An away day for top council officers to discuss Merton’s looming financial crisis cost £8,750.
The two day trip was for 33 directors and senior managers and included meals and overnight accommodation - despite the venue being just 15 miles from Merton, held at the Cobham Hilton.
The event came in the same week the loss of 100 to 300 jobs at the council was predicted, in a bid to close a £14.5m gap in its budget.
Council staff have written to the Wimbledon Guardian, labelling the trip a "jolly" and wanting to know why the event could not be held in the town hall, which has a number of meeting rooms.
A council spokesman said the overnight accommodation was needed because of the “intense” programme of discussions that ran late into the night.
But Matthew Elliott, chief executive of pressure group the TaxPayers’ Alliance, said the costly trip suggested a “cavalier attitude to taxpayers' money at the top of Merton Council”.
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