Aug. 07--ONTARIO -- A prominent Inland Empire business leader is questioning Los Angeles International Airport's management after it was revealed consultants there received lucrative perks.
Documents obtained by Los Angeles News Group found LAX has paid consultants more than $300 per hour, provided housing and transportation for construction advisory services, as part of an overall contract with Los Angeles World Airports worth more than $16 million. LAWA manages LAX, LA/Ontario International and Van Nuys airports.
Frank Williams, interim executive director of the Ontario Airport Alliance, said he thought it was ridiculous for LAWA to be paying such amenities. The alliance is comprised of community and business leaders who want to mobilize efforts for local control of the airport.
"It's almost criminal what they're doing at LAX," Williams said.
LAX and LAWA should be held accountable for its actions, he said.
"It calls into question the management of the airport," Williams said.
Steve Lambert, a board member of the Alliance, said he needs more information to better understand the situation at LAX, including the comparing rates for consultants in this field.
He acknowledged that LAWA has been criticized by LA's city controller for contracting consultants, but said more and more companies are using consultants because they can provide highly specialized skills that staff can't.
A consultant himself, Lambert said it is standard practice for a company to reimburse these hired contractor workers for a variety of things such as mileage. And while it is not rare for a consultant to be compensated for their hotel stay, LAWA may have "gone above and beyond," by paying for housing and meals, he said.
"On the surface, when you take it in as a whole, it does seem excessive," Lambert said, regarding the benefits received by consultants at LAX.
It also raises the question about whether LAWA draws a line of how they pay consultants, he added.
Earlier in the year, former LA City Controller Wendy Greuel criticized LAWA for its practice of bringing in expensive consultants, adding that they are paid 15 and 20 percent more than city staff handing the same job.
The airport agency has already spent $4 billion on more than 25 projects at LAX as part of the first phase of modernization. The next phase, which will cost $2.4 billion, will be implemented in the next three years.
LAWA defended its practice of bringing in consultants, saying projects such as the ones at LAX requires staffing levels for a host of skills and experience that it is unable to fulfill. Ongoing and previous projects required 340 full-time staff while LAWA only had 121 staff members available.
"The balance of staff is consultants, who will be released from service when the current workload diminishes. This allows LAWA to incorporate industry specialists at key points in the program without burdening city payrolls and pensions with long-term commitments to fill these short-term needs," according to the statement issued by the airport agency.
The airport agency also stated that consultants have followed rules and procedures set in place by the Los Angeles controller for reimbursements.
News of the consultant contracts comes at a time when officials in the Inland Empire have criticized LAWA officials for their management of ONT. Officials in Ontario claim LAWA has ignored ONT for the benefit of LAX.
The Ontario International Airport Authority, a five-member commission of local officials aiming to get back get local control of ONT, declined to comment.
Both Williams and Lambert said they plan to meet with members of the Alliance in the next week and hope to discuss what action, if any, it should consider.
Copyright 2013 - Inland Valley Daily Bulletin, Calif.
