Council asks staff to return with revised sister-city travel policy after public concern about city-funded trips

The Cupertino City Council discussed proposed revisions to its sister-city and friendship-city policies, focusing on whether city funds should cover staff travel for international delegation visits and what reporting should be required when staff travel overseas in an official capacity.

Mayor Chao introduced edits that would require council authorization before the city pays for international travel by council members or accompanying staff, require staff traveling in an official capacity to submit a written report to council describing business conducted overseas, and clarify that limited financial and staffing support is available only when the travel is approved. The mayor cited instances where staff travel had occurred without prior council authorization and said the policy should be clarified.

Public speakers urged different outcomes. Sanar, who has hosted and chaperoned student delegations, supported limiting city-paid staff travel and said student exchanges should remain the program's primary focus. Former mayor Gilbert Wong, who said he has participated in multiple sister-city activities, warned against politicizing the program and urged caution before changing long-standing practices.

Council discussion touched on practical details requested by councilmembers and the sister-city committees: how many meeting-room uses are allowed, whether committees that do not run student exchanges should still receive limited facility or operational support, and differing delegation rotation schedules (for example, one sister city has a five-year rotation rather than a four-year cycle). The mayor's draft included a requested clarification that, if authorization was not obtained before a trip, the city would not reimburse expenses afterward, and that staff must document the city business that necessitated staff presence.

Action taken: Council directed staff to return with a consolidated redline of the sister-city policy and respond to questions raised by councilmembers about costs, meeting-room use, rotation schedules and reporting requirements. The council approved a motion to continue the item to a future meeting with staff-prepared amendments; the motion passed with recorded dissent from two members noted in the transcript. No final policy change was adopted at this meeting.

If adopted in future proceedings, the proposed changes would require clearer prior authorization for city-funded travel, written post-trip reporting by staff who travel in an official capacity, and clarified limits on city financial and staffing support for delegations. Sister-city committees and volunteers told the council they welcome clearer rules but asked for flexibility on program formats and recognition of differing committee missions.