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WARREN -- Trumbull commissioners are expected to vote on approving a partial reimbursement to Commissioner Niki Frenchko for expenses incurred while attending the Fifth Annual Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber Washington D.C. Fly-In that took place last June.
Frenchko for nearly a year has been attempting to be reimbursed for expenses accrued while attending 2022's Fly-In, which she attended June 14 to 16. Frenchko turned in expenses last summer totaling $848.14.
County Commissioner President Denny Malloy and Mauro Cantalamessa are expected to seek a vote on reimbursing Frenchko $635.77. It will be $212.77 short of the amount Frenchko requested.
The chamber's Washington D.C. Fly-In allows area business leaders and politicians to have face-to-face meetings with legislators and U.S. government agencies to discuss local and regional concerns.
Last year's Fly-In participants were able to discuss funding for the Youngstown Air Reserve Station in Vienna, funding for the Build Back Better regional challenge grant, as well as the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Stability and Equity (RAISE) grant.
Frenchko, at the time, noted she was able to meet with Congressmen Warren Davidson, R-West Chester, and Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, to discuss the impact of the YARS funding and aircraft requests. She also was able to meet with Pennsylvania Congressman Mike Kelly's legislative aide about YARS projects and the Build Back Better grant application.
Shara Taylor, accounts payable clerk for the Trumbull County Commissioners, said during Tuesday's commissioner's workshop she initially could not approve all of the expenses sent to her by Frenchko because she did not have the required receipts.
After receiving additional documents, Taylor noted she could not approve all the reimbursement requests because state law prohibited her from approving certain items, such as tips, a late check-out fee from the Hyatt Hotel and meals that were included as part of the Fly-In programming that already were paid for as part of the conference.
During the last two commissioners meetings, Frenchko asked Malloy and Cantalamessa to vote to pay for the reimbursement of all her expenses. She noted the commissioners were told by the prosecutor's office that it would be better to settle the reimbursement issue rather than have the issue go through small claims court.
Both men said they wanted to review the documentation of the expenses before voting to reimburse Frenchko. Malloy did not take office as a commissioner until January.
He wanted a new county credit card policy to be written before the reimbursement is completed, so that going forward the county will not have this kind of issue.
The commissioners are updating its credit card policies for any employee requesting a credit card. Frenchko requested she be issued a county credit card.
It was noted that former county commissioner Frank Fuda had a county credit card.
Malloy said any county-issued credit card should have a limit no higher that $1,500. Employees also must report expenses, including any receipts from the allowable expenses, no more than 10 days after they are accrued.
Trumbull County Auditor Martha Yoder, Human Resources Director Alexandra Devengencie-Bush, Cantalamessa, Malloy and Taylor reviewed all of the documents provided by Frenchko to Taylor.
The group agreed it was permissible to provide reimbursement for the airline flights to and from the conference, which Frenchko was able to get cheaper than what was provided by the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber.
Frenchko, who did not attend Tuesday's workshop, previously noted by arranging her own flights, she was able to book less expensive overnight flights to and from Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C.
She paid $681 for the flights to and from the conference. However, she is not expected to be reimbursed for a seat upgrade she purchased.
Frenchko noted she needed the upgrade because she was recovering from an injury she received prior to the program. Seat upgrades should have been approved by the commissioners before the trip was taken.
Taylor said the decision for Frenchko to attend last year's conference was made at the last minute.
Malloy noted that conferences such as this are scheduled in advance, so there is no reason why county employees should not be able to obtain authorization for trips from their supervisors, or in the case of a commissioner, a vote from the board.
Frenchko is expected to be reimbursed for some, but not all meals. Because the cost of the conference included some meals, she was not reimbursed for meals that were a part of the conference's programming.
The next Fly-In is scheduled to take place June 7 and 8. At this year's conference, attendees will meet with Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Congressmen Mike Turner and Johnson.
Malloy is waiting to see if Frenchko intends to go to the conference before deciding if he should go. He said he believes having more than one commissioner at the conference is not a good use of county resources.