CHICK, FEDERAL OFFICIALS DISCUSS AUDIT.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

City Controller Laura Chick met on Thursday with federal officials over her call for an investigation of possible improprieties in city airport contracting practices - an issue that has put her at odds with Department of Airports officials who deny many of her claims.

Chick said she met with a team of officials from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Inspector General's Office about the critical audit that concluded that airport commissioners sat on review panels before a final vote, without properly documenting their recommendations on millions of dollars in contracts.

Chick declined to talk about the specifics of the meeting. Her spokesman Rob Wilcox said Chick was told the officials will advise her in the coming weeks on their plans to follow up on the audit.

She also defended herself against the department's response to her audit, saying she was ``disappointed'' in what she saw as a ``defensive and reactive response.''

``This is further evidence that the Airport Department is not really interested in changing its poor practices and mending its ways,'' Chick said.

Airport officials responded to Chick's audit by alleging errors and questioning the methodology. Los Angeles World Airports interim Executive Director Kim Day wrote that nearly half of the 25 contracts reviewed by auditors were more than three years old, and that the sample - compared with a total of 1,128 contracts during the audit period - was too small.

``We ... want to ... point out an inconsistency between the stated goal of the audit and the methodology employed,'' Day wrote, saying the firm that performed the audit said its objective was to evaluate existing contracts but went back to contracts awarded nearly a decade earlier.

Day defended the practice of commissioners being involved in negotiations with contractors - a practice Mayor James Hahn this week ordered halted.

``LAWA considered the participation of individual ... members in the evaluation and selection of proposals as an opportunity for its members to exercise their charter-mandated responsibility of providing citizen oversight,'' Day wrote.

Chick called the defense flawed, saying the practice resulted in ``sound business practices and policies (being) ignored.''

``It would be my suggestion that airport management rethink their attempt at spinning the story and concentrate on actually addressing the many problems at their agency,'' Chick said.

The practice of commissioners serving on review panels had been cleared by the City Attorney's Office, but Day said the airport now will implement Hahn's order banning it.

LAWA spokeswoman Nancy Castles said Thursday that the department stands by its response.

``The (City Controller's) statement does not refute any of the specific items noted in LAWA's response,'' Castles said in a prepared statement. ``We have provided the Controller with a paragraph by paragraph response to the work of its paid consultant. We stand by our analysis which can be viewed on our Web site, www.lawa.org.''

She said should there be any further investigations, the department would fully cooperate.

Chick said the audit is valid.

``I stand squarely behind my audit and the exemplary work done by my auditors,'' Chick said. ``The audit is clear: There is an environment at the airport ripe for potential abuse and conflict of interest.

``The people of Los Angeles demand and deserve that their public agencies are operating according to best practices in a very transparent and public way.''

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com