We noted last year that the mayor took this "FREE FOR HIM" sojourn to Germany & Switzerland ostensibly to visit Roche, the parent company of Ventana Medical Systems to let them know how pleased we are to have them in Oro Valley.
We heard the mayor spent all of a couple minutes in addressing the Roche people to say "thanks." Additionally, Loomis and his traveling companions, including our ex-Economic Dev. Administrator, David Welsh, Mayor Walkup of Tucson, and a couple of other "important people visited other Bio-Tech companies.
Did this trip at a cost to taxpayers of almost $11,000 make sense? We don't think so.
Was this trip fiscally responsible? We don't think so.
Did the mayor every personally report back his findings to the council or the citizens? We don't think so.
Does the mayor deserve additional funds to take additional trips? We don't think.
Evidently, Al Kunisch & Paula Abbott do, as they voted to each give the mayor $2,500 each of their travel funds. Obviously, the mayor also agreed, as did Barry Gillaspie.
Only Bill Garner, Salette Latas & KC Carter thought otherwise, as they voted "no" on allowing the mayor "to dance to a different tune."
Here's the Az Star article
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/85737/279551
6 comments:
Having been at said meeting where this agenda item was addressed, I came away with some very mixed feelings about the arguments for and against as well as the result of the vote taken. If my memory serves me, I believe that the main reason that was given to allow for more expense for mayoral travel, was that he (presently Mayor Loomis) was traveling to an increased number of meetings as a representative of our community and therefor his expenses might be higher of necessity and that two members of council felt that they themselves had a need for less.I might add that, whether or not this is a valid argument, Mayor Loomis stated that since he was now retired from his former full time employment position, that he now had more time to attend these 'other' meetings.
Now, I did not believe that the cost of his travel should be increased mid fiscal year any more than that GOVAC should have come in and asked for additional funds in another matter, but I can understand that an increase might be warranted if reasonable and without additional cost to the town coffers. It was thus that Councilmember Kunisch and Councilmember Abbott volunteered a portion of their allotment in order to cover this request without granting additional funds not allocated in the annual budget.
It is of my opinion that the proportion of mayoral travel expenses relative to that of the members of council, if truly necessary, be budgeted at the time of the budget adoption and that this kind of 'movement' be not allowed to happen again OR, create within the budget a TOTAL amount designated for Council AND the Mayor as ONE package for travel expenses.
The question remains - did the fact that Councilperson Abbott and Councilperson Kunisch have the 'right' to offer and have transferred out of their own appropriations monies to cover a mayoral expense, or should the request have been denied and the funds not used by said Councilmembers remain as a 'carryover'?
My opinion was that all of those involved had good intentions; the overall question however is, 'was it right'?
It appears that, after having read the agenda item list for the next council meeting, that this subject
will be revisited.
Give Oro Valley's looming budget deficit, clearly it is time to cut spending on all but absolutely necessary items.
There are very few "meetings' that the Mayor, or any other council member, must attend.
Also, the result of every such expenditure should be reported by the attendee to town council and the public.
If Abbott and Kunisch can't travel or don't want to travel or attend meetings, that's fine. And if they want to reallocate their unused travel money, they should go ahead and reallocate the combined $10,000 in their travel budgets to partially reimburse the Town (and ultimately the taxpayers) for Loomis's unapproved, unannounced, unreported, and unbudgeted trip to Europe.
If legally possible Mayor Loomis's remaining travel funds should be frozen until he provides a written summary of his European trip including contacts, discussion summary and results. He spent "our" money and he owes us an accounting.
Hi "Waterdog"---- Good point, but why should he? After all, he IS THE MAYOR!!!
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