Charlotte is using taxpayer dollars to send 14 officials to Germany. Is that necessary? | Opinion
What does Germany have to offer the city of Charlotte?
Apparently enough to justify sending a large contingent of city representatives overseas — on the taxpayers’ dime — when the Carolina Panthers play the New York Giants in Munich next weekend.
Eight members of Charlotte City Council and six city staff, as well as corporate leaders, will be making the trip, a city spokesperson confirmed. A report from WCNC Charlotte first brought attention to the trip.
Representatives for the city have billed it as an economic development opportunity that will “elevate the Charlotte brand internationally” and is a “great use of resources.” In an email, a city spokesperson called it “an opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and build new relationships.” According to the agenda for the trip, the group will spend five days attending receptions with government and business leaders and discussing housing and transit with experts, in addition to attending the Panthers game.
But it’s difficult to see how a trip overseas is going to yield significant economic results for the city, or that there is a substantial benefit to sending such a large delegation as opposed to just a representative or two.
It’s not as if German partnership is an area of weakness for Charlotte. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Already, the Charlotte region is home to more than 200 German-owned companies, making Germany the largest-represented foreign country in the region and Charlotte one of the highest concentrations of German business in the United States. While it’s understandable that the city would want to foster that relationship, one should question whether an overseas jaunt is the only or even the best way to do so.
How much, exactly, is this going to cost taxpayers? A spokesperson said the city does not have a cost estimate for the trip at this time, but noted the city will cover airfare and hotel costs, not tickets to the Panthers game. According to WCNC Charlotte, however, that alone will cost nearly $80,000, and additional expenses may be incurred as well.
For comparison, WCNC Charlotte also reported that when a much smaller delegation traveled to Paris for a Charlotte Hornets game in 2020, that trip cost more $17,000. When asked whether that trip yielded tangible benefits for the city, a spokesperson said that a company called Colquímica opened a factory in Charlotte the following year, but the trip was less coordinated than the Germany trip and occurred shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic. Theoretically, the Germany trip should be more fruitful. But what if it’s not?
City officials have also said that the trip will help Charlotte leaders learn how another city tackles urban problems. A spokesperson for the city called it an “intercity exchange” that will allow leaders to “see and understand” how they’re addressing issues like transportation and mobility, housing and sustainability. Charlotte certainly has room to improve on all fronts, but does it really take a visit to a foreign country to do that? There are plenty of cities closer to home that could teach Charlotte valuable lessons about urbanism, and besides, those lessons are only useful insofar as they lead to actual change.
To be fair, Charlotte is hardly the only city to send its representatives on taxpayer-funded trips that ostensibly are aimed at diplomacy and economic development. New York, Baltimore and Memphis are just a few cities that have attracted scrutiny for such trips, which have cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. But that doesn’t mean that it’s a trend to be continued, especially not when many Charlotte residents are already unhappy with a $650 million investment in a new Panthers stadium.
From an onlooker’s perspective, these trips look more like taxpayer-funded vacations than serious business or educational opportunities. While that may not be true, it does mean that cities have a higher bar to clear in order to convince the public that it’s an investment that makes sense. Merely saying that it’s “good for Charlotte’s brand” isn’t going to cut it.
