Councillor attendance at a housing conference in Glasgow, costing £699 of public money per delegate while the council is slashing budgets elsewhere, led to a heated exchange at a meeting of Dundee City Council.
The annual conference of the Chartered Institute of Housing takes place over three days next month, but plans for some elected officials to attend along with council officers was met with criticism from some opposition councillors.
Councillor Brian Gordon said at a time when the council is having to make tough decisions on how to cut costs when it considers its budget on Thursday, the conference was a luxury it could not afford.
He said: “As everyone knows this budget is going to be painful for a lot of people. It is a budget we can’t avoid but we can try our best to alleviate the problems.”
Mr Gordon said if the council send the same number of people as last year it would cost around £5,000.
Chairman of the housing committee John Alexander hit back saying the suggestion was “short-sighted” and said only two councillors would attend along with council officers.
He said: “We all agree we would like to see conferences free for council members, but I believe they are important.
“We need to ensure we are listening to best practise and gaining knowledge on issues, particularly given the challenges we face now.”
Councillors voted 18 to 12 in favour of attending the conference.