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Committee backs limit on council travel-account rollovers in draft rules
Summary
The committee discussed capping council travel-account rollovers to $3,000 per year (down from unlimited accumulation), allowing transfers between members for qualified purposes with written agreement, and auditing transfers as recorded expenditures.
The rules committee discussed proposed changes to the council travel and training budget. Chair Lisonbee Coombs said the draft would limit annual rollover to $3,000, rather than allowing a council member’s unused funds to accumulate indefinitely. "We're changing it so that members would only be able to roll over $3,000 per year instead of their full 7,000," Coombs said.
Committee members described mechanics and oversight. A committee member (S2) said transfers between members would be permissible for qualified purposes if both members agree in writing and that transfers and expenditures would appear in periodic audits: “There is an audit of the council travel funds that gets done periodically. So that would be included there,” the member said. The draft also contemplates that unspent excess funds would return to the general fund at year-end, and that staff will develop procedures for documenting and auditing any transfers.
Members raised questions about gifts and comped conference items, noting city code and reporting obligations already apply. The committee did not take a formal vote; staff will draft precise language and accounting procedures to include in the updated rules package for study session review.
