Politics & Government
DeKalb County Enacts New Purchase Card Rules to Prevent Personal Use
Purchase cards will be overseen by county Finance Department, will be audited annually.
After a county commissioner was found using her DeKalb County purchase card for personal expenses, Interim County CEO Lee May has announced new rules, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Hoping to make sure people follow the new policies, and also to make the policies as transparent as possible, May has transferred oversight of the card system from the purchasing department to the finance department.
"I think there's not been as good of oversight as it should have been across the board," May told WSB-TV. "Finance has the unique ability to cut off money."
The report says that the 294 cards currently in use will be audited each year and receipts will be reviewed monthly.
Per the Journal-Constitution:
"The move comes a month after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution revealed County Commissioner Elaine Boyer spent more than $12,000 on airline tickets, rental cars and other travel expenses with her county-issued Visa. Boyer reimbursed many of the charges shortly after making them. But she has said, despite signing an agreement not to use the card on personal expenses, that she was unaware she had done anything wrong."
Boyer has reimbursed the county for more than $15,000 since 2012, according to WBS-TV.
The new policy states that county employees can be fired for misuse of the cards, and commissioners could lose access to their cards. All employees will undergo annual training.
