Losio Vocas/Houston Public Media
The Commissioners of the Fort Band County voted to ban the use of county funds for international travel this week, but said they would allow exemptions for visits approved by the Commissioners.
During the Commissioner’s Court on Tuesday, County Auditor Aid Storage said that several major Texas counties – including Harris County, Dallas County and Bay County – use county funds to ban international travel.
According to the Auditor’s office, County, in the southwest of Houston, has spent 6,305.94 on international travel from 2022.
In 2023, the County spent 4,127.40 on the County Court-Eat La 5 Judge Tiana Watson, who went to Morocco for the International Association of Women’s Judges Conference. His trip was recorded by the Commissioner Court about three months before his trip in the county minutes, County Records Show Watson could not immediately be reached for comments by the court staff.
Last year, the County paid $ 2,178.54 for the County Court-Law Julie Matthew’s trip to Toronto’s South Asian Bar Association Conference. According to the commissioners court approved its journey during a public meeting County Documents. Matthew refused to comment.
In July 2024, a proposed international travel ban was held for the Commissioner’s agenda for discussing and voting. However, the item was pulled off the agenda and was not discussed during the meeting.
Fort Band County Judge KP George asked that the policy be kept on the agenda this week.
“I don’t think anyone wanted to pay for taxpayers or elected officials … travel internationally,” he said during the Commissioner Court on Tuesday. “Taxpayers should not pay for it.”
In the preliminary agenda item, it was not said whether the commissioners would allow the court to allow for an international journey, though George said it would be open to it. County Is required Permission from the Commissioner Court for a journey outside the state.
Printict 4 Commissioner Dexter McKoy presented the issue that some international travel could be beneficial for the county.
“When someone travels outside the state, it all has to come to the court for approval,” he said. “I think this is a process that I will ask us to consider as an alternative, as it is fully prohibited.”
In 2011, the County sent employees to the employees to find medical tourism to help prevent their employees’ health care costs, said Grady Printage. He said that although the county did not agree to send its employees there for cheap medical procedures, it developed domestic medical tourism programs.
Printage said he believes that the international travel policy is unnecessary.
“I just don’t want us to keep a brief eye,” said Printage.
Meanwhile, Printict 3 Commissioner Andy Mayers said that making a clear policy is a good idea and the court can allow exceptions as needed.
The mayors said, “To me, it sends the right message to our taxpayers that we are looking for their interests.”
Personct 1 Commissioner Vincent Morales also expressed his sentiment in favor of policy.
“There are exceptions that have to be seen by the court,” he said. “But in the policy, it is said on a regular basis that you do not travel internationally without court approval.”
The commissioners signed an agreement that the new policy should state that international travel was banned without prior approval from the court.
After agreeing to this explanation, the commissioners unanimously voted to approve the policy.
