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Two years ago, Los Angeles City Council members voted to give themselves $4 million a year to spend on pet projects in their districts, arguing that they needed a consistent source of money to help pay for graffiti cleanup, tree planting and other programs to spruce up neighborhoods.
But since July 2001, the council members have transferred more than 40% of those community improvement funds into their office salary accounts, according to city records.
The move does not allow the council members to increase their own salaries, which are set by law at $139,476, but it has allowed them to pay for staff raises and additional hiring. Some council members have simply let the funds accumulate, increasing their salary accounts by nearly half a million dollars, about half the total budget for each council office.
City Controller Laura Chick said she was astounded at the way the money has been used and at the lack of oversight for spending it.
"These dollars are not being spent with any plan or criteria or evaluation that's shared openly with the public," Chick said. "These are, from every respect, slush accounts that advantage the incumbent."
For years, council members have received $20,000 a year to spend on neighborhood projects. Two years ago, the council voted to give themselves an additional $250,000 per year, doled out at the discretion of each of the 15 council members.
The city does not publicize the existence of the money, and often community organizations have learned of its availability only after appealing to a council office for assistance on a project.
Of the $6.2 million the council members have tapped from the two accounts since July 2001, $3.5 million went directly to neighborhood programs and activities, while $2.7 million was transferred to the council offices' salary accounts, according to documents obtained from the city clerk and the city controller, which routinely processes city checks.
Most of the transfers happened at the end of the last fiscal year in June, when council members had unspent money in their community improvement accounts.
Council members defended their use of the money, saying it has allowed them to beef up their field staffs and help worthwhile neighborhood groups without being stymied by the city bureaucracy.
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