Council Foe of Fiscal Waste Charges City for Parking, Insurance : Finances: Wachs is the only elected official to claim the perks. He defends them as related to his job and says the controller’s office approved them.

Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs, who has championed recent efforts to cut government waste, is the only elected official to charge the city for the cost of parking in City Hall and for insurance covering his personal use of a city car.

Over the past five years, Wachs has charged the city $11,778 for insurance coverage that no other official enjoys and $1,570 for parking at City Hall that his colleagues must pay for themselves.

Wachs’ expense reports show he is meticulous about keeping track of city-related expenses and ensuring that he is paid back, requesting and receiving reimbursement for expenditures such as $2.11 for a People magazine and 35 cents for a newspaper.

Wachs defends his practices, saying that all his expenses are related to city business and have been approved by the city controller’s office.

“I wouldn’t put it down if I wasn’t willing to stand by it,” said Wachs, head of the council’s government efficiency committee. “I go by the letter of the law and that is what I expect everybody else to do.”

But some City Hall workers, who pay for City Hall parking--at a rate of $27.50 per month--and for insurance to cover the use of city cars for personal business, were steamed to learn that Wachs pays nothing.

“The perks for council offices are unbelievably generous, and to try to squeeze a little bit more out of the city is really cheap,” said one City Hall staffer who asked not to be named. “He is supposed to be Mr. Belt Tightener.”

In the past few months, Wachs has led a campaign to reduce unnecessary spending at City Hall.

He spearheaded a campaign to reform the city’s arcane system for purchasing city office supplies, which charges the city $1.80 for a legal pad that sells for 21 cents retail. He says the reformed system will save the city millions of dollars annually.

Asked why Wachs has been the only elected official to get free parking and insurance, his chief of staff Greg Nelson said: “Probably because he’s the only one who thought of it.”

Council President John Ferraro, who said he pays for an extra insurance policy for his city car and has the cost of City Hall parking deducted from his paycheck, declined to comment on Wachs’ extra perks, saying he doesn’t know the circumstances.

“I don’t know anything about it,” he said.

Wachs obtained his parking perks in 1990, when he argued to city lawyers that he should be allowed free parking in City Hall because his job requires him to park there. The city attorney agreed and drafted a letter allowing Wachs to receive a monthly reimbursement for the $27.50 that is deducted from his paycheck for parking.

As for the car insurance, the city is self-insured and is liable when its vehicles are used for city business. City employees who take the cars home at night must pay for a separate insurance policy to cover the car when it is used for personal business on weekends and after work.

Except for Wachs.

In 1978, he asked for an insurance policy on his city car, arguing that it would save the city money in the event he is sued after an accident. Wachs, who does not own an automobile, also argued that the policy should cover the car at all times because he is always on call for city business. Again the city attorney’s office agreed and drafted a letter allowing Wachs to charge the city for the expense.

Deputy Controller Timothy Lynch, who oversees city officials’ expense accounts, said Wachs is the only elected official to enjoy such benefits.

Wachs said that having the city pay for his private insurance is a legitimate expense that could save the city money if he is ever sued because the private company would have to foot the bill. “I only drive the car in the city and I work every day,” he said. “I work on the weekends. I don’t use the city car for vacations.”

Richard Welch, the city’s risk manager, questioned Wachs’ analysis. If Wachs was liable for damages while driving the city car, taxpayers would still be responsible for everything beyond the limits of the insurance policy, Welch said. By insuring its own operations, the city relies on its own funds to satisfy claims against it.

The city attorney’s office has not publicly announced the decisions that permit Wachs to charge the city for the parking and insurance payments, so other elected officials apparently are unaware that they also qualify.

The cars, provided to all elected officials and some of their staff members, are equipped with cellular phones and are maintained by city mechanics.

In addition to an annual salary of about $100,000, each council member is provided an expense account for travel and other city-related costs. All expense reports must be approved by the city controller before a council member can obtain reimbursement.