Councilwoman Cuellar objects to council expense report, votes against paying bills

Councilwoman Toni Cuellar told the City Council on Jan. 21 that she has spent months reviewing the council expense approval report and repeatedly found discrepancies in invoices, receipts and statements. She said she has shared her documentation with the city clerk and with fellow council members and that the responses have been incomplete in some cases.

Cuellar told colleagues she would not approve the council expense report “in good conscience” until the irregularities are fully explained. Her remarks preceded a motion to pay the city’s bills for the period on the agenda, in the amount of $857,990.63. After discussion, the motion to pay the bills was seconded and the council voted in favor; at least one councilmember said “no” during the roll-call-style portion of the exchange and Cuellar registered opposition in the meeting record by her public statement.

Mayor James D. Stewart Jr. and several councilmembers defended the city clerk, saying staff have been responsive when questions are raised and that routine human accounting errors occur in large budgets and are corrected when identified. Several councilmembers urged further specificity about which invoices were at issue and asked the clerk to follow up where answers were incomplete.

What happened: Cuellar presented documented concerns about line items in the council expense approval report and announced she would not vote to approve the report as presented. The council proceeded to move the bills for payment; debate followed and the motion passed during the meeting (the transcript shows opposition voiced but the council voted to proceed with payment).

Why this matters: Council expense reports are the primary board-level oversight tool for elected officeholder and legislative expenditures. Questions about incomplete or inconsistent documentation, even if relatively small in dollar value, can erode public trust. Council members said they want clearer item-level responses from the clerk for any future review.

What’s next: Councilwoman Cuellar said she has provided copies of her documentation to the clerk and the council; she said she will withhold her approval until the irregularities have been addressed. Council requests for specific follow-up were recorded in the meeting.