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Laguna Hills votes to apply for U.S. Conference of Mayors membership despite budget concerns
Summary
Laguna Hills City Council directed staff to apply for membership in the U.S. Conference of Mayors, a motion that passed 4–1 after debate over dues (around $2,900) and whether to consider the request during the upcoming budget cycle.
The Laguna Hills City Council voted March 25 to direct staff to submit an application for membership in the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the nonpartisan mayors’ association for cities with populations of 30,000 or more.
Mayor Sweeney (as identified during roll call) said the membership would give the city “a seat at the table” in federal policy discussions and would help connect Laguna Hills with best practices on public safety, housing and infrastructure. The mayor said the membership representative offered to make both the mayor and mayor pro tem active members during the transition so the city’s leadership could gain institutional knowledge.
Councilmembers debated the cost and the timing. Several members said the annual dues were modest relative to the city budget; staff and the mayor suggested the dues would be in the low thousands (Council discussion estimated roughly $2,900). Dissenting councilmembers urged deferring the decision to the budget process to allow full comparison with other memberships and travel costs.
A roll-call vote recorded one dissenting vote and otherwise approved the motion directing staff to submit the application: four votes in favor and one No. The record shows Councilmember Paiselt cast the No vote; Mayor Pro Tem Kaske, Mayor Sweeney and Councilmember Mathis voted Aye.
The council did not commit further travel or expense authorizations at this meeting; members asked that any future travel or additional membership expenses be considered during the budget process.
