WEST ALLIS, Wis. (WTAQ) - Officials at State Fair Park in West Allis are being criticized for sending 10 people to a convention in Las Vegas last week.
And some of the complaints are from other state employees, who took pay cuts and furloughs to balance the tight state budget.
The fair’s ticket manager and a public relations employee were among those attending the seminars, trade shows, and Vegas entertainment put on by the International Association of Fairs and Expositions. The total cost was $8,500.
Director Rick Frenette said the fair normally sends about a half-dozen people to the convention. But this year, they sent 10 because the fair is getting a new ticket system, and it gave the workers a chance to get familiar with the technology.
Frenette said they also learned things that will save 10 times what they spent on the trip.
But Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Dan Bice said he got complaint calls from other state workers. One said, “State employees have to take furlough days without pay, so State Fair staff can travel to Vegas? Something isn’t right about this.”
Frenette says he can understand the frustration. He said his staff had to take the furloughs, too, even though the fair does not get state tax money.
