Boise pledged to make travel requests more transparent. There’s much we still don’t know
Chicago. Washington, D.C. San Diego. Palm Springs. These are just some of the places where city of Boise officials have traveled in the past five months, according to copies of travel requests obtained through a public records request.
But the details of many other scheduled trips for Boise city employees remain shrouded from public view. In spite of changes to make these travels more transparent, the city does not disclose most details of trips until after the fact. While the city has remained mum on its reasoning, one city councilor told the Idaho Statesman it stemmed from threats the city’s public officials received.
And even when those documents aren’t redacted in copies released to the public, that’s no guarantee the nature of the request will be shared.
Recently, details about where Boise officials are traveling have been obtainable only through a records request. If a travel request came before the City Council for review, the public agenda item listed only the employee’s name, the amount needed for the travel, and the month it would take place. Exactly when, where and why a trip was happening – along with how that money was to be spent – was not made public.
Speaking to the Boise City Council on Tuesday, Mayor Lauren McLean’s chief of staff, Courtney Washburn, said the city was considering a new system for making travel requests more transparent. This would involve publishing all information about a trip after it was completed, and having all requests reviewed by the Office of Internal Audit.
Council President Elaine Clegg said Tuesday she thought the new system would increase transparency but still maintain a level of security.
“This is a good way forward to ensure that transparency for members of the public, and still allow us to get that travel scheduled in a safe and efficient way,” Clegg said.
But while city officials have said they plan on increasing the transparency of travel requests, much about the requests themselves remains unknown.
This includes information about trips before they are taken. Copies provided to the Statesman of requests for trips happening later this year were heavily redacted, so that no information revealing the nature of the trips was disclosed.
For example, Clegg was approved for at least more than $8,000 for trips scheduled in March and April. But why these trips would be made was redacted.
Clegg did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
The City Clerk’s Office told the Idaho Statesman that the reason for the redactions was that the information the Statesman requested is considered “critical infrastructure,” and therefore protected by public records law.
But there could be another reason. Council Member Holli Woodings told the Statesman that the council decided to not release prior information about a trip because of “credible threats” made against city officials in the past.
While Woodings did not specify when or what kind of threats council members received, she said making the whereabouts of public officials known before they travel could create a security risk.
“I’m not sure if we need that level of scrutiny of our travel requests,” Woodings said.
But some trips remain shrouded in secrecy long after the fact. McLean, Public Works Director Steve Burgos and Economic Development Director Sean Keithly took a November trip to Chicago at a cost of more than $3,500 combined, according to copies of their travel requests.
These requests all lacked one thing – the purpose of the trip. All of the documents had “work-related meeting” listed as the purpose, with no details provided.
Asked about that on Friday, mayoral spokesperson Justin Corr did not provide any specific details but said city officials often take “business attraction trips.”
These were some other trips taken by Boise city officials in recent months:
- McLean requested $1,772 in November to travel to Washington, D.C., to attend President Joe Biden’s signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
- Airport Director Rebecca Hupp requested $2,207 in January to travel to Palm Springs, California, for the American Association of Airport Executives’ CEO Forum.
- Fire Chief Mark Niemeyer requested $1,400 for a February meeting in Salt Lake City with other fire departments hosted by the Unified Fire Authority. Several other fire personnel attended as well.
- City Attorney Jayme Sullivan requested $1,483 to attend an October seminar on negotiating public safety contracts in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This story was originally published February 22, 2022 at 4:00 AM.
CORRECTION: Boise Mayor Lauren McLean requested $1,772 in November to travel to Washington, D.C., to attend President Joe Biden’s signing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
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