Likes pigs at the trough

Is it any wonder that the city's public employees unions are outraged by the proposed budget cuts? How can City Council expect anyone to take them seriously when they spend tax dollars on books about Charles Barkley and picture frames? Kudos to the PG's Tim McNulty for his blunt assessment of why these spending habits, regardless of how small a portion of the budget they represent, are a problem:

The miscellaneous spending by council is, of course, just a tiny fraction of the city's budget. In 2004, it was budgeted at $265,000 in a $389 million spending plan.

Still, council members pride themselves on their tough oversight of city spending. What they choose to spend their own money on, behind the scenes, only reaffirms some critics' charges that the city's spending is out of control.