Mayor de Blasio says he won’t reimburse taxpayers for his plush Mercedes car in Italy and for other personal trips to Connecticut, New Jersey and Massachusetts — because he doesn’t have to.
The mayor on Monday cited a 2009 Conflicts of Interest Board ruling that said top elected officials who travel with round-the-clock NYPD security are not obligated to reimburse the city for personal use of their vehicles.
“We follow the Conflict of Interests Board guidelines,” de Blasio told reporters during an unrelated announcement at City Hall.
“The Conflicts of Interest Board is the definitive voice in terms of ethics in this city,” he added. “I’m following their guidelines to the letter, as previous mayors have.”
However, the ruling does point out that officials have the option of paying for personal expenses such as gas, tolls and parking if they choose.
Among the mayor’s other personal trips were a college visit to Wesleyan University in Connecticut with his son Dante in April, a weekday trip to Atlantic City in May and a recent weekend family funeral in Massachusetts.
Other city officials say they reach into their pockets to cover personal travel bills.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito returned Monday from Puerto Rico, where she officiated at the wedding of a staffer.
Her office confirmed that she paid her own way during her time on the island, although she did not travel with a police detail.
She has a reimbursement policy set up for any personal or political travel, but won’t make those payments until later in the year, her office said.
Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer does not have a police detail, but qualifies to use city vehicles for personal trips — something she said she never does. “I’m going to Israel soon, I’ll be taking the subway ride to JFK,” Brewer told The Post, noting that she’ll pay her own fare.
De Blasio last week didn’t pay for his subway ride to the Barclays Center to promote the city’s bid for the 2016 presidential convention.
His office later explained that he doesn’t pay for his subway rides when on official business.
“I pay for everything,” said Brewer. “It’s just how I’ve always been.”
She declined to pass judgment on the mayor’s behavior.
“I’m going to let the mayor decide to do what he wants,” she said.
A spokesman for former Mayor Mike Bloomberg said last week that the billionaire paid for his out-of-town jaunts.
On de Blasio’s recent trip to Italy, his family was whisked around much of the boot-shaped country in a white Mercedes-Benz that will be paid for by the NYPD.
A City Hall spokeswoman referred questions about the tab for the car rental and related expenses to the NYPD, which didn’t immediately respond.
“As you know on that trip, my family and I paid for our plane tickets, we paid for our hotel, we again follow the Conflicts of Interest Board rules, the NYPD rules when it comes to those matters,” de Blasio said.
“NYPD security detail is mandated, therefore, when he travels by car, the mayor is driven by his security detail and the NYPD picks up those costs,” added mayoral spokeswoman Marti Adams.