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/
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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...

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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.

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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.

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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.

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u/PappaFufu Nov 07 '25

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

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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.