Health department chief racks up thousands on official accounts

Novels, golf accessories, local meals and Christmas gifts were bought.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
F THERE IS A GROUND ZERO IN Columbiana County government for questionable spending on travel and other items, it exists at the health department, headed by longtime Commissioner Robert Morehead.
Morehead's small, cluttered workspace at the department, located on a hilltop north of Lisbon, contains sturdy oak furniture, including a roll-top desk. On the walls hang framed prints of wolves. Ohio State Buckeyes memorabilia and a mug collection occupy crowded bookshelves.
"I'm a big believer in books," Morehead said. His 2003 expense reports support that statement.
They include more than $680 in Barnes & amp; Noble Bookseller buys made with Morehead's county-issued Visa credit card.
Debts incurred on the card are paid with public money that comes from taxes and fees collected for services provided by the health department.
Morehead said, without offering specifics, that some of the books were for office use, yet a review of the receipts shows few buys that would seem to fit that category.
Purchases included right-wing political commentaries such as "Who's Watching Out for You" and "The Dark Side of Liberalism"; novels, such as "The DaVinci Code" and "Perish Twice"; as well as calendars and magazines.
No documentation
Morehead insisted that he reimbursed the county for the personal buys, though documentation to support that claim wasn't "handy," he said.
Several days later, he provided a copy of a personal check for $387.33 made out to the county health department in January 2004. He failed to return a call seeking further explanation.
County Auditor Nancy Milliken said she could find no record of $387.33 being paid back into health department funds.
The correct reimbursement procedure, Milliken said, would have been to write a check to the county treasurer's office, not the health department.
Morehead said he has used the county card to buy books and other personal items because it's handier. "I don't like carrying around a lot of credit cards," he said.
In June 2003, he used the Visa card to buy a visor, three brass ball markers and a glove at the Longaberger Golf Club in Nashport, Ohio. Total cost was $51.94.
"I didn't know those were on the county card," Morehead said of the buys. "They shouldn't have been. I'll reimburse that."
Mail-order purchases
In December, Morehead used the Visa for a $111.85 buy from "Herrington, The Enthusiasts Catalog," a New Hampshire mail-order business.
The purchase included two Ohio State Buckeyes lights and two Swiss Army knives. The items were Christmas gifts for staff members, Morehead said without naming the recipients.
He said he reimbursed for the purchases but offered no proof.
Other 2003 buys that Morehead claimed include a $26.86 "Bubba Stik," which he described as a hefty cane suitable for self-defense.
"We sometimes get fruitcakes who come in here," he explained.
The public paid for flowers. A $34.50 florist buy in April 2003 was for a staff member who had had a death in the family. The expense should have been met through a collection among employees, Morehead acknowledged.
Flowers were bought again in November, this time for $81.70 from the same florist, a charge Morehead was unable to clear up.
Other charges
Other county Visa expenses Morehead couldn't account for include a $21.39 charge from the men's section at Marshall's department store in Pittsburgh; a $13.79 charge from a souvenir shop in Daytona Beach while he was vacationing; and a $44.97 bill from the Levenger Catalog, a mail-order company that advertises itself as offering "Tools for Serious Readers."
"Don't have a clue," Morehead said of the Levenger buy.
In response to Vindicator questions, Morehead said he will stop putting personal charges on the county-issued card.
"We'll tighten up those kinds of things," he said.
County cards must never be used for personal buys, even if an official intends to pay them back, Milliken said.
"Absolutely not," she emphasized. "There's too much chance for misuse."
Milliken said she objects to officials' even having county-issued credit cards, although she said she can't stop department heads from getting them.
Besides the health department, the sheriff's department has a credit card. A review of its monthly statements yielded no indications of misuse.
Meal expenses
In 2003, Morehead declared as business expenses nearly 40 meals worth about $800 at Pondi's, a Lisbon restaurant and bar popular with county workers, most of whom pay for their meals out of their own pocket.
Morehead's total meal claims in 2003, including the Pondi's bills, fare at other local restaurants and food bought on his travels, amount to about $2,300. That includes tips, some higher than 20 percent.
Many of the claims were made without being documented by itemized receipts.
One common trait of the nonitemized slips is that whey were for meals bought at places that serve alcohol, such as Pondi's, Hooters and Joe's Crab Shack.
Two of Morehead's expense claims were for "lounge" charges, according to a statement for his publicly funded, Dec. 8-10 stay at the posh Cherry Valley Lodge in Newark. The charges, made after 9 p.m., weren't itemized.
Morehead said he never claims alcoholic drinks as an expense. Yet he acknowledged that handing in detailed receipts would help prove that. He'll start submitting itemized slips for all his purchases, he said.
Charged to public
In cases where Morehead did provide detailed slips, they show he charged the public for cookies, candy, bottled water and a $3.18 watch battery.
"Why shouldn't I?" said Morehead, who earns $78,904 a year.
He also declared the $7.51 he paid for a poncho he bought at the Salt Fork Gift Shop in Cambridge.
"I had a flat tire, and it was raining," he said. "I was on county business."
Morehead's 2003 travels included an estimated 21 trips to Columbus, 15 of which resulted in overnight stays that cost about $2,304 in hotel bills.
Morehead, who has been health commissioner for nearly 14 years, defended the Columbus travel, saying much of it was for conferences and for his membership on two statewide health committees, an involvement that he said helps improve the lives of county residents.
Travel reimbursements
When he drives on county business, Morehead is paid 32 cents per mile, though most county employees are reimbursed at a 29-cent rate.
The mileage payment is to cover the cost of gasoline and vehicle upkeep, yet Morehead was paid $51 for carwashes last year in addition to his mileage.
The carwash reimbursements were for cleaning his vehicle after trips to muddy or dusty landfills, he said.
Morehead was unable to clear up why he also was paid about $335 for gasoline purchases in addition to his mileage reimbursement.
When asked about the appearance of impropriety suggested by some of his spending, Morehead shot back, "Now you're questioning my integrity. I haven't done anything illegal, immoral or unethical."
He also justified certain departmental expenses paid with public money in 2003, including a nearly $1,400 bill from Lands' End for 25 work jackets for health department staff members. The garments cost $49.50 to $55 each, plus the cost of monogramming them with the department logo.
The staff reimbursed half the jackets' expense, Morehead said.
The department also spent $371.50 in 2003 for coffee and coffee-making supplies so the brew is on hand for staff and visitors. Morehead insisted the cost was justifiable.
Auditor's concerns
Milliken voiced concern about Morehead's spending practices.
"If I'd seen this," she said, "I would have taken it to the state auditor, and said, 'What should we do?'"
Milliken explained that she lacks enough staff to scrutinize travel spending as thoroughly as she'd like. In some counties, one person is assigned that task full time, she said.
Steps are being taken to do more in Columbiana County, she added.
Earlier this year, she rearranged her three-person bookkeeping staff to assign one employee the additional task of examining credit card statements, purchase orders and other documents.
"We were worried that we were missing things," Milliken said when asked what prompted the move.
She added, however, that the job probably will be overwhelming for one person who has other duties as well.
leigh@vindy.com