From Austin to Hawaii, El Paso County commissioners’ journey tab nears a quarter-million {dollars}

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — This summer season, El Paso County commissioners postponed two Commissioners Court conferences to attend academic periods and coverage conferences at a Louisiana convention — a part of a journey sample that has price taxpayers practically a quarter-million {dollars} in recent times. 

An ABC-7 evaluation discovered county commissioners and the county choose spent practically $234,000 on journey since fiscal 12 months 2022. Of that quantity, Commissioner David Stout accounted for greater than $126,000, exceeding the mixed journey spending of the county choose and all different commissioners. 

ABC-7 obtained practically 5 years of journey and expense information by an open information request below the Texas Public Information Act. The information span from fiscal 12 months 2022 by May 2026. El Paso County’s fiscal 12 months runs from Oct. 1 by Sept. 30. 

The information present commissioners regularly traveled to Washington, D.C.; Denver; Las Vegas; and, most frequently, Austin.

Some journeys went a lot farther. In May, Stout traveled to Hawaii for a convention, and final 12 months, County Judge Ricardo Samaniego traveled to Taiwan as a part of a six-day financial improvement journey.

Stout’s journey spending

Expense information from the County Auditor’s Office analyzed by ABC-7 present that from fiscal 12 months 2022 by May 2026, David Stout spent greater than $126,000 on journey, greater than 4 instances the quantity spent by the next-highest spender on the courtroom. 

Commissioner Iliana Holguin spent practically $30,000 throughout the identical interval. Judge Ricardo Samaniego spent about $28,000. Commissioner Sergio Coronado spent virtually $23,000.   

The latest member of the courtroom, Commissioner Jackie Butler, has spent greater than $16,412 since taking workplace 20 months in the past. Her predecessor, Carlos Leon, spent about $10,381 throughout his remaining 39 months in workplace. 

Stout’s annual journey spending peaked in fiscal 12 months 2024 at $37,725, up from $29,701 in fiscal 12 months 2023 and $13,425 in fiscal 12 months 2022. 

Records present he made 9 journeys to Austin that 12 months, together with testifying throughout a particular legislative session, attending a Border Network for Human Rights rally and collaborating in Texas Conference of Urban Counties coverage committee conferences. 

In an interview with ABC-7, Stout defended the spending, arguing that such journey helps county officers advocate for El Paso and produce again concepts from different jurisdictions. 

“I think it’s very important to make sure that we have a seat at the table as often as possible,” Stout stated. “Again, we are in far West Texas. Austin forgets about us often. We are far away from Washington, D.C. If we are not there talking about what we need, there’s really nobody talking about what counties need if we aren’t in the space, if we’re not sitting at the table.” 

Some of Stout’s most costly journeys occurred throughout fiscal 12 months 2024. The costliest was a May 2024 journey to Yosemite for the National Association of Counties’ Western Interstate Region Conference. Records present Stout departed two days earlier than the beginning of the convention on May 5 and returned May 10. The journey price taxpayers about $3,559. 

“So for example, I learned about doing energy audits at a conference that I went to. Brought that back home, talked to the commissioner’s court. We had an energy audit done and are now working with Schneider Electric to basically invest in energy-saving infrastructure within our buildings that will save county taxpayers $40 million over the next 20 years.”

– Stout

The following month, taxpayers funded a visit to Las Vegas for Stout to attend the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials convention on the Bellagio Hotel. Expense information present the journey price greater than $3,250.

Through May of this 12 months, information present Stout spent greater than $18,000 on journey. That features a four-day National Association of Counties Western Interstate Region convention in Maui, Hawaii, in May. 

A county journey expense kind reveals the journey price taxpayers about $4,800.  

Records present David Stout left El Paso on May 1, 4 days earlier than the convention started, and returned May 10, two days after it ended.  

Travel kinds present taxpayers paid for his keep on the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort and Spa from May 3 by May 8. Conference information present preconference occasions started May 3, whereas the convention formally opened May 5 with an elective cell tour of Haleakalā National Park.  

“To save the county on costs, the only hotel nights paid for by the county were those of the WIR conference,” Stout wrote in response to ABC-7’s questions in regards to the Hawaii journey.

Records additionally present Stout earned 7,024 Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards factors from the taxpayer-funded round-trip flight between El Paso and Maui.  

“The travel being scrutinized represents a small fraction, approximately 0.02% of a nearly $500 million County budget.”

– Stout

Records point out Stout was accompanied by at the least one county employees member on the Hawaii journey.

Stout stated he usually brings employees on bigger conferences and advocacy journeys, significantly when simultaneous periods require further protection or when employees will help coordinate conferences with company officers and congressional workplaces. 

