Richland County launches investigation into use of credit cards
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that council member Dalhi Myers repaid charges on her procurement card related to a trip to Greece.
Some questionable purchases are listed on credit card statements of Richland County Council members, including tickets to a drive-in movie theater, multiple gas purchases made on the same day and expenses related to a trip to Greece.
Records, obtained by The State Media Co. through a public records request made in May, were released late Thursday, revealing that council members’ county-issued charge cards, called procurement cards, may have been misused or fraudulently billed for thousands of dollars in recent years.
Some of those transactions, made between June 2018 and May 2020, as well as the p-card program overall are now being reviewed by the Richland County administration, according to County Administrator Leonardo Brown. Council member Dalhi Myers said Friday that she requested the investigation after discovering some charges on her card were not legitimate and that county staff had wrongly allowed the purchases to go through. The probe comes just days before some council members face challengers in Tuesday’s runoff elections.
At this time, no council members are known to have purposely misused their card, Brown said, adding that all card charges will be thoroughly reviewed and appropriate actions taken.
“I cannot manage the behavior of a council member the same way I can an employee. But the process can. And the process is bigger than me,” said Brown, who said staff members have also expressed concerns about the use of the p-cards recently. The newspaper’s records request has also reignited those long-standing concerns, he added.
The Bank of America charge cards — which county officials can use for certain business expenses — carry a monthly limit of $5,000 each and a long list of off-limit purchases, including cash advances, gift cards, personal clothing and gasoline. Food and travel expenses are allowed if related to county business.
Use of the cards has previously raised eyebrows.
In July 2018, The State reported that council members had received duplicate reimbursements and used their cards for shopping trips to department stores and meals at seafood restaurants and steakhouses.
It appears that troubles still persist in the p-card program.
Myers of District 10 posted more charges to her card compared to fellow council members, totaling nearly $29,300 during the two-year period. Some of the expenses are incorrect, Myers said, who has requested that her card be canceled and that no additional charges be paid without her signature.
County staff review monthly bank statements for the p-cards. But county officials who hold the cards are responsible for their purchases, according to the agreements signed by county cardholders.
“All persons need to be accountable to the process,” Brown said.
Charges made to Myers’ card during the past two years include $2,208 paid to ship items via FedEx and $2,338 for items at office supply stores, including $1,914 at Staples. Approximately $3,107 was spent at Sam’s Club, some of which was made days before Thanksgiving and Christmas, and $540 spent at Krispy Kreme.
Myers said many of those charges are legitimate, including the printing and mailing of fliers and signs and buying food for a number of community meetings. She also brought food to various holiday events in the communities that she represents, she said.
But some of the other charges on her card were incorrect, she claimed. For example, county staff alerted her to a $4,929 charge from Enterprise Rent-A-Car in February. Myers said she was alarmed by the overcharge for her rental and disputed it with the company. Her account was credited back most of the amount in June, according to the county’s finance department, leaving $500 still on the card.
Myers’ card includes two other Enterprise charges in March and May for almost $900 and a payment to a political research firm for $1,000, which she said was possibly for county-related mailers. Records show $1,152 in charges were made to clothing stores Gap and Fallas.
“There are many charges on this card that are flat-out wrong,” said Myers, who suggested that a teenage employee at her law firm may have occasionally and mistakenly used Myers’ county credit card instead of her business card.
In February 2019, the card also shows Myers went to Athens, Greece for a personal trip, charging to her p-card nearly $850 on hotels, connecting flights, dinner and more. Myers has since repaid the money, according to the county’s finance department.
In early June, Myers attempted to pay the county an additional $27,000 for card charges after the newspaper’s information request. But she soon canceled that payment, she said, after realizing she had grossly overestimated the incorrect charges. She said she’s reviewing her card statements now and plans to pay back any amount she legitimately owes.
Also during the two years, approximately $2,660 was charged to Myers’ card by restaurants, including $422 by Bonefish Grill and $110 by a steakhouse, which she said was for official meetings. Her card was also charged a combined $1,533 by Verizon Wireless, which she said was a mistake, and more than $900 in additional purchases at Target, Walgreens, Michael’s, fast food restaurants and Barnes and Noble.
“These are not charges that I signed off on,” said Myers about some of the purchases. “Had anybody at the county asked me, I would’ve had the opportunity to clarify. But how would I know what I don’t know? … Somebody approved it and it wasn’t Dalhi.”
