Washington County Board Takes Up Travel Policies Again

The Washington County Board’s travel policies became a hot issue this summer when a meeting had to be canceled due to three commissioners being out of state, and board members re-opened the discussion at their workshop meeting Tuesday, Oct. 4.

In a straw poll Tuesday, the three board members who attended the national conference in Portland, OR, in July—Dennis Hegberg, Bill Pulkrabek and Autumn Lehrke—all supported maintaining the policy of allowing three board members to attend future conferences.

“I don’t want to make it political where a (board) majority says, ‘Behave or you won’t get to go (to national meetings),’” Hegberg said.

when they proposed sending only two to the conference so that they wouldn’t have to cancel a meeting.

Lehrke said Tuesday that she thought it was valuable to go to the national meetings, because then the local county could have a say in larger issues.

Hegberg brought up another issue that had been contentious earlier in the year, saying that members ought to report on sessions they attended upon their return so others could make sure they went to the meetings.

“I’m not saying we have that problem now, but we may have in the past,” he said.

At the board’s July 28 meeting, . In July he said wanted to wait to make the report until Hegberg got back from his mother’s funeral and could give his report too.

Weik said Tuesday that there should be accountability. She also said she didn’t think travel companions should be allowed.

“I just think the public area should operate the same as private companies are,” she said. She said the companies she had worked for never allowed traveling companions.

Kriesel said he didn’t think there was a problem with taking along their spouses. Commissioners pay the companion’s expenses and share a hotel room with them.