The City of Evanston spent $221,000 in the last year on conference and travel expenses, in addition to the $230K paid for membership fees.
Editor’s Note: Actual totals may vary slightly due to non-standard accounting practices across City departments. Most expenses list Budget Item #62295 Training & Travel.
Office of Administration:$51,867 The Office of Administration technically tops of the spending list. However, because many of its expenditures are for staff and departments outside of Administrative Services, it serves as a type of budgetary catch-all.
1. City Manager’s Office: $30,491 The City Manager and his direct staff topped the departmental spending chart at $30,491, with major contributors being ICMA (International City Managers’ Association) conferences totaling $10,750, and the Women’s Legacy Conference registration costs at $8,640.
2. Police Department: $29,827 The Police Department had the second highest expenses at $29,827, though most of the costs are for direct police training and seminars, such as the Illinois Tactical Officer Association Conference ($1,300 for four officers).
3. Public Works: $24,718 Public works came in third, at $24,718, with most of the expenses ($15,328 ) related to Water Production and Water Works conference travel.
4. City Council: $22,579 The Mayor and aldermen ranked fourth, spending $22,579. The highest contributing costs were for various National League of Cities/Congress conference travel.
5. Parks & Rec: $16,459 Central conference was the NRPA (National Recreation & Parks Association) Conference for 6 staff.
6.Information Systems: $13,584 Primary conferences were AWS (Amazon Web Services) Public Sector Summit, Smart City Symposium and ESRI/GIS (Geo-Information System) Conferences.
7. Health & Human Services: $10,098 Primarily, NEHA (National Environmental Health Association) Conference.
8. Fire Department: $6,174 Primarily, Instructor Training & IEMA (Illinois Emergency Management Agency) Conference
9. Fleet Services: $4,910 Primarily, APWA (American Public Works Association) Snow Conference and Pierce Manufacturing Training.
10. Human Resources: $4,197 Primarily, Tyler Technologies Conference.
11. 311: $2,617 Primarily, ICMA (International City Managers’ Association) Conference
12. Economic Development: $2,349
13. Legal Department: $685 Primarily, Unspecified Conference in Niagara Falls.
14. Facility Management: $402 Primarily, APWA (American Public Works Association) Snow Conference and IFMA (International Facility Management Association) conferences and training.