DeKalb seeking new debit card policy despite existing rules

From 2013: Commissioner Elaine Boyer speaks during a press conference held by Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May (left) and DeKalb commissioners and how they plan to respond to the Grand Jury report. The findings of a year-long investigation into allegations of bid rigging and kickbacks in DeKalb County contracts, made public for the first time late Wednesday, allege a culture of corruption that spans two administrations and runs from the top job in Georgia’s third-largest county down to workers and contractors in the watershed department.

Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC FILE

Credit: KENT D. JOHNSON / AJC FILE

From 2013: Commissioner Elaine Boyer speaks during a press conference held by Interim DeKalb CEO Lee May (left) and DeKalb commissioners and how they plan to respond to the Grand Jury report. The findings of a year-long investigation into allegations of bid rigging and kickbacks in DeKalb County contracts, made public for the first time late Wednesday, allege a culture of corruption that spans two administrations and runs from the top job in Georgia’s third-largest county down to workers and contractors in the watershed department.

After hearing that DeKalb County commissioners were expected to follow the same rules as other government employees when using county-issued Visa cards, the board concluded it will be May before they can vote on a policy specific to how they spend taxpayer dollars when using plastic.

Commissioner Larry Johnson organized Tuesday’s hourlong “Lunch and Learn” in response to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation, which uncovered that Commissioner Elaine Boyer ran up thousands of dollars in personal charges on her debit card, known as a P-card.

The meeting has been the only official public reaction to the revelations about Boyer’s card misuse, although government experts have said the commission has the power to revoke her card.

In the session, the administrator of the county program explained that all 294 cardholders, including the seven county commissioners, are expected to file monthly logs of expenses that include receipts.

In turn, every department has a designated P-card representative who is tasked with providing a monthly printout from the bank that shows expenses that need to be reconciled, said administrator Travis Cherry.

Only when the log and receipts match the bank statement are the payments considered appropriate.

“This is something every department must do, every month,” Cherry said.

Boyer took none of those steps when she spent more than $12,000 on personal purchases such as airline tickets and rental cars. Under county operating procedures, she also served as her own manager to approve the spending.

Boyer, who reimbursed many of the charges within days and paid another $4,000 back after the AJC began its probe, said Tuesday she was unaware that the policy guided elected officials as well as workers.

She said last week she has suspended use of her P-card and one for her staff until a formal policy is in place.

“There was no policy for us, but I am happy we’re going to adopt one so we’re all on the same page,” Boyer said.

Johnson and Commissioner Kathie Gannon backed up Boyer’s beliefs. They have asked Chief Operating Officer Zach Williams to review other jurisdictions’ coverage for elected workers and present a recommended policy by early May.

Johnson has also requested that Williams serve as the supervisor to oversee commissioners’ P-cards, since there is no department director. Williams qualifies for but does not have a P-card of his own.

But Morris Williams, the commission’s chief of staff, has requested that his deputy, Dionne McKenzie, oversee the commissioners’ cards.

Morris Williams said he plans to delegate his own spending to McKenzie after learning he did not comply with the receipt requirement for his own P-card when buying items for the commission.

Morris Williams also requested the county consider an outside committee to examine elected officials’ P-card use, with the power to recommend discipline.

“That would allow us to have some accountability,” he said. “There is no elected official that is going to discipline another.”

What’s next: Zach Williams has said he will seek commissioner input while reaching out to other counties for their P-card policies for elected officials. He is expected to present a recommendation to the board in early May. A vote on a new policy could happen by late May.