Unable to reach an agreement on whether to increase legislative travel expenses, the Jurupa Community Services District board sent the item back to a committee for direction.

The discussion also sparked debate on whether all travel by board and staff should first be approved by the board.

"We need to work on the policy itself and how it can be better handled in the future," said board President R.M. "Cook" Barela.

The board was deciding whether to add additional money in the budget for the legislative travel expenses.

In April, the advisory committee agreed to authorize separate travel funding for legislative purposes.

Aside from legislative travel, each board member annually receives reimbursement for travel expenses of up to $10,000.

Several board members disagreed with the increase and favored a case-by-case travel approval for legislative purposes.

"You have to say, `What out of this year is going to be important to the district?' Pick and choose `what (do) I need to go to,"' said board member Betty Anderson.

The increase was reviewed by the finance committee, but was only approved for a $10,000 hike for all board members.

"We need to start being more responsible of when we go, why and how and that means we need to go before the board," Anderson said.

The increase was made to assist the board as they increase its involvement in legislative issues, Barela said. The potential

dividends to the district far outweigh the travel cost.

The money would come from the district's general fund, and anything that is not used would go back to the fund, Barela said.

In February, Barela and board member Ken McLaughlin, both members of the legislative committee, went to Washington, D.C., for a water-related conference.

They met with Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Riverside, in hopes of acquiring federal funds for water-related projects. Barela said the trip cost about $5,000.

The payoff, Barela said, is that with board members getting involved, it would mean that the district would rely less on consultants which would save money.

During the discussion McLaughlin said he was concerned about all the travel that is approved.

McLaughlin said he was in favor of revising the board policy so that all board members are "given the same information and the individual is given the blessing of the board."

General Manager Eldon Horst said that might be difficult to achieve because the travel expense would need to be approved in time for the individual to sign up.

The items will go to the advisory/policy/public relations committee for direction.