April 27, 2010
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News: South Carolina's Watchful Eye On Spending
Residents of South Carolina will soon be able to view credit card spending by state agencies. State Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom announced that his office has begun posting monthly credit card spending for employees using state agencies. Eckstrom said the decision to post the spending details arose from growing concern after discovering state agencies spending over $250 million last year on state credit cards. The move provides SC residents with more transparency while one government agency after another across the nation has uncovered abusive card practices of government cards.
Information detailing overall state agency spending has been up and running since 2008. The site which can be accessed at http://www.cg.sc.gov/agencytransparency/ now goes a step further by breaking it down expenditures to highlight state agencies' credit card spending. Eckstrom has been encouraging South Carolinians to visit the website and track how government officials are spending their hard earned tax dollars. He believes every taxpayer has the right to know who is spending what and how agency credit cards are being used. This website is one more avenue in providing clarity and transparency in SC's spending. Residents in SC will have the capabilities of questioning any expense that they feel is questionable.
Eckstrom also noted that he was not aware of any fraudulent or abusive card spending within South Carolina's state agencies. He did mention an incident that occurred in 2008 where an employee of Georgia Tech allegedly stole nearly $350,000 over a six year period while using a government issued card. That incident led to an investigation whereby Georgia discovered 18 different cases of credit card abuse. Several other state agencies have also uncovered abusive card spending as well. An ongoing and exploding scandal involving the alleged abuse of Florida's GOP party cards by party leaders fueled an IRS and FBI investigation. Several members of the party have already lost their jobs and could be facing criminal charges.