October 13, 2009
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News: Florida Agency Misuses Gov't CC
There appears to be a growing number of governmental agencies that experienced questionable practices and credit card misuse among its employees. One study showed that 41% of the card transaction of the federal government's issued supplies cards are unauthorized purchases. Earlier this year in Cherokee, Alabama library patrons learned that their librarian had been terminated due to allegations that she fraudulently used a library's credit card. In New York, the Western New York AmeriCorps (WNY AmeriCorps) employees became the target of an investigation when employees with the non-profit organization had been using the City of West Seneca's credit cards to purchase gas and liquor. The list could go on and on. School districts, government agencies, and court systems just to name a few have been touched by these scandals which have challenged agencies to seek out alternative methods to meet the needs of its employees in doing every day business. Rochester City School District in New York handled the situation by issuing nearly 350 cards known as purchase cards (p-cards) to employees for the purchase of inexpensive necessary supplies.
The latest scandal surrounding credit card misuse to hit a government agency involves the Florida Clerks of Court Operations Corporation (CCOC). Florida Auditor General David Martin released his audit report that indicates the agency has some questionable practices, sloppy record keeping, and poor performance issues. The audit which was conducted from July 2008 through June 2009 outlined five significant areas of neglect and abuse. Issues involved the agency's failure to adequately monitor revenue and expenditures; inconsistencies in clerks' reported data; failure to follow proper contract guidelines; credit card abuse by employees who had used the agency's cards for personal reasons; and discrepancies in record keeping.
In response to the audit results, CCOC Executive Council Chair Howard Forman said the agency was in complete agreement with the assessment. He also noted that employees have used the agency's credit card from time to time for convenience purposes and that the agency has been reimbursed for all personal expenditures.