Auditor seeks rules on travel, expenses

Officeholders don't have to comply with the recommendations.
& lt;a href=mailto:leigh@vindy.com & gt;By NORMAN LEIGH & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Columbiana County government departments should adopt travel and expense policies that help protect taxpayers' money, county Auditor Nancy Milliken says.
Milliken called for offices to implement more restrictive guidelines after expressing concern with lavish and questionable spending practices outlined in stories that appeared in Sunday's Vindicator.
A nearly three-month-long probe by the newspaper found, among other things, the public was being charged for valet parking, out-of-state trips to tourist destinations, stays in premium hotels and resorts, and meal buys that weren't supported with itemized receipts.
County health Commissioner Robert Morehead's use of a county-issued credit card in 2003 for hundreds of dollars in personal buys has prompted Prosecutor Robert Herron to request a state audit of the agency and to order a criminal probe.
"We should be watching the taxpayers' dollars," Milliken said.
Earlier this year, she rearranged her three-person bookkeeping staff to assign one person to examine travel and expense reports.
In some cases, county departments rely on their own written travel policies. Others use commissioner-issued guidelines. But none of the policies appears to address the questionable spending practices outlined by The Vindicator.
Here's the problem
Some departments have no written policy in place, which is required, Milliken said.
Dane Walton, administrator for juvenile court, which, along with probate court, has spent about $16,100 since 2001 on out-of-state trips for conferences and training, said the courts rely on "common sense."
Milliken recommended that new policies be adopted that forbid certain travel practices now engaged in by some county officials.
Banned should be the habit of billing the public for overnight stays when officials visit Columbus for one-day meetings and conferences, Milliken said.
Officials who do so argue that going to Columbus and back in a single day is exhausting and inconvenient. The nearly 162-mile trip takes about three hours one way.
It's reasonable for officials to want to spend the night, Milliken said. But taxpayers shouldn't be charged for the convenience, she added.
"That needs to be addressed," Milliken said.
Another practice she objects to is some county officials' charging taxpayers for an evening meal when they're on the road.
Milliken and a few other county officials don't do that, reasoning that the evening meal is after the working day and they would be eating at home anyway.
Changes proposed
Travel policies should perhaps include limits on publicly funded stays in premium hotels and swanky resorts -- a practice common among some officeholders who argue they stay at pricey places because they're at or near where the conference they're attending is being held.
Often, though, less-expensive lodging is nearby.
"It would be the best practice to check rates. We should try finding the cheapest rate" for rooms, as long as it wouldn't have officials staying at a flea-bag motel in a bad neighborhood, Milliken said.
Another change she proposes regards receipt submittals. Instead of the nonitemized receipts for meals county officials often submit, the county should require detailed slips showing exactly what was purchased, Milliken said.
Reviewing itemized receipts helps ensure that taxpayers aren't paying for alcoholic beverages with meals -- something that can't be determined by examining a lump-sum slip, Milliken said.
There's no clear evidence that county officials have charged the public for booze on their travels.
But a review of 2003 county travel records revealed numerous instances of meals' being purchased at places that serve alcohol. In some cases, lounge charges were noted on records. Yet no itemized slips were submitted with such expense reports.
There's nothing to force county departments to incorporate her recommendations, Milliken acknowledged.
In fact, some departments previously have resisted being told what to do about travel.
Milliken recalled that nearly two decades ago, before she became auditor, commissioners tried to persuade department heads to adopt a blanket, countywide travel policy.
Some officials just tossed the proposal in the trash, she remembered.