City of Santa Clara
Council Policy & Procedure Manual
GUIDELINES FOR COMMISSIONERS
FOR ATTENDANCE AT CONFERENCES AND TRAINING EVENTS
Revised December 2012June 2023 P&PCouncil Policy 006 Page 1 of 2
PURPOSE The purpose of this Policy is to es tablish criteria for Boards and Commissions travel to conferences and training events.
POLICY Each City Ccommission has a separate budget to pay for members’ attendance at appropriate confer ences and training programs. These guidelines were established by the City Council in 1997 and amended in 2003 and 2010 when they were updated and clarified based on the City’s Budget Principles and the difficult financial outlook facing the City .
In general, the policy discourages out-of-state travel and out of the United Statesinternational and out-of-state travel for cConferences and tTraining events.
PROCEDURE
TRAVEL
GUIDELINES
1. Official travel must be related to the Commissioner’s roles or duties and approved by the City Commission.
1.2. Attendance at conferences and training events should be rotated as much as feasib le among members of each City Commission..
3. All travel requests must be pre-approved by the Board or Commission prior to travel arrangements.
4. The City of Santa Clara is fiscally responsible and endorses the proper use of City assets to help ensure the City’s fiscal stability.
To that end, out-of-state travel is discouraged. City revenues have been seriously impacted during recent fiscal years. If the City Ccommission believes that the out-of- state conference is highly important, and if suffici ent funding is available within the existing budget then approval by the City Council is required. , working with the staff liaison, the commission may make this recommendation to the City Council through an agenda report to be considered as a Consent Calendar item.
2.5. No more than two members of a City commission may
attend any specific out-of-state conference or training event.
3.6. No more than three member s of a City commission may attend any specific conference and training event held within the State of California. If more than three members of a City commission wish to attend a conference within the State of California, if sufficient funding is available within the existing budget, workin g with the staff liaison, the Cit y Ccommission ma y City of Santa Clara
Council Policy & Procedure Manual
GUIDELINES FOR COMMISSIONERS
FOR ATTENDANCE AT CONFERENCES AND TRAINING EVENTS
Revised December 2012June 2023 P&PCouncil Policy 006 Page 2 of 2
send more than three members to the conference upon a vote of the City Ccommission, without requiri ng additional City Council approval.
4.7. Attendance at a n international conference or training held outside of the United St ates requires special approval by the City Council. Out-of-country travel is not recommended.
5.8. One-day meetings that do not require an overnight stay are allowed as long as the total budget is not exceeded.
9. Overnight lodging may be appro ved depending on whether an extensive commute is required to reach the conference/event by 8 a.m.
6.10. A special situation exists for the Historical & Landmarks Commission which has a formally designated advisor as required for the City’s Certified Local Government status. The Ccommission may choose to send the advisor instead of a member of the commission.
7.11. Per AB 1234 requirements, Ccommissioners should report verbally on conference and traini ng attendance at the subsequent meeting of the Ccommission. A brief written report from the cCommissioner may be substituted for the verbal report. (See the “Resource Material” section of “Board and Commission Handbook and Survival Guide” for more information.)
Reference: City Council minutes from August 5, 1997
Amended by Council Action in June 10, 2003 and June 15, 2010.