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Central Basin water official Albert Robles defends expenses

    Albert Robles went on a self-improvement campaign over a two-year period, taking acting and voice classes, flying lessons and seminars by motivational guru Anthony Robbins.
    He has the Central Basin Water District to thank for that.
    Robles, an elected member of the district's board of directors, received nearly $15,700 from the water agency to attend those classes.
    The district, which sells wholesale water in southeast Los Angeles County, also has paid Robles a stipend of nearly $200 a day to attend scholarship dinners and prayer breakfasts, and picked up the tab to send him to water seminars in Costa Rica and Spain. On top of that, Robles gets a $300 monthly car allowance and medical, dental and life insurance.
    Such expenses are examples of the generous perks and compensation packages offered by a few Southern California water districts that manage hefty budgets with little outside scrutiny.
     Robles, a financial management consultant who is also the elected treasurer of the city of South Gate, defended his expenses, saying the pay, benefits and tuition reimbursements conform to water district policy and are justified by the long hours he keeps.
     "I availed myself of educational opportunities to improve my education skills for my constituents and for myself," said Robles, a brash and astute politician who was elected to the water board in 1996.
     But some water districts' officials are upset that ratepayers were burdened with the cost of such classes as "Basic Simulator Flight Training" and "Acting for the Nonprofessional" for a part-time official.
     "I don't think it's the public's responsibility to pay for that," said Ron Singleton, general manager of Meiners Oaks County Water District, a small, fiscally conservative district in Ventura County.
     Critics say such expenditures violate the public trust and go unchecked because voters, the news media and government agencies rarely scrutinize or understand water districts.
     "There is always a potential for abuse when there are large amounts of money available and no one is keeping an eye on it," said Robert Terzian, chairman of the state's Little Hoover Commission, a watchdog group that has been critical of spending at special districts that handle water, trash, recreation and other services.
     A survey of the 84 water districts in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties found that such generous spending is limited to a few large urban water districts.
     And several of those large agencies have recently adopted strict spending limits, including the repeal of the tuition reimbursement policy at the Central and West Basin water districts.
     For the most part, water districts are obscure agencies whose elections often attract a voter turnout as low as 10%. Board members are typically elected to four-year terms to manage the bulk sales of water to cities, farms and private water companies, among other duties. In most cases, the districts act as middlemen, selling water to agencies that collect fees from ratepayers. Some districts also replenish underground aquifers and test for contamination.
     Water board members have wide latitude in controlling their own pay, travel budgets and benefit packages.
     For at least two years, the Central Basin Water District and its sister agency, the West Basin Water District, reimbursed board members for 90% of the cost of tuition for "course work directly related to field of employment." The policy was repealed in August 1999, after such spending became an election issue that year.
     Robles was the biggest recipient of tuition funds, charging the district $15,685 to take a dozen courses.
     In January 1998, the district reimbursed Robles $426 for the aviation class he took at Long Beach City College, according to expense reports.

     UCLA Courses in Acting, Production
     In July 1998, records show, the district reimbursed Robles $855 for two UCLA Extension courses: the acting class and another called "Craft and the Art of Voice-Over." The district also reimbursed him for UCLA Extension courses on finances and basic video production.
     In 1998 and 1999, Robles charged the district $8,653 to attend four Anthony Robbins seminars: "Unleash the Power Within," "Life Mastery," "Date With Destiny" and "Wealth Mastery," according to records.
     In September 1999, Central Basin board member Charles Trevino charged the district $1,638 to take an education class at Point Loma Nazarene University.
     Trevino said he now regrets charging the district for the course and has since paid for additional courses with his own money.
     "We felt the perception would not be what we wanted to put out to the public," he said.
     In June 1999, West Basin Water District board member Carol Kwan billed the district $5,040 for 40 hours of speech classes by Beverly Hills voice coach Bill Dickson.
     Kwan, who was born in Hong Kong, said she took the course at the suggestion of a previous district manager because she had difficulty expressing herself in English.
     "It was my best intention to represent my district better," she said.
     But she added that the district tuition policy was vague.
     "There are no guidelines," she said.
     Central Basin board President Robert Apodaca agreed, saying that is why he led the successful effort to repeal the tuition reimbursement policy.
     "As long as they submitted an expense receipt and said it was for water-related business, it was approved," he said.
     Throughout Southern California, the benefits and pay of water board members varies greatly.
     Some small rural districts give board members no pay or benefits. Large urban agencies pay up to $23,400 a year in daily stipends, including compensation for attending community functions such as chamber of commerce mixers and awards dinners. Additionally, board members receive travel expenses, car allowances and medical coverage.
     Among Southern California water districts, the most generous perks, pay and travel budgets are provided at the Central Basin and West Basin water districts, the Water Replenishment District of Southern California and the Palmdale Water District, according to The Times' survey.
     The Central Basin and West Basin districts are sister agencies that share the same staff and the same building in Carson but represent different areas of south Los Angeles County. The two boards often meet in joint session to discuss common expense matters.
     The part-time board members at the four top-paying districts receive the type of benefits normally reserved for full-time district employees, such as medical, dental and vision coverage that extends to family members. Two districts also provide monthly car allowances.
     At the Central Basin Water District, which serves 1.4 million customers, the board members earn the most--$195 for every day they meet or attend to district-related business, up to a maximum of 10 meetings a month.
     Although the entire board holds only one scheduled meeting per month, several board members have been paid the maximum of $23,400 per year for attending award ceremonies, prayer breakfasts, scholarship dinners and lunch meetings with other board members.
     In November 1999, Apodaca collected a stipend for attending an award dinner hosted by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. That same year, Robles collected stipends for attending a prayer breakfast in South Gate and a scholarship dinner of the East Los Angeles Community Union.
     Water district officials argue that they should be reimbursed for attending such events because they do so as representatives of the district.
     The Central Basin also gives board members a $300-a-month car allowance plus medical, dental and vision coverage, which extends to family members. Life insurance is included.
     In recent months, the Central Basin has revoked the board members' district-funded credit cards. In addition, board members must now get approval by the board president before getting funds for out-of-state travel.
     The Water Replenishment District of Southern California, which charges fees to replenish underground aquifers for 43 cities in south Los Angeles County, pays its board members $170 per day for attending to district business, plus a $308 monthly car allowance, in addition to medical coverage and life insurance.
     Water board members say they deserve the benefits package because they oversee complex agencies with multimillion-dollar annual budgets. And they stress that such salaries and perks represent only a fraction of the budgets in most districts and do not greatly influence water rates.
     Of the 84 districts surveyed, only two reported paying to send board members on foreign trips in the last five years.
     In 1997, Robles charged the Central Basin nearly $5,000 to attend water conferences in Spain and Costa Rica. According to documents submitted by Robles, the trip to Costa Rica included a tour of cultural and historic landmarks in Cartago, a picturesque town on Costa Rica's central plateau.

