Lame Ducks’ Swan Song Is on the Taxpayers : Government: Outgoing directors of two South County water districts attended conference in Monterey. Public will pay bills for hotel accommodations, meals, mileage and registration.

Three lame-duck directors of two South County water districts spent their final days in office last week at a conference in Monterey charging hotel, meals, registration and travel expenses to taxpayers.

Outgoing directors Sam Lentine and Mark Sloate of the Capistrano Beach County Water District and John P. Serences of the Tri-Cities Municipal Water District charged an estimated $4,000 to taxpayers for their attendance at the Assn. of California Water Agencies conference Dec. 2 to 4, despite the fact that two were leaving their boards the same week, district officials said.

The final day of the conference, Dec. 4, was Lentine’s and Sloate’s last day in office. Serences leaves office next month.

Running as an incumbent, Lentine finished last out of nine candidates in the November Capistrano Beach water district race. Serences, who has been on the Tri-Cities board since the district was formed in 1959, chose not to run for reelection this year.

Sloate’s attendance was defended by neighboring water and sewer agency directors because he is jumping from the Capistrano Beach district to the Tri-Cities board and will continue to serve the area, although his expenses were paid by the Capistrano Beach County Water District taxpayers.

“If I had not been going over to Tri-Cities I would not have attended the conference,” said Sloate, 63, who will join the Tri-Cities board in January and is also the vice president of the Independent Special Districts of Orange County. “I’m sure there were many lame-duck directors from all over the county at that conference.”

But Lentine is no longer serving the public in any capacity and Serences won’t be after next month, so their attendance at the meeting was criticized by their colleagues.

“I think that’s crap,” said Peer Swan, the president of the board of directors of the powerful Irvine Ranch Water District, of their attendance. “I have less trouble with Mark (Sloate) going because of his Tri-Cities involvement. He will continue representing Capistrano Beach and is reasonably active in water matters. But people who are checking out and not involved anymore, I take a dim view of that.”

Swan also criticized the Capistrano Beach and Tri-Cities boards for sending more than one or two directors to any conference. Five Capistrano Beach directors and their general manager, Dennis A. Erdman, attended the conference, all at taxpayers’ expense, while three Tri-Cities directors and their administrative assistant, Julie Froeberg, attended the conference and charged taxpayers for their expenses.

“We don’t send many directors to ACWA conferences,” Swan said, adding that when his district directors do attend it is either because they are new and need the experience, or volunteer to represent the district, or are participating in a conference seminar or speech.

Swan said ACWA is the principal water lobbying agency in the state and performs “a legitimate and powerful role. But is their a legitimate role for 2,000 people to go to an ACWA conference and party with their spouses? I’m not sure about that.”

An ACWA spokeswoman said 2,002 people attended the Monterey conference, which was entitled “Decade of Change: How Are We Preparing” and was based on how California can adjust to a decade of drought and new water laws.

Erdman estimated that the costs to the district were $1,370 for each director, including a $345 package registration fee, hotel rooms at a discounted $123 each night, a $50 daily stipend, car travel costs in mileage which would be about $225 each, and meals. Exact figures for the travel and meal costs are not yet available because the directors have not filed their reimbursement requests.

Lentine, a retired Capistrano Beach County Water District superintendent, said he had earned the district backing of his conference attendance by his longtime district service. Lentine, 70, spent “over 30 years” working for the district and for the past four years has been a director.

“I think I’ve earned my keep,” said Lentine, a Capistrano Beach resident for 40 years. “I was on call for 24 hours a day for that district.”

He added that he is not the first lame-duck director to attend conferences at district expense. “That’s how they’ve been doing it for years,” he said.

However, Erdman, Lentine’s former general manager, called his attendance “unconscionable.”

“It never bothers me when a director goes to these conferences when he uses it to improve the value of his directorship. For the most part, people do,” Erdman said.

Ray Benedicktus, another Capistrano Beach water district board member, also criticized Lentine’s attendance and said the board should draft a new district policy.

“I had a problem with Lentine’s trip. I asked Dennis (Erdman) to talk to him about it,” Benedicktus said. “I just don’t know how in good conscience he could do that.”

Benedicktus, who last month was elected to the Tri-Cities board of directors and will in January give up his Capistrano Beach board seat, also lambasted Serences for his trip.

“It’s a bad situation,” he said. “This kind of stuff has been going on for years.”

The fact that it was a common practice was cited by Serences for his attendance. He also added that he takes part in the conferences and has his experience to offer.

“I try to contribute to the seminars the knowledge I have gathered over my years of experience,” said Serences, 76, a retired water district general manager.

Serences said he will not charge the district for travel expenses because he visited relatives while on the trip.