BURBANK : Airport Commissioner Files $100,000 Claim Against City

Burbank Airport Commissioner William M. Paparian filed a claim against the city Monday, saying he suffered mental distress and a damaged reputation after a Burbank councilman alleged that he and others misused public funds while traveling on airport-related trips.

Paparian, the 46-year-old mayor of Pasadena, is one of three commissioners representing Pasadena on the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, the nine-member board that oversees the airport’s operations.

Paparian said in the claim that he was alarmed by Councilman Ted McConkey’s allegations after reading a newspaper story last Thursday quoting McConkey as saying: “These people [airport commissioners] are just misusing public funds as far as I’m concerned.” The claim, in which he asks for $100,000, could be the precursor to a lawsuit if denied by Burbank officials.

Last August, McConkey formally protested the authority’s long-standing policy of providing first-class air travel and other perks to the commissioners’ spouses. The Los Angeles County Grand Jury later served the authority with a subpoena seeking all of the commissioners’ 1992-95 expense reports.

“I don’t think I defamed him,” McConkey said. “I was responding to a reporter’s question about the D.A. issuing a subpoena.”