The Rapid City council's proposed 2009 travel budget is recommended to be reduced by $15,000, but one alderman said more work should be done to set limits on council members' travel habits.

Alderman Bob Hurlbut said Tuesday he wants to reduce the $45,000 council travel budget and also advocates a change in travel policy to limit the number of out-of-state seminars individual members may attend in a given year.

"Frankly, I'm still concerned it may be more than we need to spend. We have a fairly experienced council; in fact, we have just one new council member," Hurlbut said.

In June, Hurlbut noted the council's image problem concerning travel and suggested the city should adjust its policy.

The city's travel budget has been scrutinized since last fall, when Hurlbut and Alderman Sam Kooiker questioned sending eight of 11 elected officials to the New Orleans National League of Cities conference. Only five council members actually attended, but the issue sparked a debate about sending a quorum of the governing body out of town at the same time.

So far, no changes have been made to travel policy. Most council members believe travel is a budget issue that should be discussed when the budget is prepared.

Last November, Mayor Alan Hanks proposed a policy change to limit the number of council members who travel out of state at one time, but the proposal was tabled by the legal and finance committee.

Hurlbut said the educational offerings of seminars have value, especially as a primer for new elected officials on a variety of issues. He favors sending new council member Patti Martinson to some seminars, if she wants to go, but said the council should create a policy governing how often people travel.

"I think perhaps a policy of no more than one national seminar per council person in any given year is more than appropriate," Hurlbut said.

Two budgeting sessions are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, Aug. 11 and 12. Hurlbut expects travel to be one of the issues discussed, but if little progress is made, he believes the issue will probably reappear on a future legal and finance committee agenda.

"I don't want to discourage travel, but I also think we need to be responsible. We've seen a lot of public concern that I think we need to acknowledge."

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com