The rumor mill at Carson City Hall is all charged up over councilman’s debits.

CHARGE IT!: For the past couple of weeks rumors have wafted through Carson City Hall regarding Councilman Peter Fajardo’s use of his city-issued credit card for personal expenses.

Calling Carson’s City Hall a rumor mill seems an understatement, but there was actually truth to this tidbit.

On Friday an anonymous fax arrived at the Times’ South Bay office, outlining Fajardo’s credit card charges of a $2,000 cash advance and $130 for tires--neither related to city business.

Earlier in the week, in response to questions about the rumors, the city’s accounting office had said it had no record of credit card bills for Fajardo’s city-issued First Interstate MasterCard. And apparently for good reason: He had not submitted them for payment.

Fajardo said Friday that he has been paying off the expenses himself, making the final payment on Jan. 19. He said he used the card for his personal expenses after his wallet, containing his personal American Express card, was stolen.

The $2,000 cash advance was billed in July for a vacation, and the $130 was billed in December for new tires after he had a blowout on the freeway, Fajardo said.

None of the expenses were submitted to be paid by the city, according to accounting division records.

Despite the brouhaha at City Hall, Fajardo said he won’t give up the card.

“I hardly use it anyway,” he said, adding that it comes in handy to bill conference expenses.

It was unclear Friday if rules governing city-issued credit cards allow cardholders to incur personal expenses, even if they pay if off themselves.

“I don’t know if (the rules) address personal business because any public official knows you do not use anything from the city for anything related to personal business,” said City Treasurer Mary Louise Custer.

Carson’s policy on card use states that “council members are to be issued general purpose credit cards to be used solely for approved city business expenses. Holders will be required to account monthly for the charges and will be personally liable for any unauthorized charges.”

COP ROCK: Some Torrance police officers have exchanged their Smith & Wessons for Fender guitars, all in the name of fighting drugs.

Last week, the Torrance Police Department unveiled Beyond The Law, a rock band of officers who hope to capture the attention of Torrance youths with Top 40 songs and music that stresses anti-drug themes.

The five-member band made its debut at graduation ceremonies Thursday for Calle Mayor Middle School students who completed the police department’s Drug Abuse Resistance Education program. They also performed Friday at Bert Lynn Middle School.

However, the police band might find the stage a little crowded. The South Bay Firefighters Band, started by Torrance firefighter Jim Swing two years ago, has also been touring area schools, although its focus is fire safety.

No word yet on which band is hotter.

FREAKED OUT: Rancho Palos Verdes City Council members couldn’t believe what they saw on the public-access cable television channel recently: “Sheena Metal’s Freakin Rock Review,” a blue version of the “Saturday Night Live” skit and hit movie “Wayne’s World.”

The council didn’t find it excellent, as Wayne might put it.

“It was gross . . . like watching a 300-pound cross-dresser spitting out obscenities,” said Mayor Susan Brooks, who is leading the city’s protest to the Federal Communications Commission and whoever else will listen.

Even worse, she said, the ribald show was broadcast--accidentally, Dimension Cable says--on Channel 3, the “government” cable channel that airs City Council meetings. The tape, made by Sheena herself, is normally broadcast on Channel 33, the Palos Verdes Peninsula’s other public access channel.

Sure, the show may be offbeat, said Dimension Cable’s general manager Steve Fowler. But it didn’t violate the liberal obscenity and indecency regulations set by the FCC, he said. Public-access channels must run material submitted by anyone as long as the taped material stays within FCC bounds.

The City Council is sending a protest letter to the FCC, which is reviewing what may be aired on the public-access channels.

“I’m not opposed to the First Amendment,” Brooks said. But, “There have to be some guidelines . . . supporting family values.”

TORRANCE SNOW JOB: If all goes as planned today, a parking lot in Torrance may be the only South Bay city in recent history to be at the center of a snowstorm. Literally.

Between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., the parking lot of the South Bay Jewish Community Center at 22410 Palos Verdes Blvd. will be blanketed with four tons of snow--actually shaved ice trucked in by a local ice-making company. Family Place, a parent education center in Torrance, is sponsoring the event. There is a $10 admission fee for families.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“It keeps my arthritis from going haywire on me.”

--Bertha Charlot, 69, who dances with Kaleiponi Tutu, a senior citizen Polynesian dance troupe in Carson, explaining why she enjoys dancing.

THIS WEEK’S CITY HALL HIGHLIGHTS

Carson: Carson is expected to receive a donation of about $200,000 from Arco that would be used toward community programs. Arco is distributing the money as part of its effort to rebuild Los Angeles in the wake of last spring’s riots.

LAST WEEK’S CITY HALL HIGHLIGHTS

Lomita: The Lomita Little League will receive a $1,500 donation from the city after council approval last week of the program’s funding request. League president Sandra Estrada had said the donation, the same appropriation as last year, is especially important this year because the league needs to raise money to repair fencing and dugouts at its fields.

Lawndale: The California Transportation Commission allocated $174,000 for construction of a 300-foot-long sound wall along the San Diego Freeway (405) in Lawndale. Construction is expected to begin this fall. The wall will be built on the east side of the freeway along the northbound on-ramp at Hawthorne Boulevard.

Los Angeles: The City Council urged the state Legislature to lift a new ban on gambling aboard cruise ships. The council took the action amid fears that the new state law could cut the cruise business at the Port of Los Angeles by 50%.