When requested whether or not relations, pals or different non-county personnel had accompanied him on taxpayer-funded journeys, Stout stated that they had, however added he personally coated their bills. 

Stout additionally stated touring with a big different is “not uncommon” amongst commissioners. When requested about taxpayers paying for a resort room that would additionally accommodate a visitor, Stout stated the price can be the identical no matter whether or not somebody accompanied him.  

“The hotel room is going to cost the same whether you have one or two people staying in the room,” he stated.

Samaniego’s Taiwan journey and reimbursement 

In fiscal 12 months 2025, the most important single journey expense belonged to Samaniego. 

Records present his March 2025 journey to Taiwan to attend the Smart City Summit & Expo initially price taxpayers about $9,200, together with roughly $7,855 in business-class airfare. 

According to the Smart City Summit & Expo web site, the annual convention in Taiwan brings collectively authorities officers, enterprise leaders and expertise corporations to debate smart-city improvement, infrastructure, sustainability and financial development.

Before the journey, commissioners debated whether or not exterior donations may assist cowl a number of the prices. During a March 10, 2025, assembly, Commissioners Court voted unanimously to permit Samaniego to just accept donations to assist cowl the price of the six-day journey. 

Every week later, on March 17, whereas Samaniego was in Taiwan, Commissioners Court revisited the difficulty at his urging and reversed its earlier choice in a 4-0 vote, in accordance with information reviewed by ABC-7.

During that assembly, County Chief Administrator Betsy Keller stated Samaniego “ended up paying himself and did not accept donations for his travel,” referring to any bills above the regular tab coated by the county. 

To decide how a lot taxpayers spent on the Taiwan journey, ABC-7 filed an open information request with the county on Aug. 24 searching for information detailing the journey bills. 

A receipt reveals Samaniego reimbursed the county $4,024 on Sept. 2, 2026, one week after ABC-7 submitted a public information request for the journey information and greater than a 12 months after he filed a disclosure reporting $2,000 in exterior funding for the journey.

Samaniego stated the county initially reimbursed the complete airfare for the Taiwan journey. However, because the auditor’s workplace ready information for launch to ABC-7, employees recognized what they described as an error as a result of county coverage covers solely economy-class journey. As a consequence, he stated he reimbursed the county $4,200, representing the distinction between the economic system fare and the higher-priced business-class ticket he used.

Samaniego stated the $2,000 donation was from the Taiwanese Council. ABC-7 discovered no file of the County Court voting once more to permit donations to offset journey.  

When requested about using business-class tickets, Samaniego stated, “You don’t want an elected official spending 19 hours sitting up and not being able to relax, not being able to read your material properly and getting ready for the trip, for the business experience.” 

County Judge Ricardo Samaniego stated the journey helped pave the way in which for Wiwynn’s enlargement in Socorro. The firm stated it has invested greater than $1.6 billion in its El Paso-area operations and expects to create practically 1,000 jobs by 2027, with employment in the end reaching 4,000 employees when the ability reaches full capability. 

“It cost, let’s say, the $10,000. We now have 2,000 jobs,” Samaniego stated. 

After receiving the information, ABC-7 adopted up with Samaniego relating to the $2,000 donation, asking whether or not the cash was paid on to him and whether or not the donation had been authorized by the courtroom.

Mariana Barraza-Mitchell, senior coverage advisory within the choose’s workplace, stated his workplace is reviewing the matter.  

So far, we’ve not heard again.

ABC-7 has additionally reached out to contacts listed on-line for the Smart City Summit & Expo for remark.

County officers stated the Taiwan journey’s web price to taxpayers was about $5,200 after the reimbursement. 

Policy adjustments: Blanket journey approval for defeated commissioners 

In El Paso County, journey for official enterprise and coaching is permitted below county coverage. County information present about $6.3 million has been budgeted for journey {and professional} training since fiscal 12 months 2022.

“We have a travel policy, and it applies to everyone in the county from a regular employee who’s traveling to an elected official to a commissioner, and of course, the judge also,” County Auditor Barbara Parker stated. 

Under Texas law, Commissioners Court has the authority to set journey bills and different allowances for county officers and staff. State regulation additionally requires county commissioners to finish at the least 16 hours of licensed persevering with training annually. First-year commissioners should full the coaching in particular person. Afterward, commissioners could take programs on-line with courtroom approval and carry over as much as eight extra hours. 

Parker stated all county-funded journey have to be reviewed by her workplace and authorized by Commissioners Court earlier than journey funds are issued. Travelers then have 10 days after returning to submit an expense voucher documenting what they spent. 

“The only thing that we don’t ask for receipts on is the per diem because we don’t need your receipt for meals when we’re paying for the per diem,” Parker stated. 

