The Milpitas City Council was set to approve expenses for three officials to attend a mayor’s conference and the presidential inauguration in Washington D.C., but things changed at the last minute.
Mayor Carmen Montano and Councilmembers Hon Lien and Evelyn Chua had plans to travel from Jan. 16-20 to the United States Conference of Mayors in D.C. and the inauguration of President Donald Trump. The travel approval and coverage of expenses looked to be a done deal, until Montano pulled the item from the consent calendar for discussion at the Jan. 7 council meeting. Montano wanted Lien’s travel request denied to guarantee the council had a quorum to conduct business if a special meeting was called during their absence.
Councilmembers voted 3-2 to deny Lien’s travel expense request, with Lien and Vice Mayor Garry Barbadillo voting against it.
“What if a plane crashes?” Montano said at the council meeting. “I think it’s prudent that only two go, and there’s always other opportunities in the summer.”
Montano and Chua did not respond to requests for comment.
Montano requested $5,900 for the trip, Chua requested $5,800 and Lien requested $5,000. Lien, who had already registered for the conference and bought plane tickets, had planned to pay her own way, but ended up canceling her trip. Every councilmember is allowed a conference and training budget of $10,000 per fiscal year.
“It is unfair, since I already had pre-planned meetings and people that I want to connect to,” Lien told San José Spotlight.
The conference, which ran from Jan. 17-19, is typically geared for mayors, though there are no restrictions on who can attend. The city covered Montano and Chua’s travel expenses from Jan. 16-20, with approval to attend the inauguration the day following the conference, according to the city’s agenda report. Lien said Montano and Chua didn’t end up going to the inauguration.
At the council meeting, Montano said she wanted Chua to attend the conference because she couldn’t make it last year due to an emergency.
Lien said she attended another conference in D.C. last year where she made new connections and learned about different grants the city could apply for, including a grant that enhances street safety around schools.
“I brought back the idea of the grant,” Lien said at the council meeting. “I shared (it) with staff, and we were successful in securing a $2.9 (million grant). So this is training.”
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X.
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