Los Altos City Council members signed off last week on new guidelines for council member travel reimbursements – a move highlighted in part by Councilmember Lynette Lee Eng’s planned trip to a national conference this year and overall expenses since January 2020 exceeding $8,500. The amount far outpaced expenses submitted by other council members, some of whom expressed surprise at the number.
No other council member received reimbursement higher than $1,588 over the same period, according to information the Town Crier obtained through a records request.
Anthony Carnesecca, assistant to the city manager, noted the city’s focus was on a policy that is “equitable, transparent and accountable.”
The process requires members to complete a travel authorization request form with information regarding the meeting, its justification and trip expenses. The form would be due at least 60 days prior to closure of registration for the meeting. The guidelines require members to present a report at a council meeting after the trip.
Lee Eng objected to a provision that would require council approval for such trips, saying a council majority could deny a trip based on differing political views. She also criticized the policy as “micromanaging.”
Council members did add an amendment that would allow “automatic approval” for the California Cities annual conference.
They also fell short of requiring a specific travel budget for each member.
Resident Joe Beninato said general business practices require manager approval before travel expenses are granted.
“If we didn’t get approval, if we didn’t follow rules, we weren’t reimbursed,” Beninato said of his business experience. “These are taxpayer dollars. … (We) need to be focused on spending taxpayer money appropriately and ethically, along with demonstrating the benefits to taxpayers. … It’s irresponsible for an individual council member to secretly plan a trip and not inform their colleagues of the event.”
As she did during the last travel policy discussion July 11, Lee Eng became irritated, raising her voice over what she felt was a lack of fairness among her fellow council members.
“I’m kind of frustrated because no matter what I say, it’s going to be, ‘Well, this is not what we decided on.’ That’s why we have discussions. That’s why we ask questions,” Lee Eng said. “How do we make sure that these policies aren’t going to be utilized to marginalize council members?”
Mayor Sally Meadows suggested, “We all flag conferences that we’re interested in. So, we just do that as a start of the year. … It doesn’t have to be as complicated, and that levels the playing field as well.”
Curiously, Lee Eng joined the rest of the council in unanimously approving the new travel policy. She did not return a Town Crier email seeking comment.
Other elements of the policy include:
• Automatically approves attendance at the California Cities annual conference, as well as a statewide conference for new mayors and council members.
• Prohibits conference travel to states with discriminatory laws pursuant to State Assembly Bill 1887.
• Allows for reimbursement paperwork to be submitted to the city no later than 60 days after the conference ends and ensures the reimbursement requests are in the same fiscal year that the conference was held.
