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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 3b - China and Taiwan Travel for Business Purposesralm � DATE: TO: FROM February 17, 2015 Honorable Mayor and City Council Dominic Lazzaretto, City Manager STAFF REPORT Office of the City Manager SUBJECT: ACCEPT DONATIONS TO THE CITY; APPROVE TRAVEL BY DELEGATION OF CITY OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES TO CHINA AND TAIWAN FOR "SISTER CITY" AND OTHER CITY BUSINESS PURPOSES; APPROPRIATE FUNDS TO PAY FOR BUSINESS PORTION OF SUCH TRAVEL. Recommended Action: Accept Donations; Approve Business Travel; and Appropriate Funds for Business Travel SUMMARY The City has been offered two donations, each in the amount of $10,000. If accepted, the donations may be placed in the General Fund and will be available for any use by the City. The City Council may use funds from the donation to send representatives to China and Taiwan for "sister city" and other City business purposes. The City Council may authorize City officials to travel to China and Taiwan to meet with officials to explore establishing a sister city relationship and to obtain information on local governmental services, residential design and culture in these countries. BACKGROUND The City has been offered two donations, each in the amount of $10,000. One donation is from Companhia de Domercial Dingyuan Limitada, a, international trading firm based in Macau which is believed to have operations in the United States. The other is from Sichuan Arrow Recovery Tech Co. Ltd., an electronic waste recycling firm based in Schuan, China, which is not believed to have operations in the United States but may receive recyclable goods from within the United States. Neither donor has previously done business directly with the City of Arcadia. However, one or more owners of each firm may have interests in real estate and development companies in the San Gabriel Valley that may operate in the City of Arcadia. More donations may be solicited as well, and the Council will be updated if and when additional donations are offered. Accept Donations for Travel to China and Taiwan February 17, 2015 Page 2 of 5 The donations that have been offered are unconditional and may be placed in the City's General Fund. The funds will be available for any City use. Before committing the funds to any particular use, the City Council should consider various options for the use of the funds and should discuss alternatives to the proposed use. As one option, the City Council may authorize business travel to China and Taiwan to study the nature of local governmental services, including land use planning, code enforcement, emergency services, residential design, and other relevant city services. The countries of China and Taiwan have a unique connection to the City of Arcadia because more than 50% of the City's population is of Chinese or Taiwanese heritage. Mayor Wuo has been in discussions with the consulates for both China and Taiwan, who have been seeking out opportunities to meet with officials from cities that share similar demographics or other matters of common interest with the City. The City Council may consider authorizing a delegation of city officials to travel to such cities for diplomatic, educational, and informational meetings with officials from those cities. The goal of the travel is for City officials to obtain information and understanding of the culture that will allow for better provision of services to the City's population. The travel may also include exploration of sister city relationships with cities in Taiwan and China. The sister city concept was developed by President Eisenhower as part of a citizen diplomacy initiative as a way for communities in different countries to connect through shared cultural and diplomatic relations. Section 37110 of the California Government Code specifically authorizes cities to expend funds in furtherance of sister city relationships, and many cities across the state have sister cities. The City previously engaged in sister city relationships with Newcastle, Australia and Tripolis, Greece. At one time the City had a sister city commission, but the ordinance creating the commission has since been repealed. It is not recommended that the City revive the commission but development of relationships with cities with cultural ties to the City of Arcadia should be considered. The consulate in Taiwan has suggested the Neihu District of the City of Taipei as a potential sister city for Arcadia. Tours of the District facilities and meetings with officials from the District and the Ministry of Foreign affairs have been arranged. The City Council may authorize the delegation to meet with representatives of the Neihu District to further develop this relationship. In addition, it has been discovered that the City of Taixing, China, already considers the City of Arcadia to be its sister city. It is expected that the delegation will travel to Taixing for governmental office tours and official meetings and may wish to substantiate this relationship. Accept Donations for Travel to China and Taiwan February 17, 2015 Page 3 of 5 The proposed travel would serve important public purposes for the City. By creating a deepened understanding of the culture of many of Arcadia's citizens, and by increasing the City's knowledge and education as to how public services are provided in China and Taiwan, the City can improve its services to all of its citizens. Additionally, by developing relationships with foreign cities, the City can develop connections that allow for continuing education, cultural exchange, business development and other benefits that will enable better service to the people of Arcadia. The City's expense reimbursement policy generally authorizes the advance payment of expenses for educational or informational meetings and allows for reimbursement related to transportation, lodging, meals, baggage handling fees, and