GARDEN GROVE : Moratorium Put on City-Paid Travel

The City Council voted this week to impose a moratorium on city-paid travel by council members to eliminate the possible impression that they are going on junkets at taxpayer expense.

The moratorium will be in effect until the end of the next budget year, June 30, 1994.

Mayor Frank Kessler, who opposed the moratorium, said he is considering resigning from the California League of Cities’ Public Safety Committee because of the edict.

“I don’t intend to use my money for travel,” he said.

Councilman Mark Leyes, who pressed for the moratorium, said it is aimed at “protecting the taxpayers’ wallet.”

“It’s not a big cost, but it should help restore confidence in local officials by removing the appearance that we are going on junkets,” Leyes said. “Employees go without pay raises, and we ask citizens to bear service cuts and increased fees. We ought to share in the pain and not travel at taxpayer expense. This should be our share of sacrifice.”

Council members will still be free to travel at their own expense, Leyes said.

The city faces a budget deficit that could reach $7 million, according to City Manager George L. Tindall. To cut costs, the council voted earlier this year to rescind a longstanding policy of paying expenses for the mayor’s spouse to attend out-of-town conferences.

However, the council also voted recently to spend $17,000 to pay for staff members to attend an international shopping center convention in Las Vegas in May. But the council stipulated that council members who attend will not be reimbursed for expenses.

Kessler said that he believes the city is obligated to participate in state policy matters. But Tuesday night’s action sends a signal that Garden Grove is “unwilling to do its share,” he said.

Kessler was the city’s police chief for 12 years before retiring in 1988 when he was elected to the City Council. The California League of Cities committee that he sits on reviews and makes recommendations on public safety measures. The committee alternates meetings in the northern and southern regions of the state. It meets next on April 2 in Burbank and on June 25 in Sacramento.

Kessler said very little travel is involved and that his expenses total about $400 a year. He voluntarily paid for all his meals on a previous trip this year, he said.