USCM conference in Las Vegas this year:
Lisle (*),
Addison,
Bloomington,
Hanover Park,
Danville,
Hoffman Estates, Loves Park (*),
Lake Barrington,
North Chicago,
Waukegan and O'Fallon (*).
(*) - not an official voting member of USCM.
What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas
So, what happens at the annual US Mayor's Conference?
Here is a link to the agenda:
AGENDA.
During the convention, over
240 pages of resolutions were adopted by official voting members.
Lisle Mayor Joe Broda is
NOT a voting member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors according to the USCM website.
Chicago Mayor Rahn Emanuel sponsored the resolution for background checks for firearms purchases, but did not attend the USCM Las Vegas conference.
The voting members also urged the federal government to give states leeway in establishing marijuana policies and urged Congress to adopt comprehensive immigration reform. Broda could not vote on any resolution, since he is not an official voting member.
U.S. Mayors Convention Notice: "Unless otherwise noted, all plenary sessions, committee meetings, task force meetings, workshops and social events are open to all mayors and other officially-registered attendees. However, only member mayors of a standing committee are eligible to vote on resolutions before that standing committee."
Several of the mayors that attended gave speeches and/or lead committee meetings and task force groups, including mayors from:
Columbus, Little Rock, Laredo, Bridgeport, Piscataway, Boston, Baltimore, Las Vegas, Louisville, Indianapolis, Denton, Irving, Auburn, Sumter, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Houston, Des Moines, Atlanta, Hollingdale Beach, Southfield, Oklahoma City, Minneapolis, Long Beach, Dallas, Waterbury, Beaverton, Lansing, Austin, Newton, Pembroke Pines, Santa Ana, Salt Lake City, San Jose, Jacksonville, Portland, Sacramento, Mesa, Oakland, Belmar, New Orleans, Fresno, Carmel, Avondale, Tacoma, San Francisco, Birmingham, Wichita, Allentown, San Bruna, Kansas City, Burnsville, St. Louis, Tallahassee, Miramar, Phoenix, East Orange, Cincinnati, Elizabeth, Madison, Santa Barbara, Debuque.
Keynote speeches were given by
Vice President Joe Biden and
Richard M. Daley, former mayor of Chicago.
Social Activities: When not busy with official duties voting on resolutions, all who paid the registration fee, including non-USCM members and those not allowed to vote on official USCM business, were invited to many social events, at no additional fee.
Friday evening:
Surfside Party at Mandalay Bay Beach - "tasty treats, speciality drinks ... and entertainment."
Saturday evening: A Taste of Downtown at the
Fremont Street Experience. "Viva Las Vegas! Experience vintage Vegas at the place where the glitz and glamour began, Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas." Food, drinks and entertainment included.
Sunday: Cirque Du Soleil And Michael Jackson –
“Michael Jackson ONE” followed by a late night party at the "
House of Blues" for a celebration honoring the outgoing USCM president and welcoming the incoming USCM president.
No Vegas Trip for You
The following DuPage municipalities did NOT send their mayor to this years convention:
Naperville, Aurora, Downers Grove, Elmhurst, Wheaton, Glen Ellyn, Woodridge, Bolingbrook, Westmont, Clarendon Hills, Hinsdale, Darien, Burr Ridge, Willowbrook, Oak Brook, Villa Park , Itasca, Glendale Heights, Lombard, Winfield, West Chicago, Warrenvville, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Bensenville, Wayne, Lemont, Bartlett, Roselle, Oak Brook Terrace, Medinah, Wood Dale, and St. Charles.
Mayors from some of the largest cities in Illinois did NOT attend - this includes mayors from:
Chicago, Springfield, Rockford, Peoria, Arlington Heights, Aurora, Joliet, Elgin, Cicero, Naperville, Champaign, Evanston, Decatur, Paletine, Skokie and Des Plaines.
Broda's Detailed Las Vegas Expenditures
(source village board packets)
$ 892.52 Mandalay Bay Casino & Hotel US Mayor Conf
$ 29.94 Mandalay Bay Casino & Hotel US Mayor Conf
$1,400.00 US Mayor Conf Registration
$ 222.88 Hotel Deposit
$ 452.80 Airfare US Mayors Conf
About U. S. Conference of Mayors
The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. Mayors contribute to the development of national policy by serving on one or more of the conference’s standing committees which recommend policy positions every year at the Annual Meeting they believe should be adopted by the organization. The policy positions that are adopted are then distributed to the President and Congress.
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