Thursday, 4:30 PM
Expense reports give quirky picture of City Hall
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff
Mayor Thomas M. Menino is normally pretty thrifty in his travels on city business. He flies coach, and isn’t above using discount airline Jetblue. He stays in Hyatts, Marriotts, and Westins, and his bills are typically about $250 a night.
But something about a July visit to New York City made him decide otherwise: he splurged for a one-night, $879.26 stay at the Ritz Carlton, a five-star hotel that boasts of captivating views of Central Park and a spa with six treatment rooms.
Menino’s visit included a tour of several commercial properties in Union Square, including Filene's Basement and Whole Foods, and dinner at the elegant Greek restaurant Estiatorio Milos.
Menino last year spent $14,866.35 using his city-issued debit card, as he traveled on city business to places such as Las Vegas, Chicago, Washington, Atlanta, Dearborn, Mich., and Fredonia, N.Y.
All told, city employees last year filed $229,780 worth of expense reports, according to a Globe review of the documentation that employees must provide for reimbursements. Most of the expenses appear to fall within city guidelines, but they provide a window into the sometimes quirky workings of city bureaucracy.
There’s the $13,131 that city employees paid last year for dog food.
About a dozen police officers in the canine unit are responsible for keeping the department's 16 bomb- and drug-sniffing dogs well nourished through a $3-a-day stipend that hasn’t increased since 1963. Each dog has a different dietary plan that is developed with a veterinarian.
"These are high performance dogs," said Elaine Driscoll, a police spokeswoman. "They have to be fed appropriately so."
