City Employees Violated Providence Credit Card Policy - Used for Political Purposes, Says Auditor
GoLocalProv News Team
City Employees Violated Providence Credit Card Policy - Used for Political Purposes, Says Auditor
In September, GoLocal first reported that the City put a hold on the use of the Council’s credit cards; a GoLocal Access to Public Records Act (APRA) request then found that staff and members of the Providence City Council were using credit cards for travel, Twitter accounts, and expenses related to a conference hosted by the Democratic Socialists of America.
Now, in a 46-page report obtained by GoLocal, City of Providence Internal Auditor Gina Costa found multiple violations based on how the credit cards were used - and is recommending that employees not only pay back a number of charges, but that the City Solicitor should look into whether the conduct constitutes civil - or criminal - offenses.
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About Investigation
The Office of the Internal Auditor was asked to review two city-issued debit cards since they were opened in April 2024. One was issued to the executive branch for use and the other to the City Council administration for use.
During this time, Costa said she found that there were one hundred and eighty-three transactions totaling $48,663.12.
"The executive branch’s card has one hundred forty-one transactions valued at $32,991.36, approved by the Chief Operating Officer; the remaining forty-two transactions valued at $15,671.76 were approved by the City Council’s Chief of Staff and/or used by them," wrote Costa.
According to Costa:
*The debit card policy was not followed, a material breach of internal controls, the debit card was used for non-emergency and “non-limited” purchases.
*The sole users of the debit cards were not the City Controller nor the City Treasurer - in violation of city debit card policy.
*There has been no supporting documentation provided to indicate that the City Controller, City Treasurer and Finance Director approved these purchases.
*Proof of purchase (i.e. receipts) was not always forwarded to the Controller’s Office; the Controller’s office did not have all the receipts that were forwarded.
Costa goes on to state that specifically, the City of Providence Home Rule Charter “prohibited activities and conflicts of interest” was violated when “City Council employees authorized payment to the Local Progress Impact Lab and Democratic Socialists of America Fund” and attended associated events during work hours and similarly the City of Providence Code of Ordinances was violated by City Council employees who attended the events - while being paid by the City of Providence.
“The City of Providence potentially misappropriated approximately $16,650.00 in payments for partisan events and salaries of employees to partisan conferences,” wrote Costa.
Violations in Focus
Costa points out that city credit card policy "seeks to make available a debit card for emergency and limited purposes."
According to Costa, there were “eight transactions on the executive debit card that would not be considered emergency or limited.”
“These include flights to and from Washington D.C. for the 2025 Congressional City Conference and lodging (American Airline ($188.48), Southwest ($138.48) and Marriot Marquis, Washington ($526.41) – total cost $853.37). There were three transactions for goods, including window blinds (Select Blinds, USA - $1,364.95), a projector (Staples - $499.99), and city flags (Fast Signs - $3,030.00),” wrote Costa.
Regarding the Council debit card, Costa said there were twenty-one transactions that were travel-related expenses for Local Progress Conferences in 2024 and 2025 and for a membership fee to FundDSA.org. Those transactions were summarized as follows:
Local Progress 2024 Convening $5,727.77
Local Progress 2024 (3 transactions) $1,800.00
Oakland Marriot (3 transactions) $2,434.92
American Airlines (4 transactions)i $1,492.8
Total cost for Local Progress 2025 Convening $3,518.81
Local Progress (2 transactions) $1,400.00
Hyatt Regency Chicago (1 transaction) $1,270.49
Southwest Airlines (2 transactions) $712.92
Harry Caray’s (1 transaction) $33.97
Uber trip (3 transactions) $93.43
SWA Inflight (1 transaction) $8.00
There was also a $225 charge to “Fund DSA.org”
“The employees or those who mandated their travel should be responsible for repayment of the misappropriated taxpayer dollars,” said Costa.
Due to the violations, Costa recommended that the City Solicitor “determine if payment and attendance to the Local Progress Impact Lab and Democratic Socialists of America Fund conferences is a criminal or civil offense.”
Further Recommendations
In her report, Costa recommends that the city “reduce the number of debit cards to one with possession and authority resting with the Treasurer and share the policy city-wide on the City of Providence Employee Portal so all employees can be made are aware of the debit card policy.”
Moreover, Costa recommends that the city “amend the policy to include that the original receipt should be attached to the purchase order and submitted to the controller’s office and a copy maintained in the respective department. Deny departments access to the debit card until all proper receipts are provided to the city controller’s office for the previous expenses."
In addition, Costa recommended that the City Council “should adopt a pre-approval policy for all travel like the Administration’s to determine funding availability, conference purpose and its direct relation to the employee’s job function; informing and obtaining approval by the Council President of employee absences should be included. Funding approval should be completed by a fiscal department such as Treasury, Finance, Controller or Auditor."
She also said that "all travel documentation for the last three years be reviewed to determine if there are other partisan travel expenses or any other expenses paid by taxpayer dollars that are not for the purpose of supporting the function of government."