Sept. 2023 | Vol. 33 Iss. 09
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MURRAY ELECTED LEADERS’ TRAVEL SPURS POLICY CHANGES By Shaun Delliskave | s.delliskave@mycityjournals.com
M
urray City Council is on a diet—a travel diet. In an escalated debate surrounding the council’s travel policies, the council offered up an unprecedented three proposals at the June 27 council meeting on how much each coun.cilmember could spend for city-paid business trips. From Washington, D.C., to Las Vegas, councilmembers have attended 12 conferences and trips since January 2022. These journeys, aimed at educational and policy-improvement objectives, also raised topics regarding transparency, spending and tangible benefits for Murray City residents. From January 2022 to August 2023, Murray’s elected officials have spent $100,667.96 on travel. Who’s Paying? Initially, these trips were funded through the council’s general budget, the Power Department fund, and the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) fund. Starting in July 2023, all travel expenses will come exclusively from the council’s general budget, which is taxpayer money. This shift is expected to increase scrutiny over the public value of these conferences. In a divided vote, the Murray City Council approved a revised travel policy that caps each council member’s travel expenses at $7,500. The revision aims to increase fiscal reContinued page 20
The Utah League of Cities and Towns held their midyear conference in St. George, where many Murray City councilmembers attended. (Photo courtesy of ULCT)
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