Mayor de Blasio is letting taxpayers foot some of his costs when he leaves town — unlike other elected city officials, according to a new report.
The mayor is not planning to reimburse taxpayers for costs like gas and tolls on personal, out-of-state weekend trips — like his most recent excursion to Massachusetts for a family funeral, aides told The Wall Street Journal.
The Democratic mayor also let taxpayers sport the cost of his fancy ride — a white Mercedes-Benz — while traveling through Italy on vacation last month with his family.
“Sets a bad example for city employees & wastes taxpayer $. Did he really need a white Mercedes to ferry him around Italy?” tweeted former city councilman and 2013 Democratic mayoral candidate Sal Albanese, a frequent critic.
The practice is not illegal, the Journal said. But other politicians said it’s still improper for a well-paid mayor not to reimburse the city for travel costs.
De Blasio’s office defended the practice when asked by The Post for comment.
“The mayor is mayor everywhere he goes,” said spokeswoman Marti Adams. “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.”
As for his subway expenses, Adams said de Blasio’s security detail will swipe him through “as they deem appropriate.
“Generally, when the mayor is traveling by subway for personal business including commuting from home to the office or back, he will use his own MetroCard,” she said.
De Blasio’s security personnel may still take him through the turnstile if they decide “that it is inappropriate for him to swipe himself through,” she said.
A spokesman for former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who’s worth about $34 billion, said Bloomberg paid for his own MetroCard and for out-of-city trips as well.
A spokesman for City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said she pays for her own MetroCard and she has a policy to reimburse for personal car travel.