Walton Commission to meet Tuesday to discuss controversial audit report on credit card usage

DeFUNIAK SPRINGS — An audit that found Walton County commissioners had indiscriminately and in some cases illegally used county-issued credit cards to spend thousands in taxpayer dollars will be addressed Tuesday at a special called meeting.

The 1 p.m. meeting at the County Courthouse in DeFuniak Springs will be conducted ahead of both a 2 p.m. budget discussion and the regularly scheduled 4 p.m. County Commission meeting, according to interim County Attorney Clay Adkinson.

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"I'd like to see the clerk present to discuss some of the audit findings and take questions from commissioners," Adkinson said. "This will be the first chance for commissioners to discuss it in an open forum."

The Clerk's Office declined to comment on the audit or whether Clerk of Courts Alex Alford or a representative would be present.

The audit report, which was produced in April but not made public until last week, showed that all five county commissioners had committed what the clerk's office labeled "purchasing card discrepancies."

In the cases of commissioners Danny Glidewell, Trey Nick and Tony Anderson, auditors looked back at spending dating back to Oct. 1, 2019. The spending habits of commissioners Mike Barker and William "Boots" McCormick were examined for the time period following their election in 2020.

"Purchasing card transactions were identified that are unallowable per the county purchasing card policy, and, in certain instances, Florida Statute," the report said.

All told, the discrepancies uncovered added up to just under $41,375, with Nick linked to $21,586, or more than half, of the questionable spending.

The First Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office received a copy of the report Thursday and is reviewing it, according to agency spokesman Frederick Longmire.

The report also charted $40,788 in missing travel vouchers. Glidewell and Nick were responsible for just over $34,000 of the unaccounted for receipts, with Glidewell having failed to turn in $17,613 in travel vouchers and Nick $16,395.

County purchasing policy dictates that any travel expenditure charged to purchasing cards be included on an employee's travel voucher.

"No travel expenses shall be reimbursed unless it is requested on the established form," the report said.

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Auditors found 155 purchasing card transactions for which travel vouchers were not turned in. Glidewell failed to provide travel vouchers documenting 63 transactions between Oct. 1, 2019, and Sept. 30, 2020. Nick failed to turn in 30 vouchers during the same period.

"Without a submitted travel voucher (auditors were) not always able to determine the necessity of the charge or verify that the trip occurred," the report said.

The report also quoted a state statute that dictates "uniform" travel vouchers created by the state Department of Financial Services will be used by state officers, employees, and authorized persons to log expenses.

"No travel expense statement" shall be approved without the proper documentation, the statute says.

Adkinson said Friday that he had advised commissioners to refrain from speaking publicly about the audit ahead of Tuesday's meeting. Barker, the commission chairman, and Nick did not return phone calls.

But Glidewell apparently decided to communicate his frustrations with the Clerk of Court and county staff in a message on Facebook.

"I turned in what I was asked for and I want to know why the clerk paid anything without proper documentation. I want to know why they didn't request the documents long ago," Glidewell typed in response to a question on his Friends of Danny Glidewell Facebook page. "I screwed up and trusted the clerk and administration to book business trips appropriately."

Glidewell said any future travel plans for him will be made through his office, "not administration," and promised, "I will have plenty to say Tuesday."

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Walton Commission to meet Tuesday to discuss audit on credit cards