Palm Desert Council Reviews Travel Rules
PALM DESERT – City Council members at Thursday night’s Palm Desert City Council meeting moved forward with the idea of making changes to the City’s Travel and Reimbursement policy.
The possible changes come after a News Channel 3 investigation reviewed some questionable spending by Councilman Jim Ferguson.
Councilmember Furguson was absent from Thursday night’s city council meeting and didn’t provide the City Manager with a reason for his absence. Our calls to him went unreturned.
Last October Ferguson and his wife went to Spain for a research solar tour. Airfare for him and his wife cost the city more than $11,000. The two flew business class rather than the city approved coach.
City Councilman Richard Kelly says, “The policy needs to be tightened up, our policy is too loose.” Palm desert City Manager John Wohlmuth will have the task of doing just that over the next several days.
According to Wohlmuth the proposed changes to the travel policy will likely not allow council members to be reimbursed for their spouse or companion’s travel out of the state and more importantly out of the country.
Another part of the travel policy reform is money spent while on a city funded trip.Last November Ferguson and his wife took a one day trip to Orange County for a funeral for John Phillips from the energy coalition. Ferguson stayed at the Regis Hotel, the city reimbursed him $500 per night.Under the suggested travel policy per diem rate Ferguson would only have been given $118 a day for the hotel in orange county.
The city manager will present the council members with the proposed changes on November 12th.
