San Gabriel council splits over paying city manager’s travel expenses to accept Taiwan tourism award; amendment to cut funding fails

Mayor Wu asked the San Gabriel City Council during a special meeting to approve city-paid expenses for City Manager Mark to accompany her to accept a Taiwan Tourism Administration award and to select lanterns for the city’s festival. She said the Taiwan Tourism Administration will cover the mayor’s travel and shipping of lanterns but would not cover all of the city manager’s airfare and lodging, and staff estimated a city share could be in the range of several thousand dollars.

The request prompted a sharp debate over fiscal responsibility and precedent. Councilmember Chan said the city already receives a net benefit — the lanterns — and that spending even $5,000 on travel is not justified when public-safety or other local priorities exist. "For $10,000, we could give $5,000 to the budget of our PD and $5,000 to our fire department," Chan said, arguing the outlay would not be the best use of limited local funds. Councilmember Harrington urged caution about opening a path toward regular travel spending, saying the council’s earlier policy emphasized de minimis gifts and that approving travel could be the first step down an unwanted path.

Vice Mayor Menchaca countered that the trip is an investment in long-term relationships and cultural exchange, noting the city benefits from the lanterns and ongoing goodwill. "I don't look at it as frivolous," Menchaca said, arguing an in-person delegation can strengthen ties and yield value over time.

City Manager Mark summarized legal guidance obtained from the city attorney’s office, saying the city must ensure three findings if it accepts a donation to cover travel: the reimbursement should be received by the city rather than an individual; the city should determine and approve who will attend; and the attendance must serve a governmental purpose. Mark said those criteria can allow acceptance of a donation without hitting the normal gift limit, but cautioned council that any reimbursement must be structured as an unconditional donation to the city and that the council must make the attendance determination.

Councilmembers debated specific dollar amounts: staff referenced an earlier $10,000 estimate while some members discussed a $5,000 figure. Vice Mayor Menchaca moved to amend the staff recommendation (seeking to alter the funding amount); the motion to amend was voted on and the clerk announced the amendment failed. The transcript records the amendment as failing with a 2-2-1 result and then shows the council moving on without a subsequent recorded formal approval of city-paid travel for the city manager. The only recorded formal vote on the consent list earlier in the meeting approved items 4A through 4F 5-0.

Because the transcript does not show a later motion approving city-paid expenses for the city manager, the council’s final disposition on authorizing payment for the city manager’s travel remains unrecorded in this meeting’s minutes. Any future acceptance of donated travel must follow the city attorney’s requirements and be presented for council action.

What’s next: the council moved on to other business and did not take a recorded final vote on item 4G during this special meeting.