Stiffer Guidelines to Rule Spending : City Council Votes to Surrender Credit Cards

The San Diego City Council voted unanimously Monday to give up their city-issued credit cards and make themselves subject to new limits for entertainment expenses recently imposed on other city employees.

It was the first move by the City Council as a whole to curb spending habits, which have become the subject of intense scrutiny in recent months. The action came just as an investigation by the county grand jury is due to begin into the possible misuse of city credit cards by Councilman Uvaldo Martinez and a former aide, Rudy Murillo.

During the last fiscal year, Martinez’s office rolled up about $9,500 in city credit card charges, more than the mayor and the rest of the council offices combined. Some of the meals charged by Martinez at San Diego’s most exclusive restaurants cost the taxpayers more than $300, and more than two dozen of the councilman’s purported guests have said they did not dine with Martinez on the nights he indicated on city records or, if they were present, that no city business was discussed.

Just last week, the San Diego County district attorney’s office announced it would review whether acting Mayor Ed Struiksma, a mayoral candidate, properly billed the city for expenses on a trip to Boston and New York in 1984. At the request of City Auditor and Comptroller Ed Ryan, the district attorney is looking into whether, among other issues, Struiksma was reimbursed for a $65 meal that was paid for by someone else. Struiksma said he lost more than $600 in receipts on the trip and was advised by Ryan’s office to reconstruct the bills. Ryan has denied that he or any of his staff made such a recommendation to Struiksma.

The guidelines suggested by Ryan and City Manager Sylvester Murray are a significant departure from the scant guidelines for council members before its action Monday. Similar guidelines for other municipal employees and department heads went into effect earlier this month.

For the first time, there is a spending limit for meals ($10 per person for breakfast and lunch and $20 per person at dinner), and the city will not reimburse anyone for meals that involve just city employees. Reimbursements for other council and department office expenses, such as for Christmas and flowers marking special occasions, are outlawed as well.