Indio Mayor Gene Gilbert talks with a reporter from The Desert Sun on Monday in front of Indio City Hall. / Omar Ornelas The Desert Sun
Southard: ‘Only one city ticket was purchased'
Indio City Manager Glenn Southard is meeting with The Desert Sun today to provide insight into the city's credit card spending.
On Monday, in a brief e-mail exchange with The Desert Sun's executive editor, Southard wanted to make sure the public knew that taxpayers only funded one ticket when he and his wife, Gale, went to Quebec in conjunction with the International City/County Management Association's annual meeting in September.
Records show that in April, taxpayers paid for a $533.10 ticket in Gale Southard's name on the city manager's card.
“The point on the ticket is most people assume the city also purchased a ticket for me when what happened is the cards got mixed up,” Southard wrote in an e-mail. “It needs to be clear only one city ticket was purchased.”
The city's travel policy states “expenses for spouse or family members who accompany an employee on a trip are the employee's responsibility.”
Records also indicate Southard's card covered a $15 baggage fee for his wife on a different trip to Sacramento.
Southard has not answered the newspaper's question on whether he reimbursed the city for the expenses.
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Indio city officials on Monday began pulling the majority of the 62 staff-issued credit cards and tightening oversight amid questions from council members and residents about City Hall's spending habits.
The move comes after The Desert Sun reported Sunday that city staff and council members had charged more than $805,000 since January 2008 on taxpayer-funded credit cards.
Records show that as of October, employees were on pace to charge more in 2009 than in 2008. That spending included nationwide travel, frequent meals at local restaurants and tickets to three national sporting events.
The spending continued at a time when Indio's economy continued to sour, leaving a $9 million budget deficit that's prompted an early retirement proposal and warnings of staff layoffs.
Three council members on Monday defended the bulk of the spending as legitimate city business.
Mayor Gene Gilbert, however, met with City Manager Glenn Southard early Monday to urge “that he bring all credit cards in” and establish new rules for such spending.
The new protocol would require that most of the cards be held with the finance department. About 35 to 40 cards were in the process of being recalled Monday, leaving only department heads, key managers and council members with their direct control of their cards.
Gilbert, who launched his own independent probe of the nearly 1,000 pages of statements the newspaper reviewed, said he issued a similar call to Southard two weeks ago. Southard, however, told him it couldn't be done over the holidays, Gilbert said.
“For the most part the expenses are explainable and within policy,” Gilbert said after the hour-long, private meeting at City Hall.
“I asked that travel be restrained unless it's a mandated class for these people to keep up their certificates. If that's the case, travel by all means. I asked that (Southard) OK all out-of-state travel himself.”
When asked for an interview by a Desert Sun reporter Monday, Southard's secretary said he was not available. Southard, who previously declined to answer the newspaper's 11 written questions, has agreed to meet with The Desert Sun today to discuss the city's credit card policies.
“Credit cards are the way most people do business. Obviously you have to make sure what you do is appropriate,” Human Services Manager Dave Ison told The Desert Sun for Sunday's report.
“I can assure you no one is buying anything for themselves on the city dime.”
Gilbert said Southard would provide him more extensive details by Friday. Councilman Glenn Miller has also called on Southard to provide more answers.
“I hold Glenn (Southard) responsible first; I hold council responsible second,” said Miller, who also had a meeting Monday with Southard. “He should have been in front of it. He needs to answer the questions.
“Most of (the spending) I perceive is going to be very innocent but we should be leading the way and unfortunately we weren't as prudent as we could have been.
“If we made mistakes, we need to own up to them and find out how could we have done this better.”
The city's use of credit cards was flagged by auditors as early as 2006, when officials warned that a lack of receipts made it difficult to prove whether the spending was valid.
Sunday's report sparked a flurry of responses by Indio residents and Desert Sun readers, many of whom questioned why taxpayers were covering the cost of travel and meals at a time when the city's budget was being tightened.
The council does not regularly review credit card statements, but does approve the final payment to the bank.
Mayor Pro Tem Ben Godfrey said he was previously unaware of the spending habits. He said he was “very surprised” the city had 62 cardholders, noting it is “impossible to keep track of that.”
“Most of that $800,000 was on doing business for the city of Indio and not doing lunch and travel,” Godfrey told The Desert Sun.
“Most of that money was spent on legitimate expenses and they use the credit cards as a tool.
“I think to pull the credit cards is essential to ensuring that things don't fall through the cracks as they seem to have. (It's) easy to monitor.”
Council members Melanie Fesmire and Lupe Ramos Watson, who has been traveling, could not be reached on their cell phones Monday.
The council is expected to meet Wednesday to discuss an early retirement incentive that's being proposed as part of budget-saving measures.
No agenda was released Monday, but officials said the city's spending and credit card policy likely will be discussed.
“I'm not on a witch hunt. I'm here to get answers so we can provide them to the residents of Indio,” Miller said.
“If something happened and there's reason for disciplinary action, I think the mayor and council should take action, including termination for anybody. But let's let the chips fall where they fall.”
