Concerns raised about county staff Christmas party

County officials have responded to community concerns that the annual Lac La Biche County Christmas party, a private party for county employees, is a publicly funded event.
This year, like every year before it, money was set aside in the annual budget for the private party, which will be held at the Bold Center this year, says interim county CAO Shadia Amblie.
The county has recently been looking for services like catering for 400 guests, decorating and a DJ for the event. It has been accepting bids from local businesses for those roles in recent weeks.
Some community members contacted the POST with their concerns and then went to social media internet sites where the issue garnered more momentum.
Amblie, in an interview with the POST, said that it’ s not out of the ordinary for organizations to hold a Christmas party for their staff.
“Our revenue comes from tax dollars, grant dollars and government dollars, and every year we do, like many organizations, host a Christmas party to celebrate the efforts of our staff,” she said.
Though the Christmas party is indeed included in the budget, the county has taken measures to ensure that costs are kept to a minimum. Amblie said that this year, among other things, the county’ s Christmas party has been merged with the fire department’ s annual Christmas party to cut costs, and that a social committee was set up to oversee the Christmas event.
Amblie said that the committee fundraises throughout the year through things like door prizes and contests to raise money for things like the Christmas party.
“They are, obviously, instructed to stay within a budget,” said Amblie, who also responded online to the social media comments. In an online posting, she said that the event has been funded this way for years.
“While this intention of transparency has exposed us to criticism and public awareness of an event that has been occurring for years, I stand by the annual event that brings together staff from every department to meet and get to know one another,” she wrote.
The POST contacted or attempted to contact several council members for comment, but they were either unavailable or referred any comments on the issue back to Amblie.

Community member Sylvia Mickey, who first contacted the POST with her concerns, contacted the County office for an explanation. She wasn’ t happy with what she heard.
“If they are spending my tax money on a party, I better be invited too,” she told the POST.
The county’ s staff Christmas party is set for Nov. 28.