BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Palo Alto City Council will consider giving each of its members $2,000 a year to spend how they see fit each year.
For example, council members could give grants to community groups, reimburse themselves for official travel or fund community events, Deputy City Manager Chantal Gaines said in a report to council.
Council members wouldn’t be allowed to spend the money on political campaigns or personal expenses, Gaines said.
The Policy and Services Committee will discuss the idea on Tuesday (Feb. 13).
Council already has a $125,000 contingency fund that is set aside for smaller projects that may come up throughout the year.
Expenses are approved by the mayor and vice mayor if they’re under $10,000, and by the full council if the request is over that amount.
In the past, the fund has been spent on employee retirement parties, road signs, town hall meetings and veterinarian bills for two donkeys that live at Bol Park.
Last year council spent $1,000 on a Chinese moon festival and $3,000 to show a documentary at Palo Alto High School that was about the pressures students face at San Francisco’s elite Lowell High School.
The money can’t be spent on mass mailings or for specific religious purposes, Gaines said.
The city’s contingency fund is relatively small compared to the $1 million that the San Mateo and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors gets to spend in each of their districts.
Council must have a lot of money to play with. How about people struggling to pay the rent or have enough to eat?