After Dede Hinote's termination, audit shows all Walton commissioners violated credit card policy

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — After the Walton County Commission voted in March to terminate Dede Hinote following an investigation into her use of a county credit card, the then-deputy county administrator publicly accused four members of the five-person board of likewise violating county card policies.

As it turned out she was mistaken. It was all five. And an internal audit conducted by the Walton County Clerk of Court's office found that two of them, commissioners Trey Nick and Danny Glidewell, had violated county policies more than 100 times each in a 28-month period.

"They fired Dede Hinote for two damn charges," animated citizen activist Suzanne Harris said of the auditor's findings.

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Auditors found Nick had committed 88 "purchase card discrepancies" and failed to turn in travel vouchers 52 times between Oct. 1, 2018, and Jan. 31 of this year. Glidewell's numbers were 46 and 78.

They also found 28 discrepancies in Commissioner "Boots" McCormick's records, 24 in Commissioner Tony Anderson's records and eight in Commission Chairman Mike Barker's records. McCormick had misplaced 13 travel vouchers and Barker and Anderson had misplaced six each.

The purchase card transactions violated not only the county's policies but, "in certain instances," state law as well, the auditors found.

Walton County Administration Public Information Officer Rachel Jenkins released a statement Tuesday that acknowledged the audit and said the board has previously directed staff to investigate similar issues.

"Staff has been conducting review of existing policies and practices for those issues related to all County employees and County Commissioners, and has been developing policy revisions to address identified issues, many of which overlap with those identified by the Clerk," the statement read.

The unauthorized charges ranged from small ones, like McCormick's $7.71 purchase at "Bootlegger's Bar and Liquor," to substantial, such as Nick paying $7,085 for him and his aide, Scott Brannon, to attend the 2020 National Association of Counties Conference.

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Nick's spending on that trip "was inconsistent when compared to other commissioners who attended," the auditors said. "One commissioner's rooms for himself and his aide was significantly more than the other attendees."

Two rooms booked by Nick rented for $683 per night each. The auditors presented a table with a comparison showing another commissioner's booking of $299 each per night. Nick also paid $811 on the same trip for a plane ride that was originally booked at $299.

"Changes were made to the original flight reservations incurring additional fees of $850. Preferred seating fees of $174.80 were also incurred," the auditors reported. "Justification for the fees in excess of other travelers was not provided, nor was a travel voucher submitted."

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County travel policy dictates that a traveling official will find the most economical lodgings available. It also states that the traveler will be responsible for covering the cost of "preferred seating" options and that the county will only reimburse at the coach level flight rate.

Glidewell, Anderson, McCormick and Nick were all identified in the documents as having claimed reimbursement for exercising preferred seating options over the audited time period.

Nick also was dinged by auditors for receiving reimbursement for $182 in charges incurred in December 2019 at the Hilton Sandestin in Miramar Beach. Policy states that in-county travel will not be paid for with taxpayer dollars unless justification for the expense is provided.

"No documentation was provided to justify the necessity of the charge," the auditors report said.

Rooming charges incurred by Nick at the 2021 Florida Association of Counties Trust Risk Management Conference also appeared to be higher than those of other attendees, the report found.

The Clerk's Office initiated its internal audit in January, according to the report, when an unidentified source reported that commissioners McCormick and Glidewell were abusing their privileges as elected officials by using county vehicles for their personal uses and obtaining mileage payment for their personal vehicles.

The reporting person also accused McCormick and Glidewell of driving their county vehicles to the liquor store and using their county-issued credit card to purchase alcohol.

Auditors uncovered no findings specific to the original allegations.

The investigators identified two charges from Glidewell for airline baggage that were incurred by someone who was not a county employee.

A transaction for a hotel room was identified in which no itemized receipt was submitted, the report said. A memo Glidewell provided for support of the charge states that the room was canceled and that the charge would be refunded.

"As of March 2, 2022, a refund has not been received," auditors said.

Auditors also identified two charges for attending the 2019 Florida Association of Counties Legislative Conference, attributed to Nick, in which the flight times did not correspond with the conference dates.

They also identified two charges for attending the 2020 Florida Association of Counties Legislative Conference in which Glidewell provided dates of stay that didn't match up to the dates when the conference was held.

The statement released Tuesday said county staff learned during the audit that the Clerk of Court intended to adopt a new P-Card policy.

"During a meeting with the Clerk of Court, staff concurred with many of the Clerk’s recommended changes and advised of numerous revisions to be recommended to the Board for adoption that go beyond what the Clerk has proposed," the statement read. "Now that county staff has received and reviewed a copy of the audit and the new policy, the Board will be presented and shall consider revisions to the relevant policies at upcoming Board meetings.

"The findings of the Clerk’s audit reveal what the Board has previously identified as a systemic breakdown of policies within the prior administration of the County and an improper reliance on practice over written policy by those responsible for administering these programs," the statement added. "Current staff has echoed these concerns and undertaken wholesale revisions to eliminate these issues and prevent any future occurrences. With the combined efforts of all involved, the Board looks forward to more fully addressing these issues and adopting solutions in the coming weeks."

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: All Walton commisisoners violated credit card policy, audit finds