Less than a year after San Benito County Supervisor Jaime De La
Cruz canceled a scheduled trip to Nashville for a conference,
fellow board members are questioning the fiscal responsibility of
sending him to a similar gathering this summer in Reno.
Less than a year after San Benito County Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz canceled a scheduled trip to Nashville for a conference, fellow board members are questioning the fiscal responsibility of sending him to a similar gathering this summer in Reno.
De La Cruz presented the board with a proposal to go to July’s National Association of Counties conference in Reno, Nev., with the cost of more than $1,700.
In the budget presented to the board, De La Cruz attributed nearly $700 to lodging and another $255 to food for the five-day, four-night conference.
The price tag forced the board to examine ways to lower the cost, De La Cruz said. He hopes to present his second proposed budget at the next meeting April 6.
To lower that cost, the supervisor is looking into less expensive hotels, ranging from $60 to $70 a night, and cutting the days he would attend the conference, he said. Instead of attending all five days, De La Cruz would pick the days that are important to attend.
“Because of the economic situation, we need to cut cost,” De La Cruz said. “We should cut the cost by at least 50 percent.”
He contended the conference is too important not to attend.
“It’s very important to interact with other supervisors from the region,” he said.
But Supervisor Anthony Botelho doesn’t think it’s responsible to go to out-of-state conferences at this time, he said.
“We are scrutinizing every expense and the staff has been very frugal,” he said. “It’s nice to take when you have the time, but now we don’t.”
The trip is non-essential, and the conference doesn’t have anything on the schedule the county can use, Botelho said.
“We need to curtail any unnecessary expense,” he said. “When you’re cutting back, it’s tough and it’s tough on everyone right now. And we need to lead by example.”
Last year, De La Cruz voluntarily backed out of attending a similar conference, but in Nashville, days after supervisors had agreed to fund the trip. It would have cost $2,700.
