Use of Tobacco Funds for Rampart Suits Opposed

Members of a City Council budget committee Monday said they oppose Mayor Richard Riordan’s plan to use the city’s tobacco settlement funds to pay for lawsuits stemming from the Rampart scandal.

The lawmakers, who are reviewing Riordan’s proposed spending plan as part of the council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Budget, said they would rather find other funding sources to pay for an anticipated $125 million in legal settlements and judgments.

The committee--which includes council members Mike Feuer, Rita Walters and Jackie Goldberg--is set to make its recommendations to the council within the next two weeks. City lawmakers have until June 1 to adopt a budget for the next fiscal year.

Riordan is asking the council to consider securing a $91-million bond with the anticipated revenue from the settlement between major tobacco companies and governments across the country.

On Monday, Goldberg said she would like to use the tobacco funds to pay for health-related programs. “There is a high expectation that, in some fashion, we are addressing public health needs,” Goldberg said.