Commissioner of the Revenue in trouble – again

As if there were any doubts that Norfolk’s Commissioner of the Revenue Sharon McDonald needs to be reined in, the front page, above the fold story in today’s Virginia Pilot should dispel them. The story lays out what appears to be the misuse of a city credit card by McDonald over the course of three years.

Gotta love her ever-changing justification for the spending:

City officials agreed with her plans to spend taxpayer dollars in 2008 while she lobbied the General Assembly, she said.”I was supported by the council and the city of Norfolk,” she said.

Really? Then how come both the city manager and the mayor say that wasn’t the case? In fact, Norfolk employs professional lobbyists to act on our behalf.

When the issue of her lobbying activities first surfaced (an article which was buried in the Compass, the Norfolk insert in the newspaper), McDonald said her expenses were being reimbursed by the Commissioners of the Revenue Association, of which she was president. Turns out, she spent about $31,000 in 2008, only $11,000 of which was for the CRA, none of which was reimbursed.

McDonald said on Monday that she was referring to spending in 2009 when she said the association paid her bills.

Oops. Need another excuse:

McDonald said even though she paid for some of her lobbying expenses with city money, it was from dollars appropriated to her office for travel and educational expenses.

“It was part of my budget,” she said. “I stayed within my budget and spent what I thought was appropriate.”

Are you kidding me? The city allocates $31,000 for travel and education for the CofR? Even two years ago, the City budget was tight.

When all else fails, blame the city:

Regardless, McDonald said that city policy does not explicitly state appropriate and inappropriate use of its credit cards.

The policy “has serious weaknesses,” she said.

So you take advantage of it? Is that what an elected official is supposed to do, exploit a weakness in the system, rather than fixing it?

If this were the first instance of hubris demonstrated by McDonald, I’d be willing to let it go. But it’s not. We have her coming on my blog, defending a $37 charge for a $26 item. She refuses to accept rulings of the State Tax Commissioner. She set up payment arrangements for taxpayers without the knowledge or consent of the Treasurer.  Oh yeah – and she was found inside a closed store. She seems to stay just this side of breaking the law, and I expect that this latest thing will be no different. The city will allow her to pay back the money and it will all be over.

That is not as it should be. Our elected officials should be held to a higher standard. This is especially so given that it’s taxpayer money that is being used. My friend got the book thrown at him last week for embezzlement, and the judge’s justification was that it was the public’s money. I’m not sure that this is any different.

Except that the city’s policy on credit cards was unbelievable. How in the heck could the city have a policy that didn’t require expense accounts? Didn’t the city learn anything from the federal credit card scandals? Come on – it’s time for the city to hire somebody with a working knowledge of normal accounting practices and procedures and have them implemented. It simply isn’t enough to close the barn door after the horse is already out, which is what calling in the city auditor at this time is. On the staff of the the City Manager should be someone who’s duty it is to review all such policies and recommend changes. Then the city auditor should be charged with testing compliance on a regular basis.