Two DeKalb County commissioners allegedly misused their taxpayer-funded debit cards for personal spending at Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath & Beyond, the Apple online store and more, according to ethics complaints filed this week.
The complaints ask the county Board of Ethics to investigate Commissioners Sharon Barnes Sutton and Larry Johnson. The complaints were obtained Thursday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution following an open records request.
Sutton’s attorney and Johnson said Thursday that the charge cards were used for legitimate government business and not for personal gain.
The accusations against the commissioners, filed this week by DeKalb resident Rhea Johnson, also cover spending reported Sunday in an AJC investigation. That investigation found Larry Johnson had used his purchasing card to give $12,000 to help fund programs at a county performing arts center, and Sutton had bid $1,100 at a charity auction for a portrait of President Barack Obama.
“Sharon Barnes Sutton has systematically and consistently used the credit card issued to her by DeKalb County, commonly referred to as a P-card, for her own personal benefit,” Rhea Johnson wrote. Similar language accompanies his complaint against Larry Johnson.
The complaint includes card account statements from as early as January 2013, with Johnson charging the county an average of $2,001 per month and Sutton averaging $1,690 in monthly expenses.
Johnson used his card at businesses including Amazon, Brookstone, Apple and Customink T-shirts. He denied wrongdoing.
“All of my P-card purchases were for a public purpose, and none were for personal gain. I welcome the scrutiny from the Ethics Board and look forward to the opportunity to discuss this with them, if they deem it worthy of review,” Johnson, who represents southwest DeKalb, said in a statement.
Sutton’s attorney, Quinton Washington, said the commissioner complied with county purchasing rules when putting expenses on her card. Sutton, who represents east DeKalb, charged the government for spending at a variety of restaurants and stores.
“Her office has only used the card for its intended purpose, and that will be shown by the evidence,” Washington said. “There is a level of autonomy that DeKalb County commissioners have had concerning their use of these cards.”
The allegations against Johnson and Sutton are similar to those contained in a separate ethics complaint against Commissioner Elaine Boyer, who represents north DeKalb. The complaint cited an AJC investigation that revealed she spent thousands of dollars on personal purchases.
The Board of Ethics plans to begin reviewing the new cases at a June 24 meeting, when the board may decide whether to open an investigation, said acting Chairman John Ernst. The board voted unanimously May 8 that it has jurisdiction in Boyer’s case.
DeKalb CEO Lee May approved an executive order in April that made clear all elected officials must meet the same standards as county employees when putting expenses on their P-cards.
Before that, commissioners had said they didn’t think the rules applied to them or their staff.
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