The Black Informant

State-issued credit cards’ use runs gamut

With shaky standards and thousands of purchases, more audits coming

By ANDREA JONES, MEGAN CLARKE

Pornography, tattoos, concerts, dating services — you name it, state and local employees have charged it and taxpayers have paid for it.

A Journal-Constitution analysis of more than four million transactions on government purchasing cards in the last three years reveals a program that has morphed from a simple way for workers to buy office supplies into a spending spree on track to hit $370 million this year.

There are now more than 23,000 cards floating around the state. State, city and county employees used the cards to buy hundreds of thousands of items, from mattresses to jewelry, the records show.

The cards function as Bank of America credit cards and are billed to government agencies.

When an employee of Georgia Perimeter College, for example, spent $51.55 at drnatura.com — “The #1 Colon Cleansing and Body Detox Resource,” — that charge would have appeared on a bill paid by the college’s Student Life Department.

Other agencies paid charges of $2,024.68 to Brooks Brothers (Georgia Tech); $1,800 at Frank’s Gun Shop (Department of Human Resources/Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund); $2,335 to a dentist; (Ware County Board of Commissioners); $1,140.20 at Bridal Basics (Middle Georgia Technical College) and $326.32 at Mac’s Beer and Wine (Georgia Tech), records show.

Clayton State University and DeKalb County schools both paid charges at Ed’s Pawn Shop — $720 and $160 respectively.

While state officials say the vast majority of purchases are legitimate — University System spokesman John Millsaps said the colon cleansing was a prize for a health fair — there are plenty that raise questions.

In many cases, the questions are complicated by shaky policies and practices on card usage.

Here are a few categories of state and local employees’ card charges since 2005, according to the AJC analysis:

• • $13 million in travel expenses, including $6 million for plane tickets, $240,000 in booking fees and $6.1 million in hotel and resort charges.

• • Nearly $6 million at Amazon.com

• • $2.2 million at florists

• • $9.3 million at restaurants and caterers, including $657,000 at Chick-fil-A

• • At least $91,000 at jewelers

• • More than $56,000 on gift cards.

Purchasing-card policy prohibits purchases of gift cards, as well as fuel and professional services like doctors or lawyers. Entertainment is off-limits, but some travel expenses are allowed. The policy specifically prohibits personal use of the cards. (more…)

When we lived in Georgia some years ago, I used to contract with a federal facility in the Atlanta area. I cannot begin to tell you the amount of waste and outright theft that I saw going on a regular basis. On top of all of that was the gross level of politiking I saw on all levels. I used to get so frustrated because anytime I discovered something that was obviously wrong and tried to report it, my superiors would always remind me of the connections individual the had going up to the national level and how that could be damaging to our ’sweet deal’. Now that I am completely out of that world and thankfully making more money, I see how that crap is still kicking me on my backside every time we have a ‘good month’. Both my wife and I have worked our way out of welfare and are now doing extremely well. However that accomplishment at times can be anything but celebratory when thousands of dollars are taken out of our check to feed a government that will not regulate itself.

I know I am going to revisit this topic in the near future.