By Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Councilmember Kelly Cox
We voted against the new City Council travel policy, recommended by Councilmembers Suds Jain, Kevin Park, and Raj Chahal through the Governance and Ethics Committee, because it is fiscally indefensible and fails basic ethical standards.
1. The Budget Structure Makes No Sense
From an accounting and budgeting perspective, this policy does not hold up. You cannot offer unlimited access to a finite pool of public funds and call that responsible budgeting. No well-run organization operates this way with public money.
The policy establishes a $70,000 travel budget (an increase of 15%) while allowing unlimited individual spending. In practice, that means a few council members can consume most of the funds while others subsidize that behavior through restraint. For the past several years, council travel spending has been far below this amount. Responsible budgeting aligns appropriations with actual spending patterns. It does not inflate them. This is budget 101.
2. Accountability Is Stripped Away
The policy authorizes council members to use city-issued credit cards (P-Cards) for travel. Charges occur first, with review after the fact, if review happens at all. Accountability does not improve by removing controls.
Travel justification is loosened to vague concepts like “representation,” without requiring a clear public purpose, measurable benefit, or meaningful reporting on outcomes. Oversight is weakened precisely where it should be strengthened. The policy also allows council members to retain frequent flyer miles earned on taxpayer-funded travel and permits full meal reimbursement on partial days of travel. These provisions normalize personal benefit rather than reinforce public service.
3. The Timing Couldn’t Be Worse
Santa Clara residents are facing higher taxes and increased utility rates while being asked to do more with less. Our city has been criticized in multiple Civil Grand Jury reports for failures in governance and accountability. At the same time, the same Governance and Ethics Committee expanding travel benefits is also discussing access to complimentary event tickets. At a time when residents are being asked to tighten their belts, increasing council member perks reflects a double standard in practice and reinforces long-standing concerns about this institution.
The council members who pushed hardest for these changes are also among those most likely to take expensive trips. That is indistinguishable from a public perk and does not provide oversight. It is self-service.
4. What an Ethical Policy Should Look Like
Council travel can be valuable when it delivers real benefit to the community. But it must serve the public, not the individual. A responsible policy would set individual spending limits, require a clearly defined public purpose before travel occurs, mandate transparent reporting on outcomes, align budgets with historical spending, and strengthen standards when residents are facing higher costs.
Santa Clara is working to rebuild public trust after multiple grand jury reports. Policies that weaken accountability and expand personal benefits move us in the wrong direction. That is why we voted no.
I support Council travel only when it clearly serves the public interest, and we can vote yes on a revised travel policy only with safeguards in place: the policy must include individual annual spending caps within the overall Council budget; require written pre-approval stating a specific public purpose and measurable benefit before travel occurs; limit use of City purchase cards to pre-approved expenses with real-time oversight; prohibit personal benefit by requiring frequent-flyer miles and rewards earned on City-funded travel to belong to the City and by restricting meal reimbursements to actual travel days; mandate public reporting within 30 days detailing costs, outcomes, and benefits to Santa Clara residents; align the travel budget with historical spending patterns unless justified by new responsibilities; and include a one-year sunset and review to ensure accountability – because Council travel should be a tool for public service, not a perk, and transparency and fiscal discipline are essential to maintaining public trust.
This travel policy change is setting wrong precedence for council and lays groundwork for abuse, no accountability and waste of taxpayer monies.
What has set precedence is Park, Jain, Chahal, Hardy and Becker’s actions firing Brian Doyle and Deanna Santana for no cause. So the CM and CA know the drill. Mess with us and you’re out.
The patients are running the asylum with no accountability.
Brought to by Suds Jain inc.
That adjustment is 2 years of income for me. A preposterous amount for travel expenses. Where the heck does a “city” council person have to go to spend that kind of money? NOWHERE!! Stay local, or use zoom. I work hard for everything I have, and am a responsible consumer. Stop stealing my money.
The council majority is out of control.
Elections are coming up. A recall is at
hand. The majority needs to do their
dirty work NOW since they risk losing
that majority in November.
Take a look at PRA 25-1450 and see
who is currently abusing the travel
policy. Kevin Park. This travel policy
update benefits him since he abuses
it the most!
Tickets to events? More opportunity
for corruption? More abuse of taxpayer
money? Time to clear out the 49er 5 and
the city manager and city attorney that
don’t hold those 5 accountable.
Accountability is over rated! We need to just trust everyone who is put in a position to lead us.
I mean really, what’s a the fuss about? It’s only a few $$ here and a few $$ there, it’s no BIG DEAL!!!
Ok…. I think I have made my point.
Accountability is not just needed, it’s a necessity on all decisions dealing with how our City is run. Anyone who thinks differently is someone who is either naive or also part of the problem.
Being held accountable and made to answer and justify the way any of our Public Money is spent is a minimum requirement in my mind.
Any time Public Funds are spent, the Public deserves to see where and how it was used to make their City / State / better.
This is a long standing way to help keep our own Goverment in check.
To even attempt to push this aside as frivolous, and scary.
ALL local Leaders, Elected or Appointed need to be held to the same standard.
PERIOD
Just The Facts Ma’am