RALEIGH – The fundamental problem with county budgets in North Carolina is not that too many commissioners are heading off to Hawaii next month for a National Association of Counties convention. Given the extent of public furor about the issue in communities from Wilmington to Gastonia, one might be forgiven for thinking tax-funded junkets were the predominant issue in local finance.

Which is not to say that I defend spending the taxpayers’ money to send squads of commissioners off to any Pacific island – unless of course it was Gilligan’s Island, it was a one-way trip, and I got to pick the commissioners.

Defenders of spending thousands of tax dollars per commissioner on the trip make two chief arguments. First, they say that gatherings of policymakers and public officials constitute an excellent opportunity to gather information and debate innovative ideas. “We go there to work,” said Joe Bryan, commission chairman in Wake County and one of eight commissioners or staffers making the trip. “There’s some downtime, but you’re going there to learn and hopefully bring back some ideas that help the county.”

I happen to agree, in theory. Even in this world of high-speed Internet, teleconferencing, and other gadgetry, there is a lot to be said for face-to-face meetings. At the John Locke Foundation, we obviously believe in them, too. The question is not whether conferences are ever valuable, but instead whether a given event is worth the cost, and who should pay it.

To that point, the second argument from defenders is that the Hawaii trip isn’t really that expensive compared to previous National Association of Counties conferences. “Nobody said anything about [the convention] when it was in Milwaukee … or Charlotte,” said Chuck Kitchen, the Durham County attorney, who is attending along the county manager and chairwoman of the county commission. Other than the airfare, the trip won’t cost much more than last year’s event in Phoenix, said a Davidson County commissioner.

In virtually every story I’ve read on this matter, I’ve seen commissioners and staffers make these two arguments almost verbatim. That should be no surprise, because an official of the NC Association of County Commissioners actually prepared talking points for traveling members to use to defend themselves. “In general, it is suggested that commissioners emphasize the educational aspects of the conference and that the conference is held in various spots around the country each year,” the memo stated.

Rather than prepping for the press, commissioners should have exercised better judgment ahead of time. No one is going to be fooled into thinking that these jaunts to Hawaii – or New Orleans, or Phoenix, or wherever – are strictly for work. Many of us have attended professional conventions, and know better. Of course, when you pay the bill yourself – or your employer, using funds acquiring through voluntary means, does so – the situation is entirely different than when taxpayers’ dollars are spent. This is an obvious point, and explains why some commissioners have, indeed, rethought their position.

At the very least, counties should consider sending a single representative to such events, rather than delegations. And they should err on the side of attending meetings, seminars, and workshops closer to home, of which there are many. At a time when most North Carolina counties appear to be raising property taxes yet again, a little common sense would seem to be in order.

Hood is president of the John Locke Foundation.