It appears Oxford Village Manager Joe Young violated the municipality’s credit card policy on two or three occasions by charging alcohol for Downtown Development Authority committee meetings.
‘It’s certainly not intentional,? Young said. ‘I didn’t even realize (it) or else I certainly wouldn’t have done it.?
The manager used his village credit card to purchase alcoholic beverages for members of the DDA’s Economic Restructuring (ER) committee during meetings held at various local restaurants between October and December 2006.
Those charges appear to be violations of the village’s credit card policy adopted in September 2005.
‘The card shall not be used for personal use, cash advances, the purchase of standard merchant category exclusions (e.g. liquor or tobacco items), or for the purchase of any type of personal entertainment,? the policy states.
Yesterday, Young voluntarily reimbursed the DDA $150 to cover all the alcohol he purchased for committee members using his village credit card.
‘If you want me to reimburse it, I certainly will do that,? the manager told the DDA board Monday night. ‘I don’t have a problem with that.?
‘I think that money needs to be reimbursed to the DDA,? said board member Sue Bossardet, who raised the issue and expressed her opposition to spending tax money on alcohol. ‘I don’t care who pays it back.?
‘These are taxpayer dollars that you’re using and I don’t think the taxpayers would like (them) being spent on food and alcohol,? Bossardet noted.
DDA Chairman Kevin Stephison, who’s employed as the business manager for Huntoon Funeral Home, disagreed.
‘This is standard practice,? he said. ‘I entertain all the time in business and the company accepts the expenses when I’m entertaining clients.?
‘When you say that you take people out through the funeral home, Kevin, that’s a slightly different thing than using taxpayer dollars,? Bossardet said. “I don’t think that the DDA wants to be in the habit of paying for alcohol for committee meetings.”
“I really think it’s unfair to expect Joe to open his personal pocket to reimburse the DDA,” Stephison said.
Village credit card receipts obtained under the Freedom of Information Act showed that Young purchased $21 worth of wine (on a $30 bill) as part of an ER committee meeting that took place at Victoria’s Delights on Oct. 4, 2006.
‘I was acting on behalf of the DDA,? said Young, who served as interim DDA director in the months following Amanda Cassidy’s resignation in August 2006. ‘I did it at the direction and request of the people (on) the committee.?
Comprised of volunteers, the ER committee is one of the four committee is one of the four committees that makes up the Main Street program. It’s purpose is to help sharpen the competitiveness of existing businesses while recruiting new ones to build a commercial district that responds to consumer needs.
Young used the village credit card to purchase $37 worth of alcohol on a $60 bill at Red Knapp’s American Grill where an ER meeting was held Nov. 1, 2006.
Young’s village credit card was again used on Dec. 6, 2006 to pay a $109 bill at Casa Real for an ER meeting held there. It’s believed alcohol was also charged on that bill, but exactly how much is not known as an itemized receipt was not available at press time.
‘I don’t think that we should be meeting restaurants and I especially don’t think we should be in restaurants that are serving alcohol and throughout the meeting people (are) drinking,? Bossardet said.
‘We represent the businesses,? Stephison said. ‘We collect their tax dollars. I see no problem with us going and returning the tax dollars to them in business. That does not seem like an illogical thing to me.?
Young said he ‘wasn’t aware? the village credit card policy excluded alcohol.
‘I didn’t recall that,? he told this reporter.
Ironically, the credit card policy also states that ‘the village manager is the officer responsible for the issuance, accounting, monitoring and retrieval of any and all credit cards issued in the name of the Village of Oxford.?
When addressing the DDA board, Young said the ‘liquor or tobacco items? referred to in the policy ‘could be interpreted to mean package alcohol and cigarettes, not (part) of a meal.?
‘I can see where there’s room for ambiguity,? Stephison said.
The ‘penalty for wrongful use? of the village credit card is spelled out in the policy.
‘Any employee of the Village of Oxford who violates the provisions of this policy shall be subject to immediate suspension and/or dismissal and appropriate criminal and/or civil action.?
Young said the DDA ‘authorized me to expend these monies? for food and beverages at the evening ER meetings because they were determined to be ‘legitimate DDA expenses.?
‘They authorized the payment of these items, yes, and I used the village card because it’s village business, not realizing there was a problem,? Young told this reporter. ‘I wasn’t aware (of the policy) at the time or obviously I would not have (done it).?
Young charged everything on his village credit card because the DDA’s credit card was not under his name, so he did not want to sign for any purchases made with it.
Apparently, the DDA credit card remained under Cassidy’s name even after she left the job because no one expected it would take more than four months to find a new director, Young explained.
‘I did not want to sign it, therefore I used my village credit card,? he told the DDA board. ‘I should have used my personal card or cash had I known there was this whole interpretation issue and policy.?
‘Had I had a (DDA) credit card, it wouldn’t even have gone through the village credit card,? Young explained to this reporter.
Noting how the DDA has ?$3,000 in their budget for volunteer development,? Young said under the Main Street approach, ‘you need to motivate and keep your volunteers interested and part of that is providing them with food.?
Stephison explained that it’s ‘common practice? among other DDAs and Main Street programs ‘to take people out and thank them.?
Bossardet said she called around and asked some other DDAs if they buy alcohol for their volunteers.
‘They don’t do it,? she said. ‘It is just not something that you do in government.?
Ultimately, the DDA board voted to let its organization committee formulate a policy regarding future credit card use and expenditures for food and beverages, then bring it to the full board. ‘It’s a simple policy issue we need to discuss and leave it at that,? Stephison said.