(Click here to return to ConejoNow.com)
(Click here to return to ConejoCalendar.com)
By Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks, September 2010
The corruption in the city of Bell shows us how important it is to have watchdogs sniffing at the doors of city halls and all government institutions. We are fortunate the Los Angeles Times exposed the corruption. It was so egregious that we all felt victimized, though nobody more than the poor residents of the city of Bell.
Yet, I believe Bell-like abuses abound, though on a smaller scale, in many local governments. Without transparency, they go unchecked and grow. When I was on the Thousand Oaks City Council, I made public hundreds of City Hall receipts for meals at local restaurants. The receipts showed officials routinely dining out using city credit cards, with some council members using the cards to eat out more than once a day.
The Star in its April 3, 1997 article “City Lunch Policy to Get Review” pointed out that “According to city records, many of the top managers in city government routinely charge hundreds of dollars worth of lunches and other expenses to their credit cards each month.” In a May 4, 1998 article “T.O. Council Tips Bit on Pricey Side” Lincoln Town Cars and luxury hotels were described after a review of receipts of council travel. Some of the receipts I discovered included lavish restaurant meals for employees like filet mignon tacos (7/14/98), and lobster dinners (10/13/98). Subsequently the City put passwords on the copiers so I could no longer make copies of the receipts to make them public.
Recent information from the city of Bell showed that employees were given large loans using taxpayer dollars. Should government employees receive personal loans of tax dollars when others cannot? Should government employees receive health benefits for life, including their spouses? Should council members and city management have free use of city credit cards for dining at local restaurants? These are standard perks provided by some cities in our county, including the city of Thousand Oaks.
Efforts to rein in the expenses are complicated and take dedicated taxpayer watchdogs to uncover them and marshal the political will to remedy. For example, an effort by a Ventura County Transportation Commission subcommittee I was on helped rein in the lifetime health benefits extended to all Commission employees. We heard that incoming secretaries qualified for the benefit after only a few months on the job. We were able to halt hiring while we unraveled the complicated laws that vest public employees through State health and retirement systems. We worked with fellow Commissioners and employees to get support, and this enabled us to crack what many thought was a locksafe system that could not be changed.
Recent exposure of Bell Council Members being paid for sitting on boards and commissions that didn’t meet reminded me how another board I’m on, the Triunfo Sanitation District, allows its Directors to receive payment for meetings that have to be canceled. I objected when I discovered this was done at the canceled April 23, 2007 meeting, but did not receive the support of my fellow Directors, some of whom took the pay and decided not to give it back or change the policy.
Now with the investigation going on in the city of Oxnard related to public officials and whether they’ve accurately disclosed information on contracts, and gifts related to people who do business with the City, one has to look at how close the line is to graft. It is accepted practice by many elected officials to accept contributions from the very companies and developers that come before them for approvals. These elected officials are taking contributions from developers, trash haulers, cellular companies, public project contractors in one hand, while making decisions that profit these same individuals with their other hand. We would all be appalled if judges accepted funds or gifts from the people who are tried before them, why should it be any different for city council members and members of Boards of Supervisors?
I’m glad that a brighter light is being shined on local government. Exposure will discourage public administrators and elected officials from enriching themselves at taxpayers’ expense and encourage tighter controls of taxpayer dollars.