Council member Gwendolyn Kennedy used her p-card most frequently and has spent thousands of public dollars almost exclusively on food and gas, often buying those items multiple times on the same day.
On at least one occasion, her card was charged $39.50 at the Monetta drive-in movie theater in Aiken County, which Kennedy said was done by mistake.
A 26-page history of her p-card statements for the past two years show the councilwoman bought fast food 78 times, spending $1,321. She spent another $2,026 while visiting restaurants 50 times, including more than $100 each time at Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Outback Steakhouse.
A few of those food purchases have been repaid, she said, adding it was all bought while meeting with people in her official capacity. She said she doesn’t fully understand the rules for buying food with the credit card, but has gotten better with her usage.
“I didn’t really see the point in wasting money and taking people to big (expensive) restaurants,” Kennedy said, who also said she invites people to her home to meet and eat. “When what you got to tell me (isn’t complicated), you can tell me in a short period of time. But if not, we can stop at Chick-fil-A or some place or I’ll bring it to the house.”
Kennedy’s statements also show she buys gasoline more than others. Fuel is a legitimate expense when made while traveling to and from county meetings and events. A review by the newspaper shows Kennedy had 143 separate purchases at gas stations for approximately $3,269. Sometimes, she bought gas multiple times from the same station on the same day around the same time.
Kennedy said she takes her two vehicles to the station and fills both tanks before deciding which car to drive. Much of that gas, she added, is used to travel her district, looking for potential issues she can address.
Her spending was also previously outlined in 2018 when she spent hundreds at clothing stores, telling The Post & Courier then that she accidentally used the wrong card several times. She said Friday that she still sometimes makes the mistake because she has lost a device that separates her cards in her wallet.
Councilman Jim Manning’s expenses show he uses his card mostly for travel and hotel stays.
Some of his questionable purchases include two payments for memberships to the Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens for almost $300 and a $100 membership to The Township Auditorium the day before Valentine’s Day. He was also reimbursed $60 for his membership to the League of Women Voters for the Columbia Area.
Records show he has spent $622 mostly at breakfast restaurants and a $155 subscription to the Charleston-based Post and Courier newspaper. Manning said all the meals were county-related business and the newspaper features local stories, adding he also has a personal subscription to The State.
He has also sent money to various nonprofits, including $1,655 to Congress for New Urbanism and $275 to the SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center, which would seemingly be required to come from other discretionary spending accounts. Manning said the organizations help educate him on ways to best serve county citizens and thinks others should use similar resources.
Council member Joyce Dickerson, who narrowly lost her bid for re-election this month, paid Gravis Marketing, a political research firm, $1,300 last month and was reimbursed another $3,450 for mailers to constituents. If used for campaign purposes, the expenditures violate campaign laws.
Dickerson did not return calls or texts Friday seeking comment.
Prior to being fired, former County Administrator Gerald Seals recommended eliminating p-cards for council members, among other reforms to the program. The changes were not implemented before he left.
Council members are paid a nearly $18,000 annual salary. Additionally, each is allowed up to $3,500 for training and another $3,500 for travel related to that training. Myers proposed increasing those training and travels budgets to the current $7,000 in 2017.
Council members also receive $12,000 in discretionary spending for other purposes.
Council member Joe Walker, who does not have a p-card, has also said an investigation is needed.
“I believe that the p-card program as implemented by Richland County, specific to elected and appointed officials, needs a comprehensive overhaul and an investigation into the use of those elected officials,” he said. “I feel it’s a very slippery slope if not overseen properly.”
Not all council members are not logging questionable spending.
Councilwoman Chakisse Newton’s expenses totaled just $1,420 for the past year — an amount that’s less than a typical month’s spending on Myers’ card. Newton’s most common purchases are from Staples, where she has spent $303 collectively and a one-time purchase of almost $700 for a hotel, similar to other council members.
Likewise, council chairman Paul Livingston and member Yvonne McBride have used their cards sparingly, primarily for travel and hotels. Each spent between $1,100 to $1,200 at office supplies stores during the two-year period.
Council members Walker, Chip Jackson, Bill Malinowski and Allison Terracio all declined to have p-cards.
Brown, the county administrator, said he may consider scrapping p-cards for county council after his investigation is complete, even though they are standard for government entities. At the very least, he said, changes are needed so taxpayers will trust their local government.
“We don’t have that type of latitude because we have created that type of environment where people don’t trust us,” he said.
This story was originally published June 20, 2020 at 5:00 AM.