reasonable and customary gratuities incurred while conducting City business. The City Council will need to find that all travel expenditures for the sister city and other business travel are consistent with this policy. The City will not pay, advance, or reimburse for any unauthorized expenditures under the expense reimbursement policy, including expenditures for personal expenses, entertainment expenses, or alcohol. The City will determine the scope of the travel that will constitute the conduct of City business and will be subject to reimbursement. Because these travel expenditures are not part of the current budget, the City Council must make an appropriation for all travel - related expenditures pertaining to City business. The City Council must also identify and approve the officials and employees that will form the delegation. The initial authorization of the travel, determination of the delegation, determination of the length of the travel, and an appropriation of funds will be necessary for the initial travel planning, including reservations of flights, other transportation, and lodging. At this time, the proposed delegation includes the following city officials: Mayor Wuo, Council Member Beck, Council Member Tay, City Manager Dominic Lazzaretto, City Attorney Stephen Deitsch, Fire Chief Kurt Norwood, Recreation and Community Services Director Sara Somogyi, and Public Works Services Director Tom Tait. Only a rough itinerary has been prepared as of the writing of this report. The delegation is planning to leave on March 18, 2015, and arrive in Taipei on March 20 before making stops in Beijing, Xian, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Taixing, and Hong Kong, and returning on April 1. With direction from the City Council, staff will continue to complete an itinerary which will be submitted for review and approval. When the full itinerary is prepared, the City Council should identify which portions on the itinerary will be subject to payment by the City. Any portions of the travel that are not related to City business will not be reimbursable, and each official will have to personally pay for such portions. As a starting point, the following is recommended: 1. Spouses and family members shall be responsible for the entirety of their travel expenses; however, such people shall be allowed to accompany the delegation. Accept Donations for Travel to China and Taiwan February 17, 2015 Page 4 of 5 2. In order to remove even the appearance of any potential conflicts of interest, City Council Members should only receive a stipend or reimbursement of up to $450 per donation received. While the City Attorney has opined that donations to the City for general city use are not subject to statutory gift limits, limiting the amount accepted by elected officials to below the $460 annual gift limit will be the most conservative approach. 3. For City employees, it is expected that 60 -70% of the itinerary will be business related; therefore, staff members will be required to personally pay at least 30- 40% of their costs for the trip. Based on currently known destinations and activities, it is expected that expenses will be approximately $5,000- $6,000 per person, with total costs for the delegation at approximately $65,000. Using the recommendations above, approximately $22,700 would be reimbursed by the City. It is possible that during the course of the travel City officials will be "hosted" by one or more local governments or that some portions of the travel may be paid for by foreign non - profit organizations. Travel accommodations, including transportation, meals, and lodging, which are provided by governmental or non - profit entities may be accepted regardless of amount, but each official will need to report such gifts on their annual Form -700 documents. Additionally, pursuant to AB 1234, each City Council member will need to provide a brief report at the City Council meeting after the travel is completed of all activities subject to reimbursement. Because a majority of the City Council will be attending, an agenda will be posted indicating all business being conducted. The City Attorney has prepared a memorandum to the City Council addressing some of the legal issues related to the travel, which is attached to this staff report. FISCAL IMPACT The City has been offered two donations of $10,000 each, totaling $20,000, which will be placed in the General Fund. The funds will be available for any City use, and the City Council will have to determine whether the funds should be used for the proposed travel, after considering other alternatives. If the City Council determines that the proposed travel is the best use of the funds, then based on the recommendations above, City reimbursements of business related expenses would be limited to $900 per City Council Member, or $2,700 total, and City employee reimbursements would be estimated at approximately $20,000 based on 2/3 of the trip being business related and a total cost per person of $6,000. Therefore, the total cost for reimbursements would be approximately $22,700. Prior to travel, a complete itinerary will be presented that identifies the specific anticipated expenses and the portions which are reimbursable. Accept Donations for Travel to China and Taiwan February 17, 2015 Page 5 of 5 Mayor Wuo has indicated that two additional companies have expressed an interest in making similar donations to the City; these funds would also be deposited in the General Fund and could be used for any governmental purpose. As with the current donations, the names of the companies and the amounts being offered will be presented to the City Council for consideration in accordance with City practice for donations in excess of $1,000. RECOMMENDATION It is recommended that the City Council accept the donations; approve city officials' and employees' travel to China and Taiwan for business purposes; and appropriate funds for business travel expenditures.