Amid a flurry of media scrutiny over San Luis Obispo Police Chief Steve Gesell’s travel expenses, city officials have determined he owes the city just $146.43. The reimbursement is for personal expenditures—namely, meals for his family members—which were incorrectly included on receipts he submitted for reimbursement.
Gesell has agreed to repay the city and says the inclusion of the personal expenditures was an honest mistake.
"I have and will always continue to employ cost saving measures when I travel as exemplified by the analysis of my travel expenditures over the past here years," Gesell said Monday. "I lead a transparent police department and the transparency certainly includes costs incurred by me as part of my role as Police Chief."
Director of Finance Wayne Padilla has backed Gesell’s claim, calling the inclusion inadvertent. The city will now implement several changes to prevent future mistakes. These include requiring employees to sign their travel expense reimbursement reports and having the city manager approve all travel expense reports for department heads.
Chief Gesell’s travel expenses have been a source of media criticism as of late. A review of Gesell’s 2014 travel records showed he had attended three times as many conferences and meetings as any other police chief in the county. The engagements cost the city $7,864 after various reimbursements and deductions for other city employees.
Read more about the questions surrounding Gesell’s travel expenses here.