Film-TV Bureau Faces More Scrutiny by City

The city’s prestigious Motion Picture and Television Bureau will remain a part of the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce, but it will face closer scrutiny of its expenses and might receive less city money as part of an agreement hammered out by a San Diego City Council committee Wednesday.

Under the agreement, a panel of two council members and a representative from the Chamber of Commerce and the bureau will review what Councilman Ron Roberts called “unusual” expenses of city money by bureau employees.

The bureau, which works to attract film, television and commercial producers to the city, is funded entirely by $345,000 in city hotel tax revenue. It is staffed by a director and two employees.

In June, Roberts aide Paul Grasso and Doug Byrns, assistant chief of staff for Mayor Maureen O’Connor, questioned whether the bureau was misspending city funds and suggested that the council might want to take it over.

Roberts Concedes

But, on Wednesday, Roberts quickly conceded that the bureau and its director have succeeded as part of the chamber and should not be absorbed by the city.

“I’m willing to accept that the bureau is successful and has done a good job,” Roberts said, adding a similarly supportive comment for bureau director Wally Schlotter.

Roberts’ concession followed a spirited defense of the bureau by Councilman Ed Struiksma, a member of the California Film Commission, who handed committee members a thick packet of testimonials from businesses that have worked with the bureau and media editorials opposed to a city takeover.

Noting a survey ranking the bureau as the second-best in the nation and pointing out that the bureau brought $7.4 million to San Diego businesses in fiscal year 1987, Struiksma told the committee that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

But Roberts grilled Schlotter on expenses that the bureau has charged the city. He noted a rent increase of more than $11,000 in the past two years; the 20 cents per mile Schlotter receives for every mile he drives in a car that the city leases for him; and a 10th anniversary dinner at which the city was billed $90 per dinner for 48 guests.

Lack of Rules

Schlotter noted that city officials review his expense claims and have approved every one. But Roberts said, “You can’t run things without any rules. It’s like having a rich uncle out there who says, ‘Here’s your third-of-a-million dollars, go spend it.’ ”

Noting that hotels and other businesses are the main beneficiaries of the business the bureau brings to town, Roberts suggested that the city gradually decrease its share of funding for the bureau over the next few years to the point that it contributes just half the bureau’s budget. He said the chamber’s executive director, Lee Grissom, has agreed to the reduced funding.

Struiksma strongly opposed the suggestion that the county Board of Supervisors also contribute since cities outside the city profit from the film industry. That arrangement could lead to turf wars that plague other cities’ motion picture bureaus and might cause the county to open its own bureau, Struiksma said.

Schlotter said the main beneficiaries are the city’s hotels, which house visiting casts and crews. The visiting employees almost always stay within city limits, he said.

A committee composed of Roberts, Struiksma, Schlotter and a chamber representative will review the bureau’s finances and suggest changes. The panel will also seek ways to satisfy Deputy Mayor Gloria McColl’s concern that the bureau does not give the city credit in publicity of its operations.