CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- A North Carolina city councilman is questioning the $23,000 spent by the police department to throw a white-tablecloth holiday party.
The Charlotte Observer reported that Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Rodney Monroe approved the spending. In a written statement to the newspaper, Monroe said the party was valuable for department morale and offered a chance for employees and volunteers to get together and celebrate their hard work.
Councilman Edwin Peacock said the council and "the public would want to know what he's doing having a party like that." He noted that none of the department's employees received a pay raise this year.
About one-fifth of the $29,099 expense was offset by tickets sales. In all, the police department paid about $23,000 for the event after taking into account the ticket sales.
