The Virginian-Pilot
©
VIRGINIA BEACH
A deputy city manager said Thursday he has recommended that all department directors conduct reviews of credit card purchases even as the city's auditor identified about $15,000 in questionable expenses by a former tourism official.
In an e-mail Tuesday, Deputy City Manager Dave Hansen reminded agency leaders of Virginia Beach's policy on credit cards and that they should schedule a routine monthly examination to ensure that employees are in compliance.
"It's a polite reminder to do what you're supposed to be doing," Hansen said.
After The Virginian-Pilot raised questions about credit card bills from Reggie Stevenson earlier this month, the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau asked police and the auditor to investigate.
In April, Stevenson resigned for an unrelated issue as a national sales representative for the bureau after working for the city for seven years.
He used his credit card for a $250 meal in Washington, D.C., on New Year's Eve, for grocery store purchases, trips to coffee shops and to buy alcohol.
Between January 2009 and his last day, Stevenson put about $52,000 on his city-issued Visa and was among the top 10 spenders on city credit cards.
Among the purchases that officials have flagged are meals in Portsmouth, Suffolk and Norfolk and trips out of state where he was unlikely to have clients, City Auditor Lyndon Remias said.
Remias has asked CVB officials to review those receipts. Jim Ricketts, director of the bureau, said his staff will meet today to start that examination.
Ricketts declined to comment much more about the credit card charges because "the investigation has really taken hold."
Virginia Beach's credit card policy requires employees to submit their receipts and a monthly log of their purchases with explanations of the expenses.
Each department has an assigned program manager who reviews the charges for appropriateness and ensures that all the paperwork is in place.
In Stevenson's case, the program manager signed off on the monthly statements.
"Something broke down," Hansen said. "There are some highly unusual charges on this record. How this got by undetected at the monthly review... is of great concern to our leadership."
Deirdre Fernandes, (757) 222-5121, deirdre.fernandes@pilotonline.com
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accountablity?
in the private sector the accountability falls on the approver as well as the employee.
somebody had to signoff on his expenses. whose responsibility is that? why are we NOT talking about that person. somebody had to say it was ok to purchase groceries from Food Lion!???
He is of the
welfare mentality, i.e., government OWES them. Has no remorse, lacks responsibility and accountability. Freewheeling, big spender....hope he gets years behind bars...ooops, there we go paying room and board for another criminal. Big mentality around here is to stick your fingers into the cookie jar of taxpayers money as if it is an entitlement.
Work ethic declines in direct relationship to the increase in welfare, government jobs, politico fund raisers, lieawyers fraud and theivery, etc. Nothing new in the news except more and more white collar crime.
Until the judges get harsh..(oh, except for their bar, booze swizzling lieawyer buddies) then this stealing from taxpayers will continue.
Eventually the middle class will be eroded. You can have just so many mooches on our backs.
THIS IS WHY YOU DON'T *EVER* TRUST YOUR GOVERNMENT
Notice the statement in the article, "After The Virginian-Pilot raised questions about credit card bills from Reggie Stevenson ..." The City would NEVER have pursued this without somebody else poking around (thank goodness)! The City would be happy to go merrily along and spend the tax money they steal from you (yes, STEAL, since this money wasn't used for legitimate purposes). This is why I do all I can to keep my money out of the City's slimy hands. If they don't call what they do "stealing", then neither do I! You watch, Reggiw will be kept in his job, since they need to keep minorities at high levels to look good. You're being screwed and you don't even know it.
$52,000 in a year + 1/2?
How much of that amount is in question?
How much convention business did Mr Stevenson bring in during that year & a half?
How much tax revenue did that $52,000 generate?
What is the industry average for lobbying/marketing as a percentage of convention booking revenues brought in?
Easy to write a sensational article and jump on the "burn city hall down" bandwagon, but the full scope of bigger picture wasn't brought into view.
The City of Virginia Beach is competing with cities in this area and up and down the seaboard for business. $2 "Virginia Beach" souvenir t-shirts don't cut it when they have an inferior product such as a convention center without a HQ hotel. If the two $90 massages brought VB a $2 million convention, then Mr Stevenson should be praised for thinking outside the box.
Oversight only works when it's done
The problem with governing is these jokers that get put in office put procedures in place to have proper oversight over departments and policies, and then the personnel that are put in place to do the oversight don't do their jobs. You can point to every problem we have now in the country - medicare, medicaid, social security, housing, secuirties and exchange, the federal reserve...... it goes on and on and on. We would not be in the mess that we are all in right now if the proper oversight was performed and then proper actions were taken to correct the errors that happened. You want government to get better, vote for independents, not "independents" who switch party labels to hold on to their jobs, but true independents that have no ties to the major political parties. Government of the people, by the people and for the people, not party.
I think too many people are
I think too many people are asleep at the wheel!
Give em
hell! Mr. Remias
Come On Now...
I see comments that seem to broad brush all city employees as being dishonest and incompetent. This is not the case but what I expect in this current poisonous atmosphere towards govt. There are rules in place for pro-card use and there is regular reviewing of charges for certain items that are not allowed to be purchased with credit cards. Mr. Hansen should know this so either he failed to say this to the reporter or the reporter failed to mention it. The department in question where this guy worked, Convention & Visitor's Bureau, operates differently from operational departments. Their employess wine and dine people to bring conventions to the city. It is not difficult to see that catching someone charging for food and drink outside of valid charges for food and drink might be a lot harder than with agencies that cannot purchase such items with their cards. The supervisor who signed off should be held accountable, but this should not be a blanket condemnation on everyone working for the city.
Reprehensible!
And cities and the state wonder why they have no money and are forced to cut back on critical services such as education. Maybe if they recoup all of the money illegally spent by their employees’ use of credit cards, we could hire a few more teachers.
I have a government credit card (Citibank Visa) that was issued for use while on permissive travel. The card is only to be used for lodging, food, rental car, gas, and other travel-related expenses. We also have limits as to how much we're allowed to spend on food and lodging. To minimize abuse, the card is blocked from use at businesses that would not be needed for travel, such as Best Buy, liquor stores, massage parlours, etc. My question – why doesn’t the city/state place the same type of block on their cards or limit how much is spent? I know it won’t stop abusers from buying $75 margaritas, but it would cut down on some of the abuse.
VB credit cards
Nice job closing the barn door AFTER the the horse has left council. Now Pilot , you wrote that he was ''among'' the top ten spenders -- now finish the job and publish a detailed list of the other nine or more if you have the courage .