Board Asks Ely to Meet With Staff Over Audit : Inquiry: The Ventura County Community College Board wants the trustee to answer questions about items he charged on district expense records.

The Ventura County Community College Board of Trustees on Tuesday night asked board member Tom Ely to meet with staff members to answer questions about an audit of his district expense records, the focus of a criminal investigation by the district attorney’s office.

The audit of Ely’s financial records revealed that he charged $8,422 in questionable expenses on business trips he took during the past three years. The audit listed an additional $6,978 in claims submitted without proper documentation.

The Board of Trustees commissioned the audit after learning of Ely’s gambling activities and after district records showed that he used his district telephone to call hotels and casinos in Nevada.

The district attorney’s office recently launched an investigation of Ely for possible misappropriation of district funds after investigators received a copy of the audit.

Tuesday, the board asked its staff members to report on the meeting with Ely within 30 days.

Ely said Tuesday that the audit is flawed because it does not abide by district travel policies. At a press conference two weeks ago, Ely said the district actually owes him $600 for business-related calls he made on his home and car phones, but he did not repeat that allegation Tuesday.

However, some board members disagreed with Ely’s contention that the audit is flawed.

“My perception is that he’s going to owe the district money in looking at the audit and his response,” Trustee Greg Cole said.

But Cole and the other board members agreed Tuesday that the district’s method of tabulating travel expenses may be inadequate. Next week, the board will consider a proposal to tighten the current travel policies to require each board member to get prior approval from the board before taking a business trip. Board members now are only required to get authorization for trips from District Chancellor Barbara Derryberry.

“These abuses will not be repeated under the new district policy,” Cole said. “If they are, they will be brought to the attention of the board real quick.”

A major point of contention is whether it was appropriate for the district to pay $4,500 to rent a car for Ely after his own vehicle was damaged in a collision in January, 1989. Ely said that the accident occurred while he was conducting district business and that the district offered to supply him with a car during the five months his automobile was in the repair shop.

“I just can’t see how anybody can justify a car rental for five months,” Trustee Timothy Hirschberg said. “That’s completely inexcusable.”

Hirschberg also expressed frustration before the meeting about the distraction caused by Ely’s financial troubles.

“We’re all tired of this,” Hirschberg said. “He’s succeeded in blackening the reputation of the board in the public’s eye.”

Ely, a candidate for 4th District county supervisor, has been embroiled in controversy since it was revealed last month that he owed one Nevada casino $3,000 and that he had been sued by another over $8,000 in gambling debts.

Ely’s problems were compounded last week when a Ventura County Municipal Court commissioner ordered him to pay $17,156 to Simi Valley Bank for outstanding debts. The bank filed the lawsuit against Ely and his wife, Ingrid, in January because they had not made a payment on more than $16,500 in credit card bills and a personal loan since September.

Ely said he plans to appeal the decision against him. He said that he owes the bank money but that he had informed bank officials about his inability to pay at the present time because of expenses incurred from the car accident he was involved in last year.

Ely said he and his wife were injured in the accident and have had to pay more than $40,000 in medical bills because his insurance company has refused to pay for the accident. He said an arbitration hearing regarding his dispute with the insurance company is scheduled for June 8 in Ventura County Municipal Court.

As for his gambling debts, Ely said, he owes less than $20,000 and he is in the process of paying the casinos he owes.