BIG SPENDING AT CASTAIC AGENCY WINE, LAVISH DINNERS PAID FOR.

Byline: Jason Takenouchi Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - The chief of the Castaic Lake Water Agency has spent thousands of dollars over the past three years to treat himself and consultants to lavish dinners and other perks at taxpayer expense, according to records obtained by the Daily News.

The 11-member CLWA board - which has no policy for handling expense claims - routinely approved reimbursement of the expenses submitted by General Manager Bob Sagehorn, including a $514 dinner with the agency's bond consultants, $250 for a political fund-raiser, and even $162 for wine served to the board during a 1997 workshop.

Taxpayers also picked up the tab when Sagehorn dined alone in Santa Clarita, where the public agency is based, according to a Daily News review of his credit card expenses and other reimbursements obtained under a Public Records Act request.

The $303.20 for finance charges and late fees on his CLWA-sponsored credit card account also was covered by taxpayers.

In addition, the public paid $300.28 toward a $550 outboard motor that Sagehorn purchased from Castaic Boat & Marine in 1996 for his personal use. Most of that $300 was in lieu of a $400 diamond pin the agency gives to its 47 employees for every five years of service.

Bill Cooper, president of the agency board, says the expenses are legitimate - just part of the cost of doing business for the valley's dominant water provider.

``The board looks at the expenses every month in the financial report, and approves those. There hasn't been a concern,'' Cooper said, adding that most of the expenses ``seem justifiable.'' And, in a recent interview, Sagehorn maintained he keeps a close eye on the bottom line for the CLWA, which derives much of its funding from property taxes and is exploring a water rate increase to shore up its budget.

``I've been very frugal with the district's funds,'' said Sagehorn, who has been with the district for two decades and makes $133,296 a year.

However, he added he would be willing to reimburse the agency for any expense that might be deemed inappropriate.

In fact, the state Attorney General's Office said the agency should not have paid $250 for Sagehorn's ticket to an October 1997 fund-raising dinner held by GOP Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was the featured speaker at the dinner held at The Odyssey restaurant in Granada Hills.

``That would be wrong,'' said Nathan Barankin, a spokesman for the Attorney General's Office. ``You cannot contribute public monies to a political campaign.''

'CLOUD ON THE AGENCY'

Although Sagehorn's reimbursement requests were routinely approved by the agency's board, some CLWA board members said they were unaware of the details and now are concerned about some of the expenses.

``This is an embarrassment,'' said Mike Kotch, one of two dissident members on the board.

Sagehorn's spending ``basically produces a cloud on the agency that we need to correct,'' Kotch said. ``It seems we'll have to have some corrective action here.''

Sagehorn's expenses also drew criticism from Kris Vosburgh, executive director of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer's Association, a taxpayer watchdog and advocacy group. But Vosburgh also said the agency's board should be held accountable.

``It sounds like nobody's minding the store,'' Vosburgh said.

``The bottom line is they're dealing with the public's money, our money,'' he said. ``I'm sure if they were to go to the public and say, 'We're going to give out $400 diamond pins to our employees for good work,' the taxpayers would be aghast.''

Questioned in the interview about individual expenses, Sagehorn said he billed taxpayers for his own meals because of his long work hours. He also recalled that he bought wine for a board workshop after receiving an ``informal'' request from members, seven of whom are elected by the public, with the remaining four representing water retailers the agency serves.

Water business was discussed during taxpayer-funded meals with staffers and consultants, he said.

POLICY DOESN'T EXIST

But Sagehorn was unable to provide details of the $514.34 dinner for the staff of Stone & Youngberg, the agency's bond consultant. Pressed for details about the meal, such as how many people were fed, Sagehorn said, ``Quite frankly, I don't even remember it.''

And the $300 given to Sagehorn for an outboard engine actually represented a savings to the agency because it would have spent twice as much on his diamond-studded service award and a commemorative key chain, Sagehorn said.

Cooper, the CLWA board president, questioned the legitimacy of the $250 for the McKeon fund-raiser but said he believes the wine and other expenses are justified, even though there is no policy for deciding what is legitimate and what isn't.

``As far as I know, there isn't a policy for Mr. Sagehorn's expenses,'' Cooper said.

But critics say a policy is needed and it should be implemented immediately.

``This casts some doubt on the financial practices of the agency,'' said Vosburgh, the taxpayer advocate. ``To regain the confidence of the public, they need to set up a very strict policy on what's to be reimbursed, and it needs to be one that both the taxpayers and employees can live with,'' he said.

EXPENSES

Following are highlights of the expenses incurred by Bob Sagehorn, general manager of the Castaic Lake Water Agency, and reimbursed by the 11-member Board of Directors:

--$514.34 for dinner at San Francisco's Hawthorne Lane Restaurant for the staff of Stone & Youngberg, the agency's bond consultant, in August 1998.

--$394.03 for a December 1998 staff dinner during a conference of the Association of California Water Agencies in Palm Springs.

--$229.66 for a 1998 dinner with a landowner in the Devil's Den area, where the agency owns land and water rights.

--$250 for a fund-raising dinner in October 1997 for Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, R-Santa Clarita. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich was the featured speaker.

--$193.93 for an August 1998 dinner at Le Chene, a French restaurant in Santa Clarita, with CLWA attorney Bob Clark and consultant Glenn Reiter.

--$162.25 for wine for an October 1997 workshop for the agency's board of directors.

--$157.66 for dinner with the agency's lobbyist at McCormick & Schmick's Seafood in Washington, D.C., in May 1999.

--$100.57 for a meal with CLWA staff for Secretary's Day in April 1997.

--$64.95 for a gift of flowers to an agency consultant in December 1998.

--$43.29 for a suede phone purse purchased in September 1998.

CAPTION(S):

box

Box: EXPENSES (see text)