Audit: City of L.A. has 'gold card desk' for mayor, council to excuse parking tickets for constituents

LOS ANGELES -- The city Department of Transportation has a special "gold card desk" for the mayor and City Council members to call about reviewing parking tickets on behalf of constituents, according to an audit released today.

City Controller Wendy Greuel's audit of LADOT's parking citation process found that about 1,000 tickets sent to the desk over a two-year period were excused. About 90 percent of those had no paper trail, according to Greuel, who said the "gold card" dates back 20 years.

"It shouldn't be that you know someone in a council office or any elected office that gets you where you need to be," Greuel said. "Everyone in the city wants to be treated fairly. They should feel they're going to get the same service no matter who they call."

Greuel and her chief of staff denied having any knowledge of an LADOT gold card desk during her time on the council, from 2002-2009.

"The gold card desk is a misnomer," said Robert Andalon, chief management analyst with the LADOT. "It's really the ombudsman services."

Andalon said it was created for constituents who had extenuating circumstances related to their tickets, such as medical emergencies.

LADOT Interim General Manager Amir Sedadi said he understood the perception of the existence of the desk was not good and planned to have it eliminated.

"We want a fair process for the public. This isn't a way for the elected officials to have an upper hand, I assure you," Sedadi said. "We have a transparent

process and we will continue to have a transparent process."

Mayoral spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said the mayor's constituent services staff use the gold card desk the same way they would if residents or business owners call asking for help with tree-trimming, broken sidewalks or graffiti removal.

"If you felt you received a ticket in error or someone graffiti'd your house, well make sure you get help. It's a way to help, a way to break through the general process," Hamilton said.

"We do have that card, but we do not use it. We never have," said Tony Perez, spokesman for City Councilman Ed Reyes, who said the card is not shared with Reyes' field deputies who deal with the public.

"Our policy has always been we don't fix tickets. We work to show them the process of arguing the tickets," Perez said.

The audit's other major finding was that the LADOT was unable to investigate more than 4,400 contested parking citations in a timely manner.

That is a tiny percentage of the nearly 5.7 million tickets issued annually, which generate about $130 million for the city's general fund, according to the department.

But Greuel said delays in processing appealed tickets caused the city to lose about $126,000 over an 18-month period starting in June 2008.

"We believe that in eight months, the city should be able to review those changes or questions that people have and believe that needs to change," Greuel said.

Sedadi defended his department, saying the delays in processing ticket appeals was due to staffing. He said during the time of Greuel's audit, LADOT had only one staffer assigned to reviewing appeals because of layoffs and sluggish city hiring procedures.

Source: http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_18097274?source=rss

Mila Kunis Natasha Bedingfield Tina Fey Jessica Cauffiel Lake Bell