Money Bags

So what is Larry Agran spending park money on in the upcoming annual budget? According to internal Great Park records obtained by the Weekly, here’s a sampling, and recall, there is no park yet:

• Government consultants: $9,848,714

• Park board salaries and benefits: $4,019,225

• Entertainment (excluding the air balloon): $1,735,000

• Legal fees: $1,025,000

• Balloon PR rides: $928,751

• Visitor-center operations: $850,000

• Employee retirement perks: $577,368

• Park history project: $285,000

• Contingency for unknown spending need: $240,000

• Trailer relocation: $160,000

• New office furniture: $150,000

• Copying charges: $104,631

• Park office relocation: $100,000

• Irvine police protection: $100,000

• Out-of-town-conference travel: $55,000

• Carousel maintenance: $50,000

• Office supplies: $50,000

• Beepers to notify balloon riders it’s their turn: $30,000

• Staff overtime: $30,000

• Tree registration: $17,000

• Balloon-website maintenance: $15,000

• Postage: $15,000

• T-shirts: $9,000

Within that budget, Agran has set aside $200,000 for an agricultural consultant, $80,000 for a fund-raising consultant, $80,000 for an educational-program consultant, $90,000 for a park consultant, $125,000 for an arts and cultural consultant, $150,000 for a “strategic enterprises” consultant, $24,000 for a Sacramento lobbyist, $25,000 for an operational consultant, $280,000 for an aviation consultant, and $50,000 for an intellectual-property consultant. The board secretary makes $182,195. An office clerk makes $65,059. A part-time office clerk makes $44,661, while nine board members take their share of $110,705 from the park’s public kitty.