SLO police chief's 2014 travel expenses were far more than peers', review finds

Correction: An earlier version of this story included incorrect information on the meals that Arroyo Grande Police Chief Steve Annibali purchased during two trips last year. He did not exceed the city's per diem rate on either trip.

San Luis Obispo Police Chief Steve Gesell attended three times as many conferences and meetings as any other police chief in San Luis Obispo County last year and incurred several thousand dollars more in costs to the city.

A review of Gesell’s 2014 travel expenses by The Tribune shows that he attended 13 conferences, workshops, trainings and meetings that took him out of the office 48 days, including 41 weekdays, and cost the city $7,864 after various reimbursements.

City officials determined Friday that Gesell owes the city $146 for personal spending incorrectly included on receipts he submitted for reimbursement. Gesell had not repaid the city as of Monday.

The city reviewed Gesell’s receipts after questions from the media and now is drafting changes to its travel policy to include more oversight, officials said.

Gesell’s 2014 travel costs were higher than any of his fellow police chiefs or the county sheriff. They also were higher than any other department head in the city and among the highest for city and county department heads countywide last year.

Several police chiefs said the benefits of attending various meetings and conference included staying updated on trends, networking and helping plan for issues facing their departments.

“My contract clearly says that professional development is very important,” Gesell said.

Of Gesell’s 13 trips, for example, three were spent in San Diego, where he attended workshops on homelessness. Finding solutions to homelessness was the San Luis Obispo City Council’s top priority in 2013 and 2014.

Gesell said that in previous years, he typically went on just four trips: three California Police Chiefs Association board meetings and an association conference. Every other year, he attends an International Association of Chiefs of Police convention.

Gesell acknowledged that he traveled too much in 2014.

“This last year I was burned out,” Gesell said. “It was too much travel, and I think I overextended myself.”

Getting to specifics

Gesell traveled last year with the support of San Luis Obispo City Manager Katie Lichtig, who said she encourages department heads to participate in professional development opportunities to inform the city of best practices and give it a presence outside of its borders.

“It is a tradition in San Luis Obispo to be involved in professional organizations as a city that wants to be on the cutting edge and be innovative,” she said.

Gross expenditures for all of the trips Gesell took totaled $24,734. Once outside reimbursements and costs involving other city employees were deducted, Gesell’s net travel cost to the city was $7,865, according to Wayne Padilla, the city’s finance and technology director.

Costs subtracted from Gesell’s gross receipts included the following:

Not included in the $24,734 total was the cost for a nine-day trip Gesell took in September to Israel for an anti-terrorism seminar that was funded by the Anti-Defamation League. The ADL grant included paying for flights between Los Angeles and Israel. As The Tribune noted last year, Gesell reimbursed the city $404.20 on Oct. 8 for airfare between L.A. and San Luis Obispo after that cost was mistakenly put on a city credit card.

Traveling on the cheap

The second-highest law enforcement spender was Arroyo Grande Police Chief Steve Annibali, who charged his city $3,240 for two trips.

Sheriff Ian Parkinson, who oversees the largest law enforcement department in the county, spent $992 on three trips last year.

A few police chiefs shared steps they take to save money while traveling on city business.

Morro Bay Police Chief Amy Christey only submitted receipts for hotel rooms and some gasoline for the four trips she took in 2014.

Christey said some meals were provided at the conferences and trainings, but others she paid for out-of-pocket to stretch her department’s training budget.

“We have a lot of folks who are midlevel in their career who are planning for that next level and there are some really good leadership courses for them to go to,” Christey said. “I need to protect those budget dollars to ensure they get that training.”

Grover Beach Police Chief Jim Copsey, also the assistant city manager, went on one trip last year — an employment law training course in San Francisco so he could assist in labor negotiations.

Outraged at the cost of the recommended hotel, Copsey drove his trailer and stayed at Candlestick RV Park for $75 a night. He rode his motorcycle into the city and parked for $5 a day.

The plan saved the city about $600. The trip cost about $853 total.

