Norfolk mayor says McDonald 'broke public trust'

NORFOLK

The City Council sharply curtailed Commissioner of Revenue Sharon McDonald's access to city funds Tuesday, saying her use of tens of thousands of dollars on lengthy lobbying trips violated her responsibilities as a public servant.

From now on, McDonald must receive the city manager's approval before she can travel, and her lobbying activities will be cut back, Mayor Paul Fraim said.

"Sharon felt once she had a travel budget, it was an entitlement," he said.

"There is no logical justification for the... hundreds of hotel room stays, hundreds and hundreds of meals, gifts, et cetera. The council no longer has faith in the commissioner's ability to exercise sound judg ment over her budget."

A city audit found no criminal wrongdoing, which McDonald had called a vindication. After a unanimous council vote to limit McDonald's spending Tuesday night, Fraim saw things differently.

"She misses the point," he said. "No one expected to find that Sharon broke any criminal laws.

"What's clear to us is she broke the public trust. We all expected, as a public servant, she would exercise sound discretion and protect the public purse. In the council's opinion, that discretion was abused."

The council discussed the changes in closed session and made no public comment. In his comments after the meeting, Fraim said he spoke for a "united council."

Along with limiting travel, the council also continued indefinitely a hiring freeze already in place in McDonald's office. The city will eliminate one position - McDonald's personal assistant, who often accompanied her on lobbying trips - from the budget.

Although McDonald is a state employee, her salary and the salaries of her employees are subsidized by Norfolk. Her travel budget also comes from the city.

McDonald did not answer her phone Tuesday night, and her voicemail was full. She has planned a news conference to discuss the audit this morning.

As a constitutional officer, she previously had discretion in using her travel budget. Most of the money was spent on conferences and trips to Richmond during the last three winters to lobby the General Assembly on behalf of the Commissioner of Revenue Association of Virginia.

In at least one case, her lobbying conflicted with the city's interests.

The city's audit analyzed 754 transactions totaling $80,114 in purchases between July 2005 and March 2010. For more than $30,000 of spending, McDonald kept no receipts or insufficient receipts, in violation of city credit card policy, City Auditor John Sanderlin said Tuesday.

His staff had to use e-mails, conference agendas and planners to piece together the trail of expenses, the large majority of which, he said, appeared to be for legitimate business purposes.

The audit found McDonald spent more than 127 days in Richmond, mostly over the past three years, and that she and her staff spent an additional 79 days in regional and state professional meetings. During one General Assembly session, she stayed 60 nights in a row at a hotel.

The state Commissioner of the Revenue association reimbursed Norfolk for McDonald's expenses during the 2009 and 2010 General Assembly sessions, but the city was not reimbursed for nearly $11,000 she spent in 2008.

McDonald also has reimbursed the city more than $3,100 for personal purchases she made with her city credit card.

In a written response to the audit, she said she had begun improving her office's record-keeping to make sure it was "above reproach." She added that her lobbying efforts helped bring roughly $1.5 million in additional state funding to her office.

Fraim said the council would have further discussions about what - if any - lobbying activities would be allowed under McDonald's spending restrictions. If McDonald uses state association money to directly pay her lobbying expenses, that would be allowable and outside council control, the mayor said.

The council's decision Tuesday puts McDonald in line with city department heads, who also must receive City Manager Regina V.K. Williams' approval prior to traveling, City Attorney Bernard Pishko said.

Meghan Hoyer, (757) 446-2293, meghan.hoyer@pilotonline.com