VALLEY PAYS HIGHER FEES PARKS DEPARTMENT AUDIT FINDS PROGRAM INCONSISTENCIES, BIG UNSPENT FUND.

Byline: Dan Laidman Staff Writer

The city agency that runs hundreds of Los Angeles parks and recreation centers charges inconsistent fees and is holding $21.5 million in a fund for unclear reasons, City Controller Laura Chick said in an audit released Thursday.

The financial review of the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks found that fees paid for some programs were more than twice as much for residents living in the West San Fernando Valley than for those living in the midcity area.

For example, baseball for children ages 5 through 12, for example, costs $35 at Lafayette Recreation Center in midcity, $70 in Highland Park, and $80 in Woodland Hills - a disparity parks officials defended, saying a single standard fee would be unfair to disadvantaged communities.

``There's no rhyme or reason to the fee differentials,'' Chick said.

And the audit - the first in a series of three to be conducted on the agency - also focused on a pool of money set aside a half-century ago to pay program expenses. In recent years, it soared from a relatively stable $8 million to $21.5 million.

``This is money that should be coming in and going out,'' Chick said.

The high balance suggests that Recreation and Parks might be charging too much for its programs, the audit said.

``Either we're collecting too much money or Recreation and Parks is not using it properly,'' Chick said.

The audit charges that the agency has spent fund money on administrative expenses, including travel and office supplies, although Recreation and Parks General Manager Jon Kirk Mukri said the expenditures were related to the operation of the department.

Mukri also said that when he took over as general manager 18 months ago, he ended the use of the fund for things like lunches and gifts and now considers the pool of money a contingency fund.

``A lot of times, we want to do projects and these projects are expensive now,'' he said. ``Let's say I want to do a golf course and I need to rehabilitate the irrigation system. That's going to cost me between $7 million and $10 million plus the loss of revenue when those golf courses are taken out.''

Mukri acknowledged that the department needs to do a more thorough job of explaining how the fund is used. Similarly, he agreed with a section of the audit calling for more information on why fees differ for similar programs at different facilities.

He said a single standard fee would be unfair to disadvantaged communities.

The audit also faults the agency's handling of revenue from the Pershing Square Parking Garage, such as not making required transfers to youth programs several years ago.

The department will work to make sure all transfers are made, Mukri said, but he called Pershing Square Garage ``a success story,'' noting that it takes in $3 million a year in revenue now compared to $300,000 when it was run under a private contract.

Dan Laidman, [phone]

dan.laidman(at)dailynews.com