BY LINDA BENTLEY | FEBRUARY 5, 2014
Glassman at taxpayer trough two more weeks
Glassman drove an average of 97 miles per day to host breakfasts, coffees, lunches and dinners at taxpayer expense
CAVE CREEK – With Interim Town Manager Rodney Glassman’s last day looming around the bend, taxpayers can soon breathe a sigh of relief that they will no longer have to pay for his extravagances.
Glassman, who town staff says is almost never at town hall, has been charging taxpayers mileage, sometimes averaging 100 miles a day, so he can drive from restaurant to restaurant, where taxpayers are funding his hosted breakfasts, lunches, coffees and more, supposedly for the purpose of conducting town business.
During October, he racked up 1,856 miles at a cost of $1,049.
Glassman drove an average of 97 miles per day to host breakfasts, coffees, lunches and dinners at taxpayer expense, with state legislators, Cave Creek council members, mayors and council members from various Arizona cities and towns and the media.
The purposes listed for meals and coffee were vague, such as breakfast with Cahava, visit with Councilman Durkin, Phoenix Magazine, breakfast with councilmember Phoenix, coffee with state legislator, lunch with Darryl Crossman/search, coffee with mayor of Goodyear/search, coffee with media, coffee for economic development, breakfast for search, Good Egg/town hall, Grotto for agenda and so on.
While it is our understanding alcohol is not a reimbursable expense, some of the more expensive receipts turned in for reimbursement did not include itemization.
On Dec. 8, for example, “Search/Wild at Heart/Town visit to prepare for …” something illegibly scrawled on a Buffalo Chip receipt totaling $78.03 had no itemization.
A Nov. 18 receipt from Tonto Bar & Grill for $60.55 is not itemized and only states “Dennis Smith MAG.”
However, a Nov. 12 receipt from Tonto is also included for $35.51 and reflects the number of guests as two and their orders: two “Cobb Entree Chicken.”
A receipt for $19.08, indicating Glassman hosted Councilman Charles Spitzer at Alexis Family Restaurant in Phoenix regarding CAP at 2:06 p.m. on Nov. 14, is also not itemized.
Neither is a receipt from Adobe Restaurant at 8:51 a.m. on Nov. 18 that only has “Pastor” written across the top to indicate what it’s for.
Glassman hosted Vice Mayor Adam Trenk at the Adobe Restaurant at 1 p.m. on Nov. 20 regarding the “search process.” That receipt is also not itemized, nor is the receipt from P.F. Chang’s China Bistro at 12:56 p.m. on Nov. 25 for $21.14, where Glassman hosted lunch with Trenk while referencing the “selection process.”
Glassman logged 1,460 miles during November where he traveled to Butterfields to host breakfast with “Scottsdale leadership,” the Grotto, where he hosted a meeting with the L.A. Times, Hava Java for the search process, lunch with Trenk, various meetings at the Grotto to meet with the mayor, council members and for economic development.
By December, Glassman’s mileage was down to 1,245 at a cost of $703.43, only because he was on vacation from Dec. 20 until Jan. 6.
The town manager search process included Hava Java for coffee, the Biltmore Center for lunch, the Grotto for candidate interviews, Adobe Restaurant, Hava Java and the Grotto for town hall, state land, coffee with a local business owner, coffee for development opportunities and breakfast with a media consultant.
On Dec. 16, Glassman took the mayor of Fountain Hills and Councilman Reg. Monachino to lunch at a cost of $77.58 for the purpose of discussing “MAG/Regionalism.” The receipt is not itemized.
Glassman hosted lunch with Channel 3 at Moto on Dec. 19. The receipt, which, again, is not itemized, came to $15.78.
The only change we’ve seen since we last made a request for records is the mileage is now broken down into two categories, taxable and non-taxable, as Glassman’s commuting mileage is considered taxable income.
The new town manager is scheduled to start on Feb. 10 with Feb. 14 slated to be Glassman’s last day.
