‘Giving back’ to voters - at taxpayer expense

Tony Cook, Las Vegas Sun

Saturday, Nov. 24, 2007 | 7:26 a.m.

This year's new Clark County commissioners are significantly outspending their more experienced colleagues, using large chunks of their office budgets on parties and other forms of what they're calling constituent outreach.

Some taxpayer advocates, however, question who benefits more from such spending - the public or the commissioner.

Each commissioner receives a discretionary budget of $15,000 a year, but few commissioners dip deeply into the fund.

Most have used only $1,000 to $2,000 in the past 16 months, mostly on things such as travel, cell phones or commissioner portraits that hang at the county government center. The unspent money goes back into the county's general fund, where it can be used for county services.

But things have been different since three new commissioners joined the group this year.

Rookie commissioners Lawrence Weekly and Chris Giunchigliani have outspent their colleagues by thousands of dollars.

Weekly led the spending at more than $22,000. He was able to spend that much because his eight months in office straddled two fiscal years, giving him access to two $15,000 allocations. Giunchigliani was second, having spent more than $8,700.

Since taking office in March, Weekly has been something of a civic party animal. He spent $650 to throw a Halloween bash for kids in Las Vegas. He spent $848 on a Mother's Day celebration, complete with a Frank Sinatra impersonator and a harpist. He spent $2,475 on pool passes that he raffled off during four pool parties this summer dubbed "Waves With Weekly." And then there was a senior citizen luau at the World Market Center featuring Hawaiian hula dancers and drummers. The bill: $4,375.

Weekly also picked up an $11,994 tab for peewee football uniforms for children in his district, and he spent more on his county cell phone and service charges - $1,244 - than any of his colleagues.

Giunchigliani, who took office in January, spent $5,589 to send a dance team in her district to Disneyland for a national competition and $2,150 on four Halloween parties at community centers in her district.

The other new member, Commissioner Susan Brager, was more restrained. She spent $2,203 on formal portraits, a cell phone and two luncheons for town board members.

More seasoned commissioners, on the other hand, have spent only $990 to $1,810 since July 2006.

Weekly defended his spending.

"I love it and this is kind of my way of giving back in my community," he said.

But when he's giving back, he's doing so with taxpayer money. That creates some problems, said Carole Vilardo, president of the Nevada Taxpayers Association.

"I don't think that is an appropriate use of those funds," she said of the parties.

She fears such events might benefit a commissioner's political campaign more than county residents.

"They are wonderful for reelection," she said. "It smacks of having the appearance of impropriety. I would think the commissioners would have the ability to use campaign funds and to speak with others in their district who could assist with uniforms or parties."

Weekly said that during his stint as a Las Vegas city councilman, he relied heavily on campaign cash for similar events. But when he came to the county, he said, he was told he could use his commission office allowance for such events.

"Why let it sit there?" he said.

The public money is important because it allows him to stay in touch with his constituents, Weekly said. His district is older, so he doesn't have to deal with large numbers of development issues like other commissioners. As a result, he needs other ways to engage his citizens, he said.

"I am trying to find out how I can get a bigger budget to do community outreach," he said.

As for the cell phone costs, he spent $947 during his first four months on the job. Much of that was the cost of the phone, he said.

"That's the phone they gave me," he said. "It's pretty pricey."

And what are taxpayers getting for the expense?

"I don't even talk on it," Weekly said. "I don't even know how to use it." He said he's trying to figure out how to use it for scheduling and e-mail.

Although Weekly initiated many of the events for which the county paid, Giunchigliani said she relies on community liaisons to identify community needs. She also defended the spending.

"It is absolutely responsible to use money to focus kids' energies," she said.

Most of Brager's expenses were for formal portraits, which cost taxpayers $1,200. Brager said she was actually trying to save taxpayers money. She told her staff to order more of her campaign photographs rather than pay for a new photo shoot. It wasn't until the Sun requested information about commissioners' spending that she saw the price tag, she said.

The spending on parties and other items points to the need for a formal policy that defines how commissioners may use their discretionary funds, Vilardo said. Now, none exists.

"There's nothing in writing specific to this fund," county spokesman Erik Pappa said. "Clearly, though, there needs to be a county nexus."

Vilardo doesn't think that goes far enough to protect taxpayers.

"I think the allowance needs to be spent on the business of the commission," she said. "I think it is incumbent upon the commissioners to adopt and follow a specific policy regarding the use of the discretionary funds."

Commission Chairman Rory Reid, who spent $1,810, primarily on travel and a cell phone, said he does not think there is a need for a formal policy.

"I think it's up to each commissioner's judgment to decide whether an expenditure is in the public interest," he said. "It's public information and people can draw their own conclusions."