National City’s policy governing $100K district budgets falls short. There’s a plan to strengthen it.

How should National City officials spend their $100,000 district budgets? What should they do with leftover funds? What happens if a reimbursement request is declined?

A newly formed temporary committee plans to come up with answers after City Council members deemed on Tuesday that a draft policy governing the use and procedures for spending those monies was too broad.

Mayor Ron Morrison and Vice Mayor Ditas Yamane form the committee, which is expected to publicly report, in the coming months, its suggestions for the City Council to consider.

Last year, the City Council approved the citywide budget with a divided vote because of a controversial addition: $100,000 for each of the four council members.

Those in favor argued that part-time council members deserved a yearly discretionary budget that more closely meets that of the full-time mayor’s $130,000 budget. They said funds could go toward having their own assistants, like the mayor has, who could help with engaging constituents or building community programs.

Morrison and Councilmember Luz Molina voted in opposition, saying they could not support the fiscal allocation without establishing uniform guidelines first.

The lack of policy did not deter officials from spending tens of thousands of dollars from these new accounts. Some of their expenses have raised questions about whether they are a legitimate use of the funds, such as buying 300 frozen turkeys and distributing them at a public event.

The two-page policy lays out a broad process as follows:

• Council members must submit an annual appropriation request for review by the city’s Finance Dept. and the city manager during the citywide budget process.
• Council members can use funds for “government purposes.” The policy says these are expenditures relating to “the promotion of the public health, morals, safety or general welfare of the community.”
• Council members can hire part-time or full-time personnel per the city’s hiring policies. They can also hire consultants for “services of a recurring nature or for a specific one-time project which cannot be routinely provided by City staff, either because of the expertise required or the ongoing workload.”
• They can use funds for registration fees and travel costs for conferences or training. These events “must have a direct benefit to the City and therefore be considered City business.”
• Funds can go toward supplies for their city hall offices or events and outreach.
• They are restricted from gifting public funds or using funds for political reasons, including campaigning and “political activities during the workday.”
• For a reimbursement, a council member must file a reimbursement request before making an expense and the mayor must approve it. If the mayor declines the request, the City Council must be notified within 24 hours of the denial and be provided with an explanation.

Molina said the yearly appropriation request was a good way to showcase everyone’s plan for spending their district budgets. However, she cautioned, “that doesn’t mean go ahead and spend $100,000.”

Randi Castle-Salgado, a city planning commissioner and a resident who spoke during public comment, said unused funds should be returned to the general fund and that any expense over $10,000 should be brought to the council for a vote.

Molina also said the process for reimbursement does not prevent the city manager from overriding the mayor’s decision – a situation that occurred last year.

In November, Council members Jose Rodriguez and Yamane hosted a community event at El Toyon Park where city staff presented updates on park improvements. Vendors offered free produce and tacos to attendees, which was advertised, but there was no direct mention of a turkey giveaway that later transpired during the event.

According to expense reports, Rodriguez paid for and was reimbursed $7,120 for the turkeys, which he said was reviewed and approved by City Manager Ben Martinez and Schultz before the transaction. Rodriguez then submitted a reimbursement request to Morrison, who declined to sign it because he said it was a gift of public funds. Martinez signed the request instead.

Molina said the City Council should vote whenever a request is declined to prevent similar circumstances from reoccurring.

Morrison also worried that the policy’s language, particularly around the restrictions for “political activities,” was too broad and subject to interpretation.

“Some people go, ‘Well, everything’s political.’ Well, then that means there is no rule,” he said.

After a heated debate about the policy and some of the expenses made, Schultz reminded the council that they approved the budgets without any rules.

“We’re operating without a policy but we’re operating with a budget that is approved,” said Shultz. “We had to use our judgment.”