BURBANK COUNCIL TO BE DRUG-TESTED OFFICIALS VOTE TO UNDERGO PROCESS.

Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer

Winning election isn't enough for the Burbank City Council members - now they are challenging each other to take drug and alcohol tests and make the results public.

The panel voted 3-2 Wednesday to direct City Manager Bud Ovrom to prepare a procedure under which the city's elected officials would be randomly tested.

The tests would be voluntary to comply with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, but all five council members either voted for the measure or, if not, said they would take the test anyway.

``I think it's time we let it all hang out and say we're clean or we're not clean,'' said Councilman Ted McConkey, who added he was responding to drug-abuse problems of a former council member and rumors of alcohol abuse by council members. ``Let's clear it up once and for all.''

McConkey first broached the idea in February, shortly after disclosure that then-Councilwoman Susan Spanos had a drug problem. Spanos did not seek re-election and left office May 1.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a Georgia law that called for all candidates for public office to be drug-tested, saying it violated the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

Mayor Bob Kramer said the new procedure is of little importance now that Spanos has left office.

``Drug-testing the current council is a little like closing the barn door after the horse got out,'' Kramer said. ``I have a feeling that the public isn't worried about this council taking drugs, but I certainly think those fears were warranted in the past.''

Council members Stacey Murphy and Bill Wiggins voted against the plan, but for different reasons. Both said they would submit to the voluntary testing despite their votes.

``I think it came about as a result of an isolated incident,'' Murphy said.

Wiggins said he voted against the idea because there is no follow-up provided if an elected official tests positive. He wants the council members to be held to the identical standard applied to city employees, which calls for them to enter a drug rehabilitation program in order to stay with the city work force.

``How do you make sure the person is not still having the problem when they're back at work?'' asked Wiggins, who said he will ask for that provision when the city manager returns with a proposed procedure.

All city employees go through pre-employment drug screening. Some special classes of employees whose jobs are safety-related can be randomly tested.

Details of the elected officials' testing still have to be worked out, but the law would subject the council, city clerk and treasurer to random testing. It would not apply to the Burbank school board.

Spanos said Tuesday that she supports a mandatory drug-testing policy and wishes it were in place earlier this year. It would have allowed her to prove she was never under the influence of illegal drugs or alcohol while making council decisions. She said she was taking a lot of prescription medication for depression while serving on the council.

``I've taken more medication in the last year and a half than most people will take in a lifetime. I'm not proud of that,'' Spanos said. ``When someone is taking eight different medications, does it really matter?''

As for the voluntary nature of the new program, Spanos said it's not tough enough.

``That's very watered-down; it's a `no teeth' version of what the public rightfully should expect,'' she said.

Randy Arndt, a spokesman for the National League of Cities, said he hasn't heard of another city asking elected officials to take drug tests. He said it would be difficult to oust a drug-using council member.

``A person who is an elected official comes before the voters for his condition of employment,'' Arndt said. ``Is it going to be `three strikes and you're out'?''