What did they spend it on?
Published: October 27, 2012
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ST. THOMAS - The Daily News was flooded with calls from the public Friday eager to know what had been discovered in the Legislature documents finally released to the newspaper.
While reporters made photocopies of travel and capital project records all day Friday, only a portion of the total number of documents have been obtained so far.
It will take time to fully comb through and analyze the thousands of pages that will be copied during the next week, but a few interesting items have already come to light.
Travel records for 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 show:
- Senators spent thousands to attend President Barack Obama's inauguration festivities in January 2009, some staying in $600 a night hotels for multiple days.
- Senators spend thousands - each - attending the Seatrade Cruise Shipping Conference in Miami each year.
- A number of senators spent public money on dry cleaning and laundry services while traveling.
- Luxury hotels, expensive meals, room service, and car services are paid for regularly by taxpayers.
The Legislature made the following capital expenditures in fiscal years 2009 and 2010:
- At least $1.1 million on renovations from Jan. 1, 2010, through June 22, 2010.
- At least $390,000 on renovations from May 2009 through December 2009.
- More than $73,000 for carpentry work at the Capitol building on St. Thomas, including 22 straight days of work, including weekends, between May 5, 2010, and May 26, 2010.
- The purchase and installation of a number of mahogany doors priced at $2,300 each and others priced at $2,200 each.
- $43,800 for tiling two men's bathrooms and two women's bathrooms.
- $36,700 for a 2008 Red Ford F-350 truck.
- $10,186 on floor mats.
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