In December, Mayor Lionel Rivera and his wife, Lynn, went to Paris on official city business.Most of the trip was funded by his hosts across the pond, with the city picking up incidentals such as an occasional cab fare.But when it was time recently to file annual disclosure forms for gifts, honoraria or other benefits received, Rivera’s was blank.Who cares if the French paid his way? Probably not many. What’s interesting is that Rivera’s report is in sync with the city’s continuing resistance to disclosure.Rivera said he didn’t report the trip and several dinners he attended last year based on advice from City Attorney Pat Kelly.”I went in my official capacity as mayor to learn about their privatized water and wastewater industries,” he said of the France trip. “To the best of my knowledge, attending meetings as the mayor doesn’t qualify as an honoraria or a gift.”Rivera said Kelly thinks the trip and the dinners don’t qualify as gifts under the city’s ethics code.Rivera also noted the trip had “significant disclosure,” because it came up at a council meeting and appeared in this column.But mention at a meeting or in a newspaper blurb doesn’t satisfy the law. The state Fair Campaign Practices Act, which the city adopted in its city code, requires elected officials to report what they get and from whom “in connection with (their) public service.”Among items listed for mandatory reporting are travel expenses and lodging for a convention or other meeting at which the official will participate.Kelly, on vacation, wasn’t available to explain her advice.Two days after questions were raised, Rivera released the cost of the airfare: $800, paid by the French Embassy. The French also paid other expenses, such as the hotel, but didn’t tell him the cost.Travel materials show he stayed at the Regina Hotel, which charges $563 to $1,612 per night. Rivera stayed four nights.Rivera this week asked Kelly and City Clerk Kathryn Young to conduct “an expedited review” of disclosure requirements and vowed to file an amended form if necessary.Young has said that although the forms are filed in her office, monitoring them isn’t her job. “Policing of any campaign reports is generally left up to the public,” she said in an e-mail.Rivera and the other eight council members, of course, are Young’s bosses.The incident shouldn’t come as a surprise, given the city’s protectionist posture. Most recently, the city has forced lawsuits by denying access to city-owned Memorial Health System records and correspondence surrounding the U.S. Olympic Committee deal.One last question, Mr. Mayor: Is the city considering selling its water utility?CONTACT THE WRITER: 636-0238 or pam.zubeck@gazettedev.gazette.com

Dakota Blonde was the featured band at the free concert June 25 at America the Beautiful Park. Photo by COURTESY OF DAKOTA BLOLNDE