     $5,600 for 8-Day Trip to Buenos Aires
     Robles called the travel "necessary and appropriate" to improve his knowledge of water issues.
     "Sometimes these conferences are not held in Carson and South Gate," he said.
     Kwan billed West Basin $5,600 for an eight-day trip to a water conference in Buenos Aires in September 1999. Kwan said she attended the conference because she was invited by the International Water Assn. to co-chair a committee on water reuse.
     "I look at things more globally," she said in explaining her desire to attend the Argentina conference.
     Domestically, groups such as the Assn. of California Water Agencies, the American Water Resources Assn. and the National Water Resources Assn. hold several conferences and seminars throughout the year in tourist destinations such as Denver, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
     Between June 1999 and July 2000, West Basin board member Tyrone Smith charged the district $33,848 for airline tickets, meals and lodging to attend 19 seminars and conferences across the country.
     The trips included travel to North Carolina to attend a meeting of the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials in August 1999. A month later, Smith attended the Congressional Black Caucus forum in Washington. Although water was not the focus of those two conferences, the district paid $6,440 for his travel expenses, records show.
     Smith defended the trips, saying they were necessary to meet elected officials who can approve funding for district programs in the future.
     He added: "This is my first time being elected to an elected office. It's very imperative that I meet with a lot of people to learn about water issues."
     At the Palmdale Water District, where board members earn a daily stipend of $188 plus medical coverage and life insurance, the travel budget for the board of directors nearly doubled in 1999 to $28,600, from $14,400 in 1998. It dropped last year to $21,000.
     District General Manager Dennis D. LaMoreaux said the budget increased because several board members attended seminars hosted by a newly created water association. But he said the board members were not impressed by the new seminars and have not attended them since.
     Palmdale board member Jay B. Freeman traveled the most in 1999, attending 14 water conferences and seminars in such cities as Washington, Chicago and Lake Tahoe.
     Freeman said the travel was necessary to "keep up with the latest information on the water industry."
     LaMoreaux noted that, ultimately, it is the board members who decide which seminars and conferences are covered by district funds.
     "There are a zillion things to be a part of if you want to," he said. "You just have to pick and choose."

* * *

     Of the 84 water districts in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties, here are the top 10 ranked by per diem pay for their elected board members:

* * *

     1. Central Basin Water District: $195: (plus $300 monthly car allowance)
     2. Palmdale Water District: $188
     3. Las Virgines Water District: $186
     4. Calleguas Municipal Water District: $186
     5. Antelope Valley-East Kern County: $178
     6. Irvine Ranch Water District: $175
     7. Water Replenishment District of Southern California: $170: (plus $308 monthly car allowance)
     8. El Toro Water District: $165
     9. Orchard Dale Water District: $165
     10. Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District: $162

* * *

     * The highest potential annual pay is offered by the Central Basin Water District in Carson, where board members can earn up to $23,400 a year in per diems, plus medical coverage and a $300 monthly car allowance.
     * Board members in seven water districts can earn more than $20,000 per year in per diems, plus medical coverage.
     * Board members in 48 water districts earn between $5,000 and $20,000 per year, some with medical coverage and some without.
     * Board members in eight water districts--mostly in rural areas--are paid nothing and get no medical coverage or benefits.

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