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Nogales council votes 4-3 to let elected officials receive travel per diem in advance
Summary
After a lengthy debate, the Nogales City Council amended its code of conduct to allow elected officials to receive per diem/travel payments in advance rather than waiting for reimbursement. The change prompted a heated exchange about trust, audit risk and equity between officials and staff.
The Nogales City Council voted 4-3 on Dec. 3 to amend the council—s code of conduct so elected officials may receive travel-related per diem or advances before attending conferences or other official travel, reversing a prior provision that generally required reimbursement after travel.
Council discussion was contentious and lengthy. The city attorney read the existing provision in the adopted code of conduct that ‘‘unless otherwise authorized by the council for advanced payment prior to the activity or event, all expenses shall be reimbursed after the fact." The city manager and legal counsel said the current reimbursement protocol aligns with guidance from the Arizona State Procurement Office and state audit recommendations; they told council the policy had been adopted in August and was intended to reduce audit risk.
Opponents of the reimbursement-only approach said having to front travel costs places a financial burden on officials and could deter participation. "You're asking us to pay out of our pocket," one council member said, describing more than $600 in unreimbursed travel expenses he had incurred under the new procedure. Supporters of the reimbursement policy repeatedly cited state guidance and audit risk as reasons to require after-the-fact accountability and to protect public funds.
After debate, the mayor moved to remove the reimbursement requirement for elected officials from the code of conduct so that elected officials would receive per diem prior to travel, and the motion passed in a roll-call tally the clerk recorded as 4–3 in favor. Council direction indicated that the city manager will continue to prepay conference registrations and hotels as before for employees and that the change specifically applies to elected officials— per diem handling; staff and other employees will generally remain under the reimbursement protocol described by the city manager.
The council did not adopt a companion procedural timeline for how advances will be administered at the meeting; legal counsel and staff said they would provide details and that any changes may require further administrative steps to comply with audit and procurement rules.
