City Releases Statements Regarding Duran and Credit Cards

West Hollywood Patch reported on Wednesday news of City Councilman in the event the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office decides to file criminal charges against him for improper use of his city-issued credit card.

Duran told Weho Patch the DA was questioning his using the card to pay for 128 meals over three years, totaling about $7,000. He said he was discussing city business over those meals.

The possible charges against Duran stemmed from an regarding alleged misuse of the city credit cards by City Hall employees.

The Los Angeles Times also covered the story on Saturday. Information in that story said that, “one credit card in the city manager's office, used by various employees, accumulated $121,000 over three years.”

The city has released two statements regarding the Times story.

The first statement reads:

"The City was contacted last year and informed that, in response to a complaint filed in March 2011 during the City of West Hollywood’s municipal election campaign, the Public Integrity Unit of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office initiated an inquiry into expense reimbursements for the conduct of City business by employees and members of the West Hollywood City Council. The City has fully cooperated with the District Attorney’s investigation," said West Hollywood City Attorney Mike Jenkins.

"The City of West Hollywood has adopted a formal policy in accordance with state ethics laws that requires full documentation of all meal expenditures at public expense that involve City business. These expense reimbursement policies are comparable to other cities. In response to suggestions from the District Attorney’s office, the City is updating its expense reimbursement policy to assure that it is current. The City has been informed that the District Attorney has completed its investigation as regards the City and its employees and the City does not expect any further action by the District Attorney with respect to the City or City employees," continued City Attorney Mike Jenkins.

"The District Attorney has not informed the City of the specific allegations being made against Councilmember John Duran, so the City cannot comment at this point on the District Attorney’s inquiry.

The second statement reads:

The following statement clarifies information included in the Los Angeles Times regarding expenditures on a City credit card that was issued to the City Manager’s Department:

“The referenced credit card is the City's main credit card and is used by all City departments to transact purchases that cannot be done through the City’s normal check/purchase order system (many small businesses do not accept a City purchase order for payment),” said David Wilson, Interim Director of the Department of Finance and Technology.

“The amount referenced in the Los Angeles Times article, $121,000, was for a period of three years (approximately $40,000 per fiscal year). Each purchase is authorized in advance by a Department Director and all documentation is on file with the Department of Finance and Technology,” said Wilson.

“The use of a City credit card is for the purchase of miscellaneous food and supplies for community meetings and events, on-line purchases for information technology products and services, subscriptions, city wide staff registrations for conferences, training and meetings, business travel (airfare and hotels), and other business related activities,” said Wilson.

West Hollywood Patch will continue to follow this story and update readers as more information comes available.

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