The Play’s the Thing at Seminar for City Officials : Spending: A three-day conference in San Diego contained only one day’s worth of business, but some who attended defend the social times as helpful for networking.

The three-day conference in San Diego was billed as an opportunity for local officials to get together and discuss their budget woes, to “tackle financial challenges.”

But first, city leaders who signed up for last weekend’s semiannual California Contract Cities Assn. conference were invited to play a little golf and attend a reception. A dinner cruise was scheduled at sunset Friday, courtesy of Western Waste Industries.

Officials got down to business Saturday morning, attending a workshop on surviving budget shortfalls. At lunch, Carol Whiteside, the governor’s director of intergovernmental affairs, spoke on the importance of working together.

Then it was back to social activities for the rest of the conference.

There was a tour of an aircraft carrier, a reception hosted by Southern California Edison Co., and dinner. There was a brunch on Sunday, and all seminar participants received tickets to Sea World.

“I don’t want to knock the Contract Cities Assn., but going for the whole conference was a waste of taxpayers’ money,” said Bellflower Councilwoman Ruth Gilson, who attended only the Saturday morning workshop and lunch, at a cost to the city of $125 in registration and travel expenses.

“It’s like they have to bribe politicians with all these social activities in order to get them down there to learn something,” Gilson said. Three of her City Council colleagues stayed for the weekend at a cost of $675 each.

Thirteen Southeast cities sent council members or other officials to the conference, paying an average of nearly $2,000 for hotel rooms, conference fees and travel costs. Some cities sent as many as four council members or other officials.

Commerce Mayor Ruth R. Aldaco, who is president of the association’s executive board, defended the program, saying the socializing can be just as important as the workshops.

“The camaraderie is good for us--to know other cities have the same money problems we do,” Aldaco said. “Sure, we could do the seminar in one day, but I think it really is important for council members to get together and share ideas.”

Commerce topped the list of Southeast area participants, paying $3,670 to send Aldaco, two other council members and the director of Parks and Recreation to the conference. The officials also stayed three nights rather than two. At the low end in city spending was La Habra Heights, which shelled out $190 to send one council member to the Saturday session only.

Commerce Councilman Robert J. Cornejo was one of nine Southeast council members who played golf. “A lot of business can get done on the links,” Cornejo said after playing a round with the city manager of Vernon, the finance director of La Jolla and an official from the trash-collection firm, Western Waste Industries, which has contracts with several cities. “It’s all networking, really.”

Huntington Park Councilman William P. Cunningham did not play golf, but agreed with Cornejo. He said Huntington Park is trying to attract a community college, and discussing the issue with other cities that have such institutions is crucial.

“I was able to see a guy there who is very hard to see any other way,” Cunningham said. He declined to identify the person.

Sam Olivito, the group’s executive director who organized the session, acknowledged that “it’s a one-day conference with other activities. But all of this is an important information-gathering process that elected officials go through that they can’t get at home.”

He said the tour of the aircraft carrier Constellation, was helpful to some officials because the issue of military base closures was discussed.

The Contract Cities Assn. was formed in 1957 as a coalition of cities in Los Angeles County that had contracts with the county for law enforcement and firefighting services. In 1983, the organization expanded to include cities throughout the state.

Thirty of the 73 member cities sent officials to the fall conference. Attendance has declined in recent years because of the sagging economy, Olivito said.

Some Southeast cities did not send representatives last weekend, and officials cited budget factors as the reason. “We’ve cut back on training and professional memberships across the board, so we don’t go to every conference,” said City Manager Douglas N. La Belle of Signal Hill, which did not send a representative.

The Contract Cities Assn. spring conference, which is held every year in Palm Springs and has business workshops on Friday and Saturday, attracts a larger number of participants, Olivito said.

CITY OFFICIALS ATTENDING SEMINAR

The following Southeast area cities sent representatives to the California Contract Cities Assn. three-day fall conference in San Diego.

City: Artesia Officials Attending Conference: Mayor James A. Van Horn Jr., council members Isidoro S. Menezes and Ronald H. Oliver Total Cost: $2,055 City: Bellflower Officials Attending Conference: Mayor Bob Stone, council members Ken Cleveland, John Ansdell and Ruth Gilson Total Cost: $2,150 City: Cerritos Officials Attending Conference: Mayor John F. Crawley, Councilwoman Grace Hu, City Manager Art Gallucci Total Cost: $1,380* City: City of Commerce Officials Attending Conference: Mayor Ruth R. Aldaco, council members Robert J. Cornejo and Artemio E. Navarro; Tom Maples, director of parks and recreation Total Cost: $3,669 City: Hawaiian Gardens Officials Attending Conference: Mayor Robert Canada, council members Robert Prida and Kathleen Navejas; Leonard Chidas, assistant city administrator Total Cost: $2,320 City: Huntington Park Officials Attending Conference: Mayor William P. Cunningham, council members Thomas E. Jackson and Raul R. Perez Total Cost: $1,740 City: La Habra Heights Officials Attending Conference: Councilwoman Judith Hathaway-Francis Total Cost: $190 City: Lakewood Officials Attending Conference: Council members Wayne Piercy and Robert G. Wagner Total Cost: $1,014* City: Lynwood Officials Attending Conference: Mayor Paul H. Richards II, council members Louis Byrd, Louis J. Heine and Armando Rea Total Cost: $3,040** City: Paramount Officials Attending Conference: Mayor Manuel E. Guillen, council members Elvira Amaro-Oropeza and Henry Harkema Total Cost: $1,500* City: Pico Rivera Officials Attending Conference: Mayor Alberto Natividad, council members Garth G. Gardner and Richard L. Mercado Total Cost: $1,530* City: South Gate Officials Attending Conference: Mayor Mary Ann Buckles Total Cost: $565 * Final costs could not be tabulated for these cities, which also reimburse officials for travel expenses, such as meals and mileage. ** Cost estimates are based on registration fees, average hotel room costs, and $100 per day the council members receive for travel expenses. City officials refused to disclose actual costs of the trip.