When ABC-7 requested whether or not the county has a coverage governing journey rewards earned on taxpayer-funded journeys, Parker stated El Paso County has no coverage addressing journey rewards, airline miles or different loyalty advantages earned on county enterprise. 

The county’s journey coverage additionally states that officers who lose a major election or will not be searching for re-election should obtain further courtroom approval earlier than touring on county enterprise.

“If there was an elected official that did not go before Commissioners Court and they’re in that situation, we would not process the travel. We would kick it back and tell them they need to go to Commissioners Court first,” Parker stated. 

ABC-7 reviewed Commissioners Court agendas following the March 3 major and located that on March 30, about 4 weeks after Commissioner David Stout misplaced his re-election, he sought authorization by the consent agenda for himself and his employees to proceed county-funded journey by the tip of his time period. Commissioners authorized the request, in accordance with assembly information reviewed by ABC-7. 

“I continue to be a commissioner until the end of the year. And the duties that are assigned to me do not end until Dec. 31,” Stout instructed ABC-7 when requested about his request. 

On June 29, Commissioner Sergio Coronado made the same request and it was authorized. 

Records present neither decision specified how a lot further journey was anticipated, and each listed the projected fiscal affect as unknown or not offered. 

Parker stated she had not seen such broad approval for post-election journey till this 12 months. 

“I personally, I haven’t seen a blanket approval until this year, but there have been individual instances that have gone to Commissioners Court to get approved,” Parker stated. 

Former Commissioner Andrew Haggerty, who served on Commissioners Court from 2015-18, instructed ABC-7 he would have opposed the blanket journey approval granted to Stout and Coronado after they misplaced their major races. 

“That was a mistake by the court,” Haggerty stated. “The basic duty of a county commissioner is managing the budget, and giving two lame-duck commissioners carte blanche for the rest of the year doesn’t feel like being a fiduciary of that budget.”

Shelved accountability measure 

Last March, whereas Ricardo Samaniego was in Taiwan, he proposed a coverage that may have required members of Commissioners Court to submit a report inside 30 days of getting back from county-funded journey, in accordance with county assembly information reviewed by ABC-7. 

Records present the proposal was initially postponed and later introduced again after Samaniego returned. He accomplished a report following his Taiwan journey however in the end moved to delete the merchandise, saying the county lawyer wanted to assessment a number of points earlier than it could possibly be reconsidered. 

Asked why the measure by no means returned to Commissioners Court, Samaniego instructed ABC-7 it was “such a great idea to make them accountable,” however stated it in the end “fell through the cracks” amid staffing adjustments in his workplace. 

Samaniego stated requiring elected officers to report on county-funded journey may scale back the quantity of journey. 

“When I did it in Cementos de Chihuahua, we cut back about 30% of the travel because they knew it wasn’t just going to go have fun and come back,” Samaniego stated. “It was going to be you go, but you come back and you report on what you’re going to be doing.” 

Samaniego stated he nonetheless helps the proposal and intends to carry it again. 

“I’ll make sure I get it back on the agenda,” he stated. 

The dialogue comes as questions stay about how the county approves journey that exceeds its annual spending restrict. 

The county’s journey coverage usually limits staff to $6,000 yearly for county enterprise journey; nevertheless, Chief Auditor Parker defined journeys associated to legislative priorities or when somebody is on the board for a convention are exempt from the cap. 

When ABC-7 requested for the listing of exemptions, we had been instructed there isn’t one.  

ABC-7 requested County Judge Ricardo Samaniego whether or not the county ought to set up clearer standards or limits for granting exemptions reasonably than leaving these choices to the courtroom’s discretion. 

“Given the amount of taxpayer-funded travel approved under exemptions, should the county establish clear criteria or limits for when exemptions can be granted rather than leaving those decisions to the court’s discretion?” ABC-7 requested. 

“Yeah, I do agree,” Samaniego responded. 

He stated the courtroom’s dialogue highlighted shortcomings within the present system and that the county ought to do a greater job documenting the aim and outcomes of journey so officers can clarify what taxpayers obtained in return. 

Commissioner Jackie Butler additionally stated she would assist such a requirement.

“I think that that’s perfectly reasonable. I certainly do my best to communicate what I’ve been bringing home from the travel that I’ve been part of,” Butler stated.

ABC-7 requested interviews with Commissioners Iliana Holguin and Sergio Coronado. Coronado’s workplace stated he can be unavailable for a number of weeks, whereas Holguin’s workplace didn’t reply to requests for remark. 

Judge Samaniego is working for reelection towards Republican candidate Minerva Torres Shelton within the November normal election.