Morrisville council weighs formal rule limiting council spending, $500 preapproval threshold proposed

Morrisville — Town staff presented a draft expenditures rule on March 10 that would set consistent rules for council member spending, including using the annual council stipend to cover incidental costs and requiring preapproval for larger trips.

Town Manager Brandon Zutomuk told the council the draft is meant to “establish guidelines for expenditures, limitations on those, and ensure fiscal responsibility and equity,” and to make transparent what has previously been handled informally. He said the stipend is “intended to cover incidental costs associated with your roles as council members,” listing cell phone service, subscriptions and routine travel as examples that could be paid from that allowance.

The draft would adopt existing staff guidelines for travel and training and add a new transparency step: any single travel/training trip or combination of expenses exceeding $500 that is not included in the annual budget would need preapproval by the full council. Zutomuk said the $500 threshold was chosen because most regular local training rarely exceeds that amount, and larger conferences would be preapproved in the budget.

Councilmembers questioned some specifics. Councilmember Garamela said the $500 cap may be too low for certain multi-day training, and asked whether the number was based on data; staff replied it was a judgment aimed at transparency and can be adjusted. Councilmember Johnson and others urged clarity about whether subscriptions such as the Triangle Business Journal would be covered within the stipend or through town-provided access.

Other topics the council debated included:

- Memberships and training: staff proposed that certain professional memberships be funded from the governing-body budget when they provide clear benefit to the council, and that training be preapproved through the annual budget or reviewed by the manager for relevance.

- Out-of-pocket expenses and reimbursements: the clerk’s office would continue to process approved expenses; staff prefers to use per diems for meals instead of reimbursement for recordkeeping efficiency.

- Transparency: staff would publish quarterly reports itemizing council expenditures by member and the financial services department would continue annual audits of council spending.

Councilmembers asked staff to clarify the policy text and appendices, to provide cost examples for typical meetings and conferences, and to adjust language about procurement cards. Staff said they will revise the draft based on the feedback and return with a version aimed for council action on April 14 or for placement on the April 14 consent agenda if no further changes are needed.

The work session was part of a longer evening that also included a budget outlook and other items; the council did not vote on the expenditures rule at the March 10 meeting.