For City Council Meeting [August 10, 2021]
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Marcus Fuller, City Manager
Title
Request City Council to Approve the Fiscal Year 2021/2022 Yearly Conference/Travel Expense Schedule for City Council Members.
Body
BACKGROUND:
On July 28, 2015, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 6789 amending the Reimbursement Expense Policy for Members of the City Council. The policy states, “All expenses for conferences and related events for officials approved by the City Council in its annual budget shall not require further City Council action for approval.” On July 27, 2021, the City Council approved the City’s Budget for FY 2021/22, which included the cost for City Council Conferences.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
The attached schedule of Yearly Conferences for FY 2021-22 conforms to the budgeted authorization. The City Council members will not necessarily attend each of the events, but this provides an estimate of costs for the purposes of travel policy compliance. Some costs will increase in airline costs, hotels, and the conferences themselves since last year. Also, a couple of the conferences are holding two in the same fiscal year to get back on their yearly schedule, since not holding those conferences last year. Due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, some conferences will continue to be held virtually, as such some of the costs will be lower.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
The requested City Council action is not a “Project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to Section 15378(a), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. According to Section 15378(b), a Project does not include: (5) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
This action is consistent with Guiding Principle 3A in the General Plan:
Our City government will lead by example, and will operate in an open, transparent and responsive manner that meets the needs of the citizens and is a good place to do business.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed and supports this staff report.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Operating Budget Impact
On July 27, 2021, City Council approved the FY2021-22 Budget including appropriations for trainings, meetings, conferences and membership dues in General Fund Account Number 010-500-1149-2022 in the amount of $147,000 for the City Council.
|
Conference 2021/2022 |
Location |
Month-Year |
Eligible Participants |
Estimate Per Person |
|
ACWA Fall Conference |
San Diego, CA |
Dec-21 |
Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem |
$2,000 |
|
ACWA Spring Conference |
Monterey, CA |
May-22 |
Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem |
$1,900 |
|
City-County Conference |
Lake Arrowhead, CA |
Apr-22 |
Mayor and Council |
$500 |
|
ICSC - RECON |
Las Vegas, NV |
Dec & May-22 |
Mayor and Council |
$1,700 |
|
ICSC Western Division Conference |
San Diego, CA |
Sep & Oct-21 |
Mayor and Council |
$1,700 |
|
League of California Cities - Mayors & Council Members Executive Forum |
Northern California |
Jun-22 |
Mayor and Council |
$2,000 |
|
League of California Cities - Legislative Action Day |
Sacramento, CA |
Apr-22 |
Mayor and Council |
$1,100 |
|
League of California Cities - Annual Conference |
Northern/Southern California |
Sep-21 |
Mayor and Council |
$1,200 |
|
League of California Cities - Policy Committee Meeting |
Northern/Southern California |
Quarterly |
Mayor |
$1,100 |
|
Legislative Meetings (various) |
Washington, DC Various Locations, Nationwide |
3 Per Year |
Mayor and Council |
$12,000 |
|
Mobility 21 Southern California Transportation Summit |
Various locations Sothern California |
Sep-21 |
Mayor and Council |
$900 |
|
NALEO Annual Conference |
Various Locations |
Jun & Dec |
Mayor and Council |
$2,000 |
|
National League of Cities - City Summit |
Various Locations, Southern California |
Nov/Dec-21 |
Mayor and Council |
$2,700 |
|
National League of Cities - Congressional City Conference |
Washington, DC |
Mar-22 |
Mayor and Council |
$3,400 |
|
SCAG Annual Legislative Trip |
Sacramento, CA |
Feb-22 |
Mayor and Council |
$1,000 |
|
Tour of Water Districts |
Various locations in Southern California |
July-21 |
Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem |
$700 |
|
US Conference of Mayors - Annual Conference |
Various Locations, Nationwide |
Aug/Sep-21 |
Mayor |
$4,200 |
|
US Conference of Mayors - Winter Meeting |
Washington, DC |
Jan-22 |
Mayor |
$3,400 |
|
US Conference of Mayors - Mayors Water Council Meeting |
Napa, CA |
Oct-21 |
Mayor |
$1,500 |
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Approve the scheduled travel as identified on the proposed Conference/Estimated Travel Expense List for Fiscal Year 2021/22; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to allocate funds between scheduled events to account for increased costs for travel, provided the total cost for scheduled travel does not exceed the annual amount budgeted of $147,000.