Richland council members disagree on how to change controversial credit card spending
Some members of Richland County Council are split on how to reform a taxpayer-funded credit card program critics say doesn’t provide enough oversight of how council members spend taxpayers’ money.
Councilmen Bill Malinowski and Joe Walker say they plan to propose ending the practice of issuing procurement cards, or p-cards, to council members and other county officials, following reporting in The State about some Richland County Council members’ past spending using the cards.
“There’s a lack of transparency” in how council members choose to spend the $5,000 a month accredited to the cards, Walker told The State. “It should be more closely monitored.”
But Council Chairman Paul Livingston said the program is needed to effectively conduct county business, and said he plans to await recommendations from County Administrator Leonardo Brown on how to best reform the program.
Brown said three weeks ago the county would investigate the use of the cards after public records showed council members used the cards on tickets to a drive-in movie theater, multiple gas purchases made on the same day and expenses related to a trip to Greece.
Brown told The State he is finalizing proposals for how the program can be improved that he plans to present to the council at its meeting Tuesday.
The State’s review of p-card spending showed a relatively high level of spending by Councilwoman Dalhi Myers, including $540 spent at Krispy Kreme and $1,152 to clothing stores Gap and Fallas.
Myers has disputed some charges she said were incorrectly charged to the card.
Councilwoman Gwen Kennedy charged thousands of dollars to her card, including multiple gas charges made on the same day and a visit to a drive-in movie theater in Aiken County, a charge Kennedy said was made by mistake.
Malinowski said he believes council members should be in a position to spend their own money on travel or other county-related expenses, and then “legitimate expenses” could be reimbursed.
“You might say that’s an extra step, but it’s a step we should take if it safeguards taxpayer funding,” Malinowski said.
But Livingston said the p-card still serves a legitimate purpose when used correctly, as shown by the many other government agencies that issue similar cards to officials.
“If (S.C. Commerce Secretary) Bobby Hitt called and said, ‘We’ve got an urgent business meeting and we’ve got to go today or tomorrow,’ it might be hard to get the money for that trip ready ahead of time, and it’s not fair to the citizens if their council member can’t afford to go,” Livingston said.
Livingston said council members do need to be accountable in how they use the p-cards, but said he prefers to wait until Brown, the county administrator, finishes his investigation of the program before pursuing any changes.
The council chairman is one of the more fastidious members when it comes to using his p-card. Records show he’s spent between $1,100 and $1,200 on office supplies in a two-year period.
Councilwoman Chakisse Newton said she hadn’t seen the proposed motion, but said, “The question is not if we have a p-card or not. The question is do we have a process that protects taxpayer dollars and is transparent and fair? That’s what I care about.”
Newton totaled $1,420 in the past year, including $303 spent at Staples and $700 for a hotel stay, similar to other council members.
Malinowski said he tends to give the benefit of the doubt to his colleagues’ expenses. “If someone says they filled up on gas for county business, it’s hard to say they didn’t,” he said, although he notes some council members report specific mileage to the county for reimbursement.
Walker said some of the charges highlighted by The State’s reporting is “highly concerning, but the program has gone ungoverned for some time.”
Neither Malinowski nor Walker use the county-issued p-cards, The State’s review of public records confirmed.
Questions about the county’s p-cards are not new. The State reported in 2018 on council members receiving duplicate reimbursements, charging trips to department stores and meals at seafood restaurants and steakhouses.
Kennedy and Myers both lost their re-election bids in the June 23 Democratic primary runoff.
The proposal to end the program could come up at Richland County Council’s next meeting on Tuesday.
This story was originally published July 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
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