El Paso Council Passes Travel Transparency Policy
The unanimous vote follows an ABC-7 Xtra investigation into county commissioners' travel spending.
Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Travel — General
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The El Paso City Council unanimously approved a policy on Tuesday that increases transparency around travel spending by council members and the mayor. The policy places city-funded travel on the council agenda regularly, the same way other expenses are handled.
Why it matters
The measure was requested after an ABC-7 Xtra investigation into travel spending by El Paso County commissioners, which found they spent nearly a quarter of a million dollars on travel since Fiscal Year 2021. It gives residents of El Paso a routine public view of how city officials spend travel funds.
Nearly a quarter of a million dollars was spent by El Paso County commissioners on travel since Fiscal Year 2021, according to an ABC-7 Xtra investigation. The reporting does not break the total down by year or by individual official.
The players
El Paso City Council
The elected legislative body governing the City of El Paso, which adopts city ordinances, budgets and policies.
Chris Canales
The District 8 City Representative on the El Paso City Council who requested the travel transparency policy.
El Paso County Commissioners Court
The governing body of El Paso County, whose members' travel spending was examined in the ABC-7 Xtra investigation.
The details
Travel spending by council members and the mayor will be proactively shared on the council agenda as expenditures happen. City staff brought the item back for discussion two weeks after representatives had approved a draft resolution on the same subject, and District 8 City Representative Chris Canales requested the policy.
Timeline
Fiscal Year 2021: Start of the period of county commissioner travel spending examined by the investigation.
Two weeks before the vote: Council approved a draft resolution on city-funded travel.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026: Council unanimously passed the travel transparency policy.
Travel Outlook
The policy follows the ABC-7 Xtra investigation into county travel spending and extends similar public disclosure to El Paso's city officials. It reflects a local pattern in which journalistic reporting on official travel budgets prompts routine agenda-level oversight.
Residents can expect city-funded travel by council members and the mayor to appear on the council agenda as it happens, rather than only in periodic reports. Anyone tracking how public travel budgets are spent can use these agenda listings to follow expenditures over time.
The takeaway
Regular agenda listings make it easier for El Paso residents to check how city officials spend travel funds without waiting for a news investigation. Watching council agendas is the most direct way to follow these expenditures as they occur.
Further reading
For related coverage of travel planning in the region, see Travel — General on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KVIA.
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