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The Indio City Council will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday inside City Council chambers, 150 Civic Center Mall.
Info: (760) 391-4000
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Check out previous Desert Sun stories about the Indio credit card controversy, including the original special reports that led the city to change its policy, at www.mydesert.com/creditcards
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Casual lunch between coworkers on the city dime and monthly credit card statements that exceed $5,000 will not be tolerated under a new credit card policy Indio city leaders are considering.
The 13-page proposal released Friday will “strengthen” and replace the current two-page policy and is set to go before the Indio City Council on Wednesday.
City Manager Glenn Southard did not return a phone call for comment on the new policy and other city employees declined to comment Friday.
Mayor Gene Gilbert, who was instrumental in changing the policy, said the new guidelines will provide clarity.
“It holds people accountable. Nobody will be able to sidestep any issue,” he said.
The new policy follows a Desert Sun special report on Jan. 3 that showed the city's 62 cardholders had charged more than $805,000 since January 2008 on everything from nationwide travel, frequent meals out and tickets to three national sporting events.
Southard has defended the city's credit card use as necessary for city business.
However, the number of issued cards and certain expenditures surprised some City Council members.
As a result, Gilbert asked that most credit cards be revoked and spending tightened until a new policy was adopted.
The draft crafted by Mark Wasserman, assistant to the Indio city manager, is intended to “enhance internal controls,” according to a staff report he authored.
Wasserman is off work for two weeks and was not available for comment Friday.
New policy details include:
Individual monthly purchase caps that “in no event shall exceed $5,000.”
Under the current policy, one employee spent more than $11,000 in one month.
Each card is specifically designed to avoid confusion with personal credit cards. City Manager Glenn Southard blamed a mix-up in cards for a flight for his wife to Quebec that appeared on his statement.
No alcohol.
Employees must fill out a transaction log that includes details on every purchase and submit that each month with other documentation.
No meals between employees during a normal course of business unless travel is involved.
Under the current policy, some employees ate lunch and dinner frequently and charged the meals on a city credit card.
When Gilbert reviewed the credit card statements obtained by The Desert Sun, he said he found the food and travel expenses to be “excessive.”
He said it appeared as though employees thought “if you are thinking about the city of Indio, you can write this off.”
Councilman Glenn Miller agreed that some employees may have taken “liberties” with the current policy.
He had not seen the proposed policy Friday but thinks 13 pages may be overkill.
“I think we're going from one extreme to the other,” he said.
Much of the criticism the city is receiving for its credit card spending is because of perception, he said.
Miller said residents who are struggling don't want to see employees eating out all the time and traveling.
“Obviously, there should have been a checks and balances on what was reasonable. They should have been going through those bills a little bit better with a fine-tooth-comb,” he said.
Xochitl Peña covers Indio and Coachella for The Desert Sun. She can be reached at (760) 778-4647 or at xochitl.pena@thedesertsun.com.
