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Board narrowly approves travel for three directors to National League of Cities after heated debate over rotation and costs
Summary
After extended discussion and a failed motion to split the votes, the Hot Springs City Board approved out-of-state travel requests for three directors to attend the National League of Cities conference in Nashville; the final vote was 6–1 with Director Aaron Holiday voting no and Director Karen Garcia abstaining from a separate earlier procedural vote. Directors debated rotation, per-diem estimates and whether only one out-of-state conference per director should be funded.
The Hot Springs City Board debated and ultimately approved Resolution R-26-104 on June 2, authorizing out-of-state travel for board members to attend the National League of Cities (NLC) City Summit in Nashville in November.
City Clerk Harmony Morrisy explained that the city code requires board approval for out-of-state travel and that three directors—Phyllis Beard, Karen Garcia and Steve Trusty—submitted pre-travel forms. Morrisy noted the summit’s core programming is Nov. 19–21 with pre-conference activities on Nov. 18.
Directors discussed the spirit of the rotation language in the code, budget availability, and inconsistencies or errors on pre-travel forms (one form listed September dates that needed correction). Director Steve Trusty moved to vote on the three attendees separately; that motion failed on a 3–3 tie. Director Trusty also argued for limiting paid out-of-state attendance to one conference per director per year; other directors cited prior-year rotation and budget lines.
Director Karen Garcia described how she intends to use the conference sessions—on housing and economic development—and noted past experience as a volunteer and community participant. Director Dudley Webb suggested staff could make travel arrangements to avoid directors fronting large costs.
An amendment to the resolution that would have limited travel to two named directors failed on a tie. On the final roll-call vote on the original resolution, the board recorded: Garcia "I," Trusty "I," Holiday "No," Beard "I," Do Smith "I," Webb "I," and Mayor McCabe "I." The resolution passed with one 'no.'
Action: R-26-104 adopted. Board members who will attend should finalize travel plans with staff per city policy.
