ShawneeDispatch.com

Spending habits of Shawnee City Council members remain an item of some controversy.

Whether it's Council members themselves or a watchdog bringing them up, the costs incurred on Council members' city business trips continue to be a topic of discussion.

Council members first touched upon the subject during the review of their $231,400 budget within the 2009 city budget at the June 17 Public Works & Safety Committee meeting. When Council member Kevin Straub brought up limiting expenditures for Council members at National League of Cities conferences, Council member Mickey Sandifer said he wanted to make a public statement.

Sandifer said that while the Council traditionally takes a legislator out to dinner to discuss local issues - in March, it was Congressman Dennis Moore - on the most recent trip, two Council members wouldn't go. Instead, they took out legislative staff members on their own. Sandifer said they spent twice the cost of what they would have spent at the Council's dinner with Moore.

"And they are the two that want to cut the travel budget," he said.

Sandifer was referring to Straub and Council member Dan Pflumm, who took two legislative staff members, one each from Sen. Pat Roberts' and Sen. Sam Brownback's staffs to dinner at The Capital Grille in Washington. Pflumm turned in for reimbursement from the city the dinner bill for $392.

The issue spurred discussion at Monday's Council meeting, when during a time set aside for public comment, Shawnee resident Ray Erlichman asked why Pflumm and Straub felt it necessary to have a separate dinner.

Carol Gonzales, city manager, said there aren't any written procedures on what Council members should and shouldn't do in terms of meeting with federal officials. She said the city encourages Council members to meet with federal officials as much as possible, and it's up to them what they do.

Straub said while the rest of the Council was meeting with Moore, a Democrat, he and Pflumm met with the staffers of Brownback and Roberts, who are Republicans.

"Luckily enough, Mr. Pflumm and I, of all the cities that were there: were able to meet with them and get money allotted to our city," Straub said, noting they discussed getting funds for the Kansas Highway 7 interchange at Johnson Drive.

Straub later recanted his statement after questioning by Council member Neal Sawyer. Straub said he didn't mean to imply that the dinner had already brought money to Shawnee for the interchange; he just meant he thought the dinner was a valuable meeting.

"I assure you, when things get brought up for Shawnee, Kansas, they'll remember us," Straub said.

Pflumm said there was a separate bill for the liquor portion of the dinner at The Capital Grille in Washington, so none of the money sought for reimbursement was for alcohol, which the city cannot legally fund.

"You're making a big deal out of $400, when I probably have a couple hundred bucks that I didn't charge the city, that came out of my pocket," Pflumm told Erlichman.

Council member Dawn Kuhn, who is often at odds with Pflumm and Straub, defended the two. Kuhn said it was a bonus to be able to meet with the senators' staff members, but it was up to the Shawnee residents to decide if Pflumm and Straub had used the money wisely. Kuhn said this was an example of why it would be hard to put an exact number on the amount of funds Council members can use on these trips.

In other business, the Council:

¢ Heard Mayor Jeff Meyers recognize the Shawnee, Shine Up! program participants.

¢ Heard Meyers make proclamations recognizing retiring volunteer firefighters David Russell and Larry Cahill III.

¢ Approved 7-1 taking no action at this time to audit past purchases of products and services as the city was adopting a new purchasing policy, but directed staff to incorporate into the next annual city audit a review of purchases to ensure they are in compliance with the new purchasing manual. Straub voted in opposition.

¢ Awarded a contract for the construction of Silverheel Street, 6900 block to 71st Street, for $772,126.90 to Artisan Earthworks of Overland Park.

¢ Approved the purchase of the following equipment and software for the Justice Center and Fire Station No. 72: $114,308 to Alexander Open Systems Inc., Lenexa, for telephone and access communications equipment; $82,978.30 to CDW Government, Vernon Hills, Ill., for communications switching equipment; and $36,000 to Intergraph Corporation, Chicago, for dispatch software licenses.

¢ Approved the purchase of two mowers for $74,965 from TPEC of Overland Park.

¢ Appointed Matt Zimmerman to the Shawnee Board of Zoning Appeals to fill a term expiring June 30, 2010.

¢ Approved a special-use permit to Lucy Tujague for an in-home daycare with up to 10 children in the 5600 block of Meadowsweet Lane.

¢ Approved semimonthly claims totaling $1,995,237.

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