City Council Staff Report Page 1 of 3 February 24, 2026 Staff Report
Agenda Item No. 4.3
DATE: February 24, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Joan Malloy, City Manager
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Approving No Redistribution of Unspent and Relinquished Funds for the City Council's Travel and Training Budget in FY 2025-2026, in Addition to Returning Unused Funds to the General Fund
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution approving no redistribution of unspent and relinquished funds for the City Council’s Travel and Training Budget in Fiscal Year 2025-2026, in addition to returning any unused funds to the General Fund following the close of the fiscal year.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
This agenda item is not identified in the City Council Strategic Plan, nor is it directly correlated to a specific priority or goal.
BACKGROUND
On November 28, 2023, via Resolution No. 6234-23, the City Council amended its Policy Governing Expenses for the City Council (“Policy”). The Policy provides that the Travel and Training Budget be established in a set amount per Councilmember during the biennial budget process. For Fiscal Year 2025-2026, the total budget allocation is $40,000, distributed as follows: $10,000 to the Mayor and $7,500 to each City Councilmember.
On May 13, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2025-066 (see Attachment 1) as its latest revision to the Policy. The amendments to the Policy included: 1) removing the $2,000 cap on redistribution; 2) eliminating the provided examples for per diem reimbursements but making no substantive revision to the Policy in this regard; 3) removing the cash advance provision; 4) increasing the days for submitting for an expense reimbursement from 30 to 45 days; and 5) adding clarifying language regarding access to IT equipment.
Under Section III of the Policy, the process by which Councilmembers who do not intend Agenda Item No. 4.3
City Council Staff Report Page 2 of 3 February 24, 2026 to expend their budgeted funds during the remainder of the fiscal year may voluntarily relinquish those funds is outlined. A Councilmember's decision to relinquish funds is entirely voluntary but final and irrevocable. Annually, at the first meeting in February, any relinquished funds will be evenly distributed to Councilmembers who have elected not to relinquish their funds for the remainder of the fiscal year. The relinquished funds will continue to be evenly distributed until outstanding expenses have been reimbursed for each Councilmember who has elected not to relinquish their funds and shall continue to be distributed until there are no outstanding expenses left or until the relinquished funds have been completely exhausted.
DISCUSSION
The attached resolution for this item would approve no redistribution of unspent and relinquished funds for the City Council’s Travel and Training Budget in Fiscal Year 2025- 2026. None of the Councilmembers has voluntarily elected to relinquish their respective fund allocations. Therefore, there are no relinquished funds to be evenly redistributed to the remaining Councilmembers who have not relinquished any funds but may have outstanding or anticipated expenses.
The budget allocation for each Councilmember’s Travel and Training Budget for FY 2025- 2026 remains as follows:
COUNCILMEMBER BUDGET FOR FY 2025-2026
Mayor Gary Singh $10,000.00
Vice Mayor Jaime Patiño $7,500.00
Councilmember Lance Nishihira $7,500.00
Councilmember Scott Sakakihara $7,500.00
Councilmember Jeff Wang $7,500.00
The total budget for the City Council’s Travel and Training in FY 2025-2026 is $40,000.00, as adopted during the budget process.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact of the City Council taking the recommended action, as there is no redistribution of funds within the City Council’s overall Travel and Training Budget. Any unused funds at the end of the fiscal year will be returned to the General Fund.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution approving no redistribution of unspent and relinquished funds for the City Council’s Travel and Training Budget in Fiscal Year 2025-2026, in addition to returning unused funds to the General Fund following the close of the fiscal year.
Prepared by: Jennifer Phan, Deputy City Manager
Submitted by: Jennifer Phan, Deputy City Manager
Agenda Item No. 4.3
City Council Staff Report Page 3 of 3 February 24, 2026 Attachments
1. Attachment 1: Resolution No. 2025-066 - Policy Governing Expenses of the City Council
2. Draft Resolution