Schertz council agrees to draft formal policy for councilmember training and travel

SCHERTZ, Texas — At a June 3 Schertz City Council workshop, councilmembers agreed to have city staff work with two councilmembers to draft a formal professional development and travel policy after a wide-ranging discussion about who may approve training, what public funds may cover and how the council should budget for training.

Councilmember Robert Westbrook framed the discussion as one of authority and fairness, saying the charter vests powers in the council as a body and asking whether any individual may deny or approve another member's training. "Does any individual on this city council have the authority to approve or deny professional development for fellow council members? Based upon the documents I've reviewed, the answer is no," Westbrook said. He said the council should adopt a transparent standard that "encourages growth while safeguarding public trust."

Mayor Pro Tem Hayward and other members emphasized fiscal stewardship and the need for clear eligibility criteria and limits when public funds are used. Hayward cited an existing local ordinance, saying matters not addressed by rules or the charter may default to the mayor under Ordinance 23 M-28, and warned that absent clear limits "setting a precedent without limits in place opens the door to inconsistencies and inequalities for any approval at taxpayers' expense."

The council received two concrete pieces of budget context from staff: the council department currently has $25,000 in the travel line for the year, and the city has already completed a pre-budget meeting in March. Staff advised that a policy framework developed before the next budget workshop would help members plan requests for the coming fiscal year; the council's budget is scheduled for final action in August or early September.

Members offered several policy options during the discussion. Councilmember Hayward described approaches used by other cities, including giving each councilmember a fixed training allotment (she cited examples such as Glen Heights, where councilmembers receive about $10,000 each in her example) and distinguishing allowable providers (for example, Texas Municipal League, National League of Cities, APA Texas or university programs). Councilmember Davis recommended adding a specific line item for council education during the regular budget process and said he supported reimbursement for registration and travel but opposed using taxpayer funds to pay college tuition for elected officials.

Several members also discussed the difference between established municipal training (for example, Texas Municipal League programs tailored to Texas law and municipal governance) and executive education programs offered by institutions such as Harvard and UTSA. Westbrook said his request was not for what he characterized as a large sum and compared typical TML costs in the low thousands; he said he did not request $17,000. "Who gets to decide what is best for Robert Westbrook or any individual to decide?" Westbrook asked, saying elected officials should have a role in choosing training that helps them perform their duties.

After discussion, the council directed staff to work with two councilmembers to prepare a draft policy framework to return to the council for further consideration. Councilmember Watson volunteered to participate. City staff member Steve offered to help assemble proposed language and a budgetary estimate and return it to the city secretary's office for placement on a future agenda. The council noted that developing the policy might require multiple meetings and could begin in July.

The floor ended with agreement that the council should adopt a policy before finalizing budget allocations for the next fiscal year so members can include training needs in their budget requests.

The workshop also included a brief public comment from Yasmin Moreno of the Happy Kids Foundation inviting the council to a nonprofit fundraiser; no action was taken on that item during this workshop.