County Transportation Allowance Attacked

Los Angeles County government is spending $2.7 million a year on “transportation allowances” to county executives--whether or not they use their personal cars for county business, Supervisor Gloria Molina alleged Thursday.

“This transportation program seems to be nothing more than a hidden bonus program,” Molina said.

In lieu of receiving a county car, 486 top bureaucrats collect a travel allowance of up to $6,300 a year in addition to annual salaries that may exceed $100,000.

Calling the allowance a perk, Molina said it is awarded by Chief Administrative Officer Richard B. Dixon based on “job title as opposed to actual use of personal vehicles for county business.”

Molina also complained that the allowance is added to the base pay used in calculating pensions, constituting “double-dipping.” She said she would call for a review of the program at the board meeting Tuesday.

Dixon said the size of the allowances is based on rank in the county bureaucracy, and he defended the practice, saying that it is necessary for hiring and keeping good managers. He added that before the allowance, the same managers were entitled to a county car--even if they used it only to commute between home and work.

“It is not unusual to have at certain levels of management either a company car or some sort of transportation allowance,” Dixon said. “It is viewed as part of the compensation of working your buns off.”

“That wasn’t my intention,” said Supervisor Deane Dana, who voted to approve the allowance in 1987. He said his goal was to cut costs by reducing the number of county cars provided to managers while reimbursing only those managers who use their cars on the job.

“How did it get out of hand?” Dana asked.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich issued a statement saying that he would support a review of the policy.

According to a memo sent to the board in 1987 by then-Chief Administrative Officer James Hankla, the allowance was designed to reduce the number of county vehicles assigned to managers while providing an additional tool “for recruiting, retaining and motivating managers.”

Dixon added that the allowance was established because officials were concerned about reports of misuse of county cars, some of which bear the county seal. “It may have been perfectly legitimate,” he said. “But the only parking space is in front of Joe’s liquor store. A citizen sees the county car and complains. Why bother?”

Molina said the allowance costs the county 2 1/2 times more than the $1.1 million spent in 1987 to provide county cars to 295 managers. The reason, she said, is that the allowance is being provided to more managers than previously had county cars.

Dixon said the comparison is unfair because, without the allowance, the county probably would have bought more cars for use by managers.

All five supervisors and most department heads still have county cars. Most of the supervisors and Dixon are chauffeured in bulletproof cars. The transportation allowance for managers, which is taxable, ranges from $400 to $525 a month. Under the rules, managers who receive an allowance are prohibited from using county cars.

In the city of Los Angeles, top officials receive city cars, but their chief aides generally must use their personal cars and seek reimbursement at 25 cents a mile for city travel or check out cars in the City Hall motor pool, said Harold Cain, the city’s director of fleet services. The aides also must account for their travel.

The allowance is the latest target for Molina, a board newcomer who has led successful drives to kill a $392-a-month “professional development allowance” for county officials and to suspend bonuses for top bureaucrats. She also has criticized the county’s purchase of bulletproof cars and redecoration of offices during tough fiscal times.

Irving Cohen, an assistant health director who receives a $510 monthly allowance, said: “I don’t consider that a perk. . . . I consider that extra remuneration for what (my) position requires.

“I was saving a lot of money by having a county car,” he said. “Many of us would have preferred to keep the county car.”