Copsey said he has attended an annual state police chief’s conference numerous times, but hasn’t gone the last three years because of budget issues.

“It’s in my contract that I go, but when we’re giving furloughs and stuff, I don’t feel it’s right,” Copsey said. “We do everything we can to keep the costs down.”

Gesell's spending

Gesell said his position with the California Police Chiefs Association demands a certain amount of travel, but he tries to limit expenses.

As an association board member, Gesell said he needed to arrive two days earlier than other local police chiefs who attended the organization’s annual training symposium in Monterey last February. Gesell had to attend a board meeting on Feb. 22, a Saturday.

He said he later saved money by sharing a room with Staley, who arrived on Monday for three days of the symposium. Total expenses for both men were $2,795.

Gesell was one of two local police chiefs who flew to Orlando, Fla., for an International Association of Chiefs of Police convention last October. That trip cost $3,322.

Gesell traveled with his family and spent vacation time in Florida for four days after the convention ended Oct. 28.

He and his family stayed in the most expensive of hotels offering discounts for convention-goers — $225 per night, in a list of hotels advertising rates as low as $79. The hotel was the closest to the conference center and hosted the California delegation.

Gesell rented a car, billing the city $291 out of a total $561 for the vehicle, because roughly half the trip was business.

He said he rented a car because some events were held offsite from the convention center and doing so was more efficient than taxis or shuttles. Gesell’s family also used the car while he was attending the convention, he said.

“Every time you jump in a cab, that’s a considerable expense. So it seemed like a win-win for me,” Gesell said. “There’s no doubt my family benefited from that car, but if I didn’t have it I would be stranded near the hotel.”

According to the conference website, free shuttles were provided to most offsite events.

Padilla said the car rental expense was reasonable and that Gesell undercharged the city for that cost.

Gesell’s travel expense report included a $58.82 charge for a meal at a restaurant in Marco Island the day after the conference ended. Gesell said the charge to the city was an error and will be reimbursed.

Annibali, who has served on the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s Image, Ethics and Professional Standards Committee for about 10 years, also attended the Orlando conference. Annibali spent $2,496 — or $826 less than Gesell.

Annibali stayed in the same hotel in a room that also cost $225, but he spent less than Gesell on airfare by flying out of Burbank, and he did not rent a car.

In addition, Annibali only charged his city for lunches and dinners. His meal costs were less than the daily per diem rate allowed.

Throughout the year, Gesell frequently exceeded San Luis Obispo’s meal allowance, currently set at $10 for breakfast, $15 for lunch and $35 for dinner. However, he also frequently didn’t charge for some meals while traveling.

According to The Tribune’s review, Gesell charged the city approximately $475 over the amount allowed per meal. But overall, by not listing some meals, he spent under the amount he could have charged for the year.

The over-under policy has been followed for years by department heads and the city manager, according to city officials.

“I looked at the policy, and it seems crazy to break down meals like that,” Gesell said. “There may be one day I go over on a dinner, but even if I didn’t charge a breakfast or lunch, I’ve violated the policy? That’s ludicrous.”

Travel policy changes

The review of Gesell’s travel expenses has prompted city staff to propose changes to the city’s travel procedures, which have to be approved by the City Council, Padilla said.

San Luis Obispo’s 2006 travel policy allows department heads or their staff to approve their own travel expenses.

“It’s an interesting practice that I think we’ll take a look at as a result of this particular inquiry,” said Lichtig, who was hired in January 2010.

Padilla said the travel policy will be adjusted so that each employee must sign his or her own expense reports, the city manager must approve department head reports, and the city manager and city attorney will review and approve each others’ expenses.

“I have the utmost confidence that all employees involved in this process take their ethical obligation seriously and had no intent to violate any city policy,” Padilla said in an email to The Tribune.

Gesell is currently scheduled to attend one trip this year.

“If there’s something that comes out of all this, it’ll be clarity on the (policy),” he said.

This story was originally published February 16, 2015 at 6:52 PM with the headline "SLO police chief's 2014 travel expenses were far more than peers', review finds."