Bradley Tells DWP to Tighten Its Belt on Air Travel, Meals

Mayor Tom Bradley on Monday demanded tough new travel restrictions for the Department of Water and Power after disclosures that high-ranking officials at the city-owned utility have routinely used expensive charter jet flights when cheaper commercial airlines were available.

In a letter to the DWP Board of Commissioners, Bradley ordered them “to take immediate action to prevent a recurrence” of controversial expenditures such as a $475 meal in Salt Lake City for five officials and a recent $2,800 charter flight DWP General Manager Norm Nichols took to Sacramento.

DWP has spent more than $700,000 on about 150 charter air flights during the past 12 months, according to figures made available by City Controller Rick Tuttle, who has questioned the legitimacy of some of the more expensive trips.

“Scheduling difficulties and remote locations simply cannot justify the sums spent on charter air fares by the department in 1989,” Bradley wrote. “And whether it is the current rules or their implementation that prove to be at fault, what I ultimately need is confidence that a proper cure has been designed.”

At a minimum, Bradley said he wants the DWP board to approve all major expenditures in advance.

The mayor, who appointed the five DWP commissioners, concluded, “You can rest assured that this cure, if not one more stringent, will be imposed.”

Tuttle, who revealed the expensive air flights last month and has refused to pay for the Sacramento flight, said, “The problem is not the travel policy. The problem is the travel practice.”

DWP has maintained that the chartered flights were necessary because of scheduling problems or unavailability of commercial flights to certain locations.

Tuttle has asked the City Council to deny payment for the Burbank-to-Sacramento trip. At a City Council committee hearing on the matter last week, Tuttle said, “The council should rule it to be unlawful and the city should not pay for that travel and Mr. Nichols should.”

Committee members said the expense policy was unclear and recommended that the trip be paid for and the policy rewritten.

Tuttle is now asking Nichols to explain the necessity of three other charter flights he took with other DWP executives: a $4,800 flight to Salt Lake City for three on May 7, a $3,500 flight for three to Lake Tahoe on May 9, and a $4,000 flight for two to Phoenix on May 22.

In each case, Tuttle said, commercial flights were available at substantially lower cost. On commercial airlines, Tuttle said, the Salt Lake flight would have cost $1,686, the Lake Tahoe flight $1,188, and the Phoenix flight $280.

Tuttle has also refused to pay for a $475 dinner that Nichols, two DWP commissioners and two staffers enjoyed at the chic La Caille at Quail Run restaurant in Salt Lake City on April 4.

“The Salt Lake City Tourist Bureau informed my office that the restaurant where you had dinner . . . is the most expensive restaurant” in town, Tuttle wrote to Nichols, demanding an explanation of the expense.

Tuttle said his office contacted three restaurants in Salt Lake City that were recommended for business dinners and they all served meals for $20 to $30 per person, including tax and tip. “Therefore, I will approve $150 for reimbursement for the five dinners,” Tuttle wrote.

Nichols has not responded to Tuttle’s request for more information on the three charter flights and the dinner. He was not available on Monday to comment on the mayor’s call for revisions to the travel policy.

Rick Caruso, president of the DWP board, said, “I agree with the mayor that we need to take a look at (expense policy) . . . If we need to tighten it up, we will.”

Caruso added, “I’m not sure it needs revisions.” He stood by the expenses already incurred by Nichols. “I stand behind Norm Nichols. The flights were justifiable and legal.”

Caruso accused Tuttle of using the issue to gain publicity and said that the controller’s efforts are demoralizing to the DWP staff.

The issue of charter flights is the latest in a series of disputes between Tuttle and DWP. The city controller, one of three officials elected citywide, approves virtually all city expenditures.

In the past, Tuttle has refused to pay for high-priced lunches and other expenditures by Nichols and other DWP officials, leaving them to pick up the tabs themselves.