City officials do the right thing, eventually

Two satisfying steps were taken, or at least proposed, in two valley cities this week.

Palm Desert City Council to limit expenses

When The Desert Sun reported that Palm Desert City Councilman Jim Ferguson racked up $20,000 in travel expenses, the public was understandably outraged.

His mission to explore groundbreaking energy conservation programs was justified, but cab rides to and from LAX, nights in five-star hotels and having the city pay for his wife's trip to Spain are not.

On Thursday, the City Council agreed to tighten controls on travel expenses for city officials. It directed its staff to draft a policy based on federal per diems and state guidelines.

The council also is debating whether spouses should be reimbursed under certain circumstances. We find it hard to fathom what those circumstances might be. Spouses should pay their own way.

Indio city manager declines more time off

When news surfaced that Indio was considering giving City Manager Glenn Southard 21 more days of vacation for a total of 10 weeks off a year, there was appropriate squawking.

Southard did the right thing by taking the extra vacation days off the table and the council was correct in not pursuing it. Such a generous compensation sends the wrong message in this floundering economy, especially to employees who opted to forgo raises to help the city stay within budget.

Also, it would be tough to keep up with Indio's ambitious agenda when the boss is gone nearly 20 percent of the time.

With an annual salary of at least $300,000, Southard is still the highest-paid city manager in the Coachella Valley. Dropping the extra vacation days was the right move.

A quiet weekend with thousands of choppers

We don't usually think of motorcycles as family friendly. But that's how the 2009 American Heat Motorcycle Weekend in Palm Springs was described last Saturday.

Police Sgt. Mitch Spike estimated that 8,000 to 10,000 bikers visited as families with strollers and pets filled the street. The owner of Grill-a-Burger said Saturday was his best day ever.

Event organizer Randy Burke of Roadshows Inc. said he thought the weak economy might have helped boost the crowd because “people are spending more quality time with their friends and family close to home.”

There were a few arrests for public intoxication and drunken driving, but nothing out of the ordinary for a Palm Springs weekend.

“So far, everything's peaceful and fairly quiet,” said police Lt. Dennis Graham.

As one one letter to the editor pointed out, it's odd to hear the word “quiet” used to describe 10,000 motorcycles. Quiet or not, bringing throngs to downtown Palm Springs is always a good thing.

Silver linings on the interstate

The recession brought good news to our cities: Bids for two Interstate 10 interchanges came in so far under budget cities won't have to pay millions of dollars for the projects.

Bob Hope Drive/Ramon Road was budgeted at $40 million, but the lowest bid was just more than $22 million, said Allyn Waggle of the Coachella Valley Association of Governments.

Federal and state stimulus money will pay for the entire project.

The low bid for the Gene Autry Trail/Date Palm Drive interchange — budgeted at $33 million — came in at $13.5 million.

Funding for that project comes from multiple sources, but the impact on nearby cities will be much less than originally planned, Waggle said.