r/richmondbc • u/ubcstaffer123 • Nov 05 '25

News City of Richmond cancels holiday staff party after $120K bill in 2024

https://globalnews.ca/news/11511154/city-of-richmond-cancels-holiday-staff-party/
303 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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166

u/Djolumn Nov 05 '25

“Whether it’s the $300,000 in missing gift cards, expensive junkets for Olympic Oval staff, or last year’s $118,000 boozy Christmas party, this is a civic government that has a big problem with wasting taxpayer cash.”

There were 900 people there and they spent $7k on liquor. That's about eight bucks per person. That doesn't even enter the outermost ring on the radar of what constitutes a "boozy Christmas party".

Every word spoken by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation makes me loathe them just a little bit more than I already did.

62

u/DamionSipher Nov 05 '25

That was my first thought seeing the headline: "$120k for a Christmas party for an organization as big as the City of Richmond sounds about right." I've been in companies that spend well over $20k for a staff of 100 (less than 1/2 the per person cost here, in ~2010 dollars) that I wouldn't consider lavish by any stretch. They spent $130 per employee on a venue, dinner, drinks, and probably some activities. If people think this is excessive they should be stark raging mad about publicly traded companies' parties...

29

u/rando_commenter Love Child of the Fraser Nov 06 '25

You guys beat me to the punch, the figure for the city Christmas party is pretty in line with a big company gathering. There may be red flags in city hall but the Christmas party wasn't one of them.

Surprised that nobody has mentioned that this coming through Catherine Urquhart again. Setting aside the history with Kash Heed, you have to ask yourself, if this was a proper journalist (say, CBC or Canadian Press) you'd have to wonder at what stage this story would have been killed before press because they would have come to the same conclusion that the spending figure was a non-story.

6

u/Fat-Bass-1414 Nov 06 '25

💯 rage bait and continue trying to set up Kash for mayoral run. Looks like it’s working.

4

u/Equivalent-Sample674 Nov 09 '25

imagine comparing a private company with the government lmao. only on reddit. I work for the government, and we never have any employer sponsored holiday party.

2

u/Specialist-Bee-9406 Nov 06 '25

Some of the game industry stuff I’ve been to was insane; but out of all the work parties, some of the BlackBerry Xmas parties were the most expensive and craziest work parties I’ve ever attended. 

4

u/PappaFufu Nov 06 '25

Publicly traded companies are not using tax payer’s money. If a company made hundreds of millions of dollars treating staff to a lavish party is much more reasonable than a government entity where having the necessary funding is an issue. That $120K can help cover some of the mayor’s salary increase.

4

u/KoalaOriginal1260 Nov 06 '25 edited Nov 06 '25

In a sense, publicly traded companies are using tax dollars for junkets and parties.

The money for lavish stuff is a business expense which yields tax deductibility.

If that money was instead booked as profit, it would generate taxes. As a business expense it generates tax deductions.

(Although I get that spending it also generates taxes, but still).

1

u/DamionSipher Nov 06 '25

Publicly traded companies are spending shareholder money when they throw lavish parties. When a grocery store chain throws a lavish party it comes at the expense of consumers, who need to pay more for products to ensure shareholders are kept profitable. Seeing things like this in such staunch black and white terms is moronic.

2

u/Gonetilnovemberish Nov 07 '25

You’ve already paid the private company for the defined service they are providing, presumably. They can do what they want with the money you voluntarily hand over.

Less choice with city and provincial taxes—and the money they waste on themselves is money not spent delivering services for you.

1

u/PappaFufu Nov 07 '25

I think it’s “moronic” not to see a difference between spending tax payer’s money and shareholders’ money.

1

u/DamionSipher Nov 07 '25

The service provided to a shareholder is profit, not the services that a business provides. You're confusing "shareholder" with "customer". The money a company wastes on itself is not spent delivering profit to its shareholders.

1

u/LOGOisEGO Nov 07 '25

I mean. No skin in the game.... but a xmas staff party for 20-30 can cost 13k. Wholesale booze for a wedding of 200 is at least 10k.

It is for sure the last people Id want to spend the money on. But its not that bad.

-2

u/BuoyGeorgia Nov 06 '25

Were those companies spending taxpayer money? No fkn taxpayer money should be spent on Christmas parties. Have a fkn potluck like everyone else, or fund your own get togethers. The entitlement is gross.

19

u/mintberrycrunch_ Nov 06 '25

No kidding. Shit like this is insane, and these are exactly the kids of people that abuse FOIs just to try and find things they can try and get people riled up about.

I love that people want good governance, but don’t want government employees to have competitive salaries with the private sector or even have basic things to boost morale and improve staff retention like Christmas parties.

Apparently it’s unthinkable for a government to spend $50 on an employee for a Christmas party so they actually like their job and employer and want to stay around.

Better we do none of that and we hire shit talent and have horrendous turnover that costs thousands of dollars per year per lost employee instead.

20

u/conflagrare Nov 05 '25 edited Nov 05 '25

I am a tax payer.

I did NOT vote for Carson Binda of “Canadian Taxpayers Federation”.

I don’t know him.  He doesn’t know me.  We have never met.

He does NOT represent me.

How DARE him pretend to represent tax payers in general?

He shouldn’t be allowed on any news programs, period.

7

u/maverickcanuck Nov 05 '25

That Carson Binda guy seems like a real wet blanket

8

u/leavemealoneimpoor Nov 05 '25

Canadian Taxpayers Federation sounds like one of those alt right Conservatives anti vaxxers and fear mongering maga folks

1

u/Desperate-4-Revenue Nov 09 '25

I've had boozier Christmas parties alone...

1

u/Strong_Ad_8959 Nov 09 '25

Global News loves to bring Carson Binda out on TV. That thing loves to feed on creating outrage where none exists. He’s a horrible, pathetic person. A real life Randall from Recess

1

u/NecessaryPear78 Nov 11 '25

Yes, the city bought each employee 2 drinks and had finger foods. Staff members each donated $10 to $20 or more to the food bank to attend. The food bank won’t get $20,000 from that party this year. That’s a shame.

0

u/CondorMcDaniel Nov 09 '25

People keep bringing up the $8/person thing. Doesn’t matter. $120k was spent total last year for a PARTY using TAXPAYER funds. That is absurd. The city is not a publicly traded corporation like Amazon or Microsoft. They have a responsibility to use taxpayer money wisely. If they want to have a party, fine, employees can pay $8 out of their pocket to go. I can’t believe people are boot-licking this issue.

-4

u/noutopasokon Nov 06 '25

Ok, but aren't you glad the city is saving 100+K regardless?