D.C. Spends Robustly on Official Travel

D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) said in a statement that he is "constantly looking for ways to make the government more accountable and efficient, and we will certainly scrub travel records to make sure out-of-town trips are done economically and strictly for professional development."

The city's travel credit cards, issued to select employees in dozens of agencies, are frequently misused, records show. Under city rules, they can be used only for transportation, food and lodging on the road.

But billing records show that more than $27,000 was charged in the past four years in violation of city rules, including for four computers, membership dues and $500 in Red Lobster gift certificates.

The definition of necessary business can be broad. The Department of Transportation spent about $2,000 in federal funds to send a traffic engineer to study highway safety in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2002. The agency said he learned that the Russians were "years behind."

In 2003, lottery director Jeanette A. Michael decided at the last minute to attend the National Forum for Black Public Administrators but did not get the necessary authorization before the trip.

She stayed four nights in a $376 "ocean front deluxe" room on a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., beach and said she spent the time mentoring young public officials. The hotel, registration, food and air travel cost taxpayers $2,346, records show.

A month after she returned, she sought authorization for the trip, offering to pay the portion of the lodging that exceeded government limits. But the city never asked her for any money, Michael said in an interview.

Sherryl Hobbs Newman, recently named to run the Office of Tax and Revenue, traveled on city business overseas and nationally about a dozen times from 2002 to 2004, records show. In 2002, Newman, then head of the Department of Motor Vehicles, traveled with two staff members and stayed four nights at the four-star Renaissance Esmeralda Resort and Spa in Indian Wells, Calif., records show. But the city could produce no records authorizing the trip or explaining its purpose.

The city initially could not produce the required paperwork showing how Newman spent about $3,000 in advances for trips to New Orleans and Asia in 2004. Recently, city officials produced some records. Newman said that all her trips were authorized and that she handed in the paperwork.

In August 2003, when Williams flew to Honolulu to address a trade group, his police escort bought a pair of last-minute tickets for $2,400 each. With hotel, travel and food, police paid more than $9,000 for the trip, city records show.

Three months earlier, officers went to Las Vegas with Williams. Their charges included $260-a-night hotel rooms, laundry service and an 11 p.m. tab for $92 at the Rumjungle, a casino bar that features go-go dancers and other entertainment. The city said the tab was for dinner for two officers who had worked late.

When Williams went to the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, D.C. police spent more than $15,000, including $475 hotel rooms.

The unit that guards the mayor charged more than $158,000 to its travel credit cards in 2004. Asked about the costs, Ramsey replied, "You've got to remember who works for who here."

Staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.