There seems to be as many reasons to attend high-level municipal training as there are elected officials.

High-dollar trips to state and national sessions has been a topic among Port Arthur City Council members who offered many reasons why elected leaders should attend conferences such as those presented by the National League of Cities and the Texas Municipal League.

Willie “Bae” Lewis Jr., District 5 councilman, said he attends the conferences so he can take care of business and take care of his constituents.

“They talk about things like economic development, bills that will be going before Congress, pending legislation. We get to meet with legislators on those pending bills,” he said this week.

Lewis cited as an example how he was able to obtain a $300,000 planning grant for the old Hotel Sabine; $200,000 of which to be used to remove asbestos. That money was gained from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Brownfields Program, which provides grants and technical assistance to communities, states, tribes and others to assess, safely clean up and sustainably reuse contaminated properties.

Lewis likened the NLC conference to attending the biennial Golden Triangle Days in Austin, which is held during the legislative sessions, only the NLC meeting is held on a national level. Attendees at such national meetings can meet with senators and congressmen about pending legislation.

“Those (council members) who don’t go are missing out on how government works from the top to the bottom,” he said. “Those two conferences (the NLC and the GTDA) are a must.

“Charlotte (where the 2017 NLC conference was held) was a preemptive strike for pending legislation. Those who don’t attend are neglecting their fiduciary responsibilities. It’s important to get in on the grassroots for pending legislation.”

Lewis said there’s also a 2018 Congressional City Conference March 11-14 in Washington, D.C.

“More than 2,000 city leaders will gather to represent and advocate for the interests of cities in the nation’s capital,” according to the NLC website.

In a November 2016 city vote, Port Arthur voters approved eliminating Districts 5 and 6 on the City Council this May. Lewis holds seat No. 5 and will leave the council at that time.

In spite of that, Lewis said he would continue doing what he’s doing — seeking job-related training and knowledge.

He added that he has an appointment to meet with U.S. Department of Justice representatives in the near future to discuss how eliminating District 6 would have a negative impact on Hispanics, whites, Asians and others being represented and/or running for office in the city.

Harold Doucet Sr., District 4 councilman, said when he attended the Newly Elected Councilmembers Conference sponsored by the Texas Municipal League, he found seminars on ethics to be beneficial.

“They go into details about conflict of interests. They instruct very well,” Doucet said. “The state of Texas Legislature passed ethical codes legislation, but nothing in the form of punishment.

“Ethically, one can be wrong, but still not violating the law. That’s about your morals. With conflict of interest, though, the state is very clear on that. It’s very detailed. You or a family member cannot benefit financially. If it will not benefit you or your family, it’s not a conflict of interest.”

He said the state’s Open Meetings Act is very detailed on the law and the punishment for violations. There is also information on the Texas Ethics Commission website.

“I learned so much my first year on the Council by attending conferences and sessions. I feel that’s the place to be if you really want to know,” he said. “We learned how the government should run, policy procedures, reading codes and ordinances.

“The annual TML conference covers the basics. We gain a lot of knowledge. At the NLC, we gain knowledge on cities’ operations: What’s the latest thing? Those are the two conferences to attend each year.”

However, Doucet cautioned it’s up to the individual councilmember what they will take away with them by attending the conferences.

For the Newly Elected Councilmembers Conference in May 2017 in San Antonio, Doucet, along with Councilmembers Cal Jones and Thomas Kinlaw III, traveled in three separate vehicles rather than carpooling.

Doucet said he used his own vehicle for that trip because his wife went with him. At prior conferences, Doucet said he carpooled with Councilmembers Raymond Scott Jr. and Lewis.

“We always travel with two or three of us in the car,” Doucet said. “For the others, I can’t answer for them. An opportunity to attend training doesn’t mean you have to go every time or everywhere because it’s the taxpayers’ money. Councilmembers should be judged individually. The information is not hard to find (those traveling frequently) and be considerate of the taxpayers’ money.”

Doucet said, likewise, he doesn’t accept a salary from the City Council or a car allowance, and he’s of the opinion he travels around his district as much as any councilmember.

Osman Swati, District 6 councilman, said conferences are very helpful if one attends the sessions. He had attended TML conferences and the Newly Elected Councilmember Conference. However, he said he can’t attend many conferences because of his private business concerns.

While serving on the Port Arthur Economic Development Corp. Board of Directors, though, Swati attended an economic development conference in Dubai in which he paid for his own airfare. He told the board he was traveling to Pakistan anyway and he could go to Dubai on the way back.

When he returned he gave a presentation to the board about the conference.

“I felt like it was my duty to represent the EDC. The city was appreciative. After I gave my presentation, some board members said they’ve never seen anything like this (a board member giving a presentation on a conference),” he said.

Swati added that he would be in favor of councilmembers attending conferences if they gave a presentation on what they learned when they returned.

“We have money budgeted yearly for conferences. One time we used up that money and we needed more money because so many councilmembers went on trips,” he said. “We need to talk about who should go to what conferences.”

Swati said in the matter of ethics training, God has given all of us a conscience to know right and wrong. The ethics training he received at the Newly Elected Councilmembers Conference involved presentations of scenarios from which a councilmember should refrain. Also, elected leaders are urged to use common sense.

Swati said he wasn’t proposing more attending ethical training last month to the Port Arthur City Council, but rather to call in an expert to conduct a workshop here to define the role that ethics should play.

“A conflict of interest should be punishable by law. The state ethics commission takes ethical complaints and they hold hearings,” Swati said. “We need an extra layer preventing someone from doing something unethical. We need an ethics policy for the city in place. Every election someone runs on honesty, integrity and transparency, so there should be no hesitation on the council in implementing this.”