Pomona : Lampman’s Pay Docked

In a closed session last week, the City Council voted to withhold one week’s pay from City Administrator Ora Lampman, who was found guilty of drunk driving earlier this month.

The 56-year-old Lampman, who was arrested in December by Claremont police while driving a city car, pleaded no contest to drunk-driving charges on Sept. 11 in Citrus Municipal Court in West Covina. Municipal Court Commissioner Joseph Acton fined Lampman $664, ordered him to attend an alcohol program and restricted his use of vehicles to work-related activities for 90 days.

In its closed session, the council also voted to similarly restrict Lampman’s use of a city vehicle for 30 days beyond the court sentence. The city administrator normally has unrestricted use of a city vehicle.

Lampman, who earns $72,000 a year, told council members that he will subtract one week’s pay from his accumulated vacation time, according to City Hall sources.

Some council members, who asked not to be identified, had previously suggested harsher penalties for Lampman, such as prohibiting his use of the car, and said they were disappointed that the punishment was not more severe.

Lampman originally had been scheduled to appear in Pomona Municipal Court in January, but Municipal Court Judge Theodore Piatt said Lampman was too well known by judges to be tried in Pomona. His case was transferred to Citrus Municipal Court, where Lampman had been scheduled to appear in April for a preliminary hearing. Lampman’s attorney had requested that the date be rescheduled a jury trial Sept. 24. Lampman’s Sept. 11 plea was not scheduled.