Water Official Issues Apology for Expenses : Budgeting: SERRA general manager also proposes policy to curb such costs after his pricey entertainment billings are revealed.

The general manager of a south Orange County water reclamation authority apologized Wednesday for any embarrassment caused by disclosures of his monthly expense accounts, which average $1,000 for travel and dining with board members.

William P. Becker, 44, issued a six-page memo proposing expense policy standards to the board of directors for the South East Regional Reclamation Authority during a budget meeting. No such standards exist, and Becker told SERRA board members he should not have relied on an informal policy that expenses could be freely incurred and approved.

“As manager, acting in accordance with the practices and procedures of the managers here prior to my assuming this position, I felt this policy was sufficient, however, that assumption was incorrect,” the memo states. “I regret to have caused you any embarrassment.”

The six-man board of directors plans to draw up guidelines, which will be discussed at a meeting next month. Becker said that, until then, he will abide by his own proposal, although it does not offer a cap on costs. But he said after the meeting that he intends to avoid any expenses until official guidelines are in place.

“The lunches were just too expensive,” said Becker, who said work was always conducted over meals or drinks. “I’m glad that we’re going to have a policy now, so that there will be no questions. I just always felt it was OK, since it was with directors.”

Becker has charged more than $27,000 to the district expense account since January, 1991, ranging from $80 lunches to $3,500 for two holiday parties at the posh Le Ferme in Mission Viejo to an $850 hotel bill for lodging during a Toronto water conference, according to district records. Travel expenses for a handful of other employees totaled $3,814 for the same period.

At Wednesday’s meeting, Becker said the authority could not afford 3% raises during the upcoming fiscal year for 40 employees, including himself.

Director Lloyd Woerner, who was the first to call for new expense guidelines, on Wednesday said more must be done to cut waste from the $4.8-million budget. Woerner and other directors said they will review suggestions to slash job “perks,” such as putting a per diem cap on meals and prohibiting out-of-state travel.

Directors of the authority have no expense accounts and are paid only a stipend to attend meetings. Fellow director Jeff Vasquez suggested a policy that would only reimburse directors and the general manager for miles driven.

That would do away with Becker’s car issued by the authority, which was nearly demolished in March, 1992, in a traffic accident in which Becker said he was run off the road and landed in a ditch. The authority paid a $500 deductible, and the $8,896 in repairs was paid by an insurance pool covering sanitation districts in the state, Becker said.

Becker is paid nearly $89,000 a year to manage South East Regional Reclamation Authority and two other boards that oversee water reclamation and waste-water treatment in south Orange County. Becker routinely billed the authority an average of several hundred dollars each month for travel and dining. Receipts show that meals and drinks were almost exclusively with board members.

“I’m just looking at getting efficiency, that’s what the public expects from us,” Woerner said after the meeting. “I just think that in tough fiscal times, you have to look at everything.”

Woerner also said he was concerned about Becker’s estimate that he works an average of 400 hours of overtime per year. That much overtime, Woerner said, could reduce Becker’s effectiveness and suggests that more work should be delegated.

Becker, who does not get paid extra for overtime, said he believed the hours were normal for a management position.