Lodging at five-star hotel tops taxpayer cost for Mayor Deegan's London trip

City taxpayers will pay about $6,380 to cover a portion of Mayor Donna Deegan's expenses from her trip to London when she joined a local trade delegation that made international business recruitment pitches in the run-up to the Jaguars game at Wembley Stadium.

The cost to taxpayers will cover hotel lodging at the five-star Grosvenor House London, transportation in taxis to various events, and a couple of dinners. The Grosvenor House, which offers luxury accommodations with views of Hyde Park near Buckingham Palace, accounts for the biggest cost at $5,937 for Deegan's week-long stay in London.

Deegan paid for her round-trip airfare and she is personally reimbursing JAXUSA Partnership — the regional economic development arm of the chamber for commerce — for two tickets the organization provided for the Oct. 1 game in London between the Jaguars and the Falcons, according to the mayor's office.

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Past Jacksonville mayors Alvin Brown and Lenny Curry also traveled to London to help represent the city in meetings with businesses and trade organizations when the Jaguars played overseas. Deegan said she expects this year's trip will generate business expansion for Jacksonville.

"I was asked to go over by JAXUSA and the chamber because they felt that having the mayor involved would show a level of seriousness and commitment to companies considering Jacksonville," Deegan said in a statement. "The conversations went very well and I believe we're going to end up getting a lot of business out of it."

JAX Chamber President Daniel Davis and JAXUSA Partnership President Aundra Wallace said Deegan's involvement helped promote Jacksonville as a place to do business. Wallace said the delegation met with 75 companies and also had talks about creating direct flights between London and Jacksonville.

"Our week in London was incredibly productive and Mayor Deegan played a critical role in promoting our city and selling Jacksonville," Wallace said.

“This trip was about continuing to build our relationship in fintech and health care, along with pushing for a direct flight to London,” Davis said in a statement. "Mayor Deegan is a tremendous partner on economic development, was the leader of our delegation and we look forward to continuing to work with her on these trade missions.”

City regulations say hotel must be 'most economical available'

The city's regulations for employees staying at hotels while traveling on official business does not set a dollar limit for taxpayer reimbursement of that cost. The city's regulation says the reimbursement amount must be a "reasonable, actual and necessary expense" and employees should "select lodging which is the most economical available consistent with the duties being performed."

Deegan used Grosvenor House because it is the hotel that JAXUSA Partnership selected as the base for the Jacksonville delegation, city spokesman Phillip Perry said. He said Deegan and two other city staffers who made the trip stayed at Grosvenor House in order to be close to the local delegation.

Office of Economic Development Executive Director Ed Randolph, who oversees the city department that seeks to attract jobs and private investment to Jacksonville, and Melissa Ross, director of strategic initiatives in the mayor's office, joined Deegan and 16 business and government leaders on the trade mission.

Taxpayers will cover the cost of airfare for coach seats, lodging at Grosvenor House, and some meals for Randolph and Ross. The total taxpayer cost for Randolph's trip is $7,554 and for Ross it is $7,794.

JAXUSA Partnership provided two football tickets to Deegan, two football tickets to Randolph, and one ticket to Ross for the Jaguars game in London, according to the mayor's office. Each ticket was worth about $276. Deegan, Randolph and Ross all are personally reimbursing JAXUSA Partnership for those tickets, Perry said.

The city works closely with JAXUSA Partnership to attract and expand businesses. The London trip focused on fintech and health care. One of the meetings Deegan attended was with a "multinational financial services company" that is considering Jacksonville as a business expansion location, according to a summary of the five days of meetings compiled by JAXUSA Partnership.

JAXUSA Partnership's financial involvement in underwriting costs for such trade missions when city officials are on them has raised ethics questions in the past because the chamber of commerce also is a lobbying organization. At the request of JAX Chamber, the city provides annual support to JAXUSA Partnership for its business recruitment efforts. This year, that support by the city is $750,000.

The Florida Commission on Ethics issued an opinion in 2013 that says when a mayor's travel costs to conferences and events is paid for by others, that payment would be considering a personal gift, according to state law. The city sought that opinion because JAX Chamber was going to pay for Brown's expenses to go on an Enterprise Florida trade mission trip to Brazil.

State law requires elected officials to report any gifts they receive that have a value of more than $100, unless they make a reimbursement within 90 days. The trip to London occurred in the last week of September and is still within that 90-day period.

The city will reimburse JAXUSA Partnership for Deegan's share of the expense for ground transportation rides she took to various events on the trade mission's itinerary and for a few group meals, according to records provided by the city.

City has tied busines recruting to London game since 2013

The Jaguars began playing a home game in London in 2013. The city and business leaders have used that game as a cornerstone of trade missions to London.

When Brown took part in the London trips, the taxpayers' cost for his airfare, lodging, ground transportation and game tickets totaled $7,128 in 2013 and $5,301 in 2014, according to city records. In Curry's first year as mayor in 2015, the taxpayer cost for Curry's trip was $2,537 for airfare, lodging, meals and ground transportation.

The only City Council member to make the trip to London this year was Jimmy Peluso. He paid for it out of his own pocket without any taxpayer reimbursement and was not part of the 16-member trade delegation.

The trade delegation was comprised of a mix of representatives from JAX Chamber and government leaders. Jacksonville Transportation Authority CEO Nat Ford and JaxPort CEO Eric Green both were part of the London trade mission. They serve on the JAX Chamber board. JaxPort Chief Commercial Officer Robert Peek and JaxPort cruise and cargo development director Alberto Cabrera also were in the delegation.

Green was the only one of the three JaxPort representatives to attend the Jaguars game and he paid for his own ticket, according to the port authority. Ford also paid for his own football game ticket, according to JTA.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville mayor trade mission to London expenses