Dr. Ana Viamonte Ros, Florida's top health official, has spent
nearly $130,000 on taxpayer-funded travel in her first three years on
the job and has spent at least a third of her weekends in her hometown
of Miami.
The state surgeon general's travel pattern has not
changed despite a belt-tightening edict a year ago from Gov. Charlie
Crist's office and recent scrutiny of state travel by agency heads.
Viamonte
Ros said her trips to South Florida took her to an "important hub" that
allows her to reach Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Broward and Collier
counties and the Keys.
"If I did stay over a weekend, it was
always at my own home and no expense at all to the state, and I was
always back immediately first thing in the morning on Monday," Viamonte
Ros said.
To be sure, all trips included official speaking events
or meetings. Viamonte Ros reimbursed the state when she used her rental
car on off days. Staying at her Coral Gables condo saved money on
hotels.
But the trips at taxpayers' expense allowed the surgeon general to
spend time at home on most holidays and many weekends. (Full story here)
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