A program that started as a way for workers to buy office supplies has turned into a spending spree that could rack up $370 million this year, the newspaper's analysis shows.
There are more than 23,000 of the so-called p-cards - which function like credit cards and are billed to government agencies - that have been used to buy hundreds of thousands of items. And while state officials say most of the purchases are legitimate, many are raising questions.
Card charges since 2005 include $13 million in travel expenses, nearly $6 million at online retailer Amazon.com, $2.2 million at florists, $9.3 million at restaurants and caterers and $91,000 at jewelers.
Also included are smaller purchases that raise eyebrows. About $54,000 was shelled out to Ticketmaster, almost $50,000 to pawn shops and nearly $20,000 was spent at spas and salons. Another $5,000 went to iTunes.
The state's purchasing-card policy bans the purchases of gift cards, and prohibits using the cards for professional services. It also makes entertainment off-limits, and specifically bans the personal use of the cards.
The cards have come under increased scrutiny after an October audit showed widespread abuse of the cards, a report that prompted Gov. Sonny Perdue to order all 129 state agencies using the cards to review their purchases.
"First and foremost, it's a people problem," said Brad Douglas, commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services. "Any manager worth his salt will look at a charge and say, 'Is that legitimate?'"
The state's latest review in November of p-card payments have turned up no new cases of fraud. Perdue's office said last week that p-card spending is down 23 percent and that almost 1,200 cards have been deactivated, and that the state plans to audit several more agencies, including Georgia Tech.
But reviews so far have only covered 6,600 of the p-cards in use, and not the 10,000 cards used by the state's university system. And another 6,400 cards used by county and city governments and school systems aren't subject to Georgia's oversight.
State auditors will have their hands full. It's difficult to track the spending, because transactions list vendors and not individual items. And some of the suspicious-looking charges turn out to be authorized.
A $278 charge by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for gaming convention DragonCon tickets, for instance, paid for two agents to attend a session to investigate hacking. An $853 charge by a Forsyth County worker for NASCAR tickets was a prize for an employee appreciation luncheon. The head of the county's purchasing department said county commissioners approved the expense.
And other cases that may seem like simple oversights are still violations of state policy.
Colquitt Police Sgt. Shannon Dunaway charged $190 to a p-card to pay a tattoo tab, but said he was forced to use the card after his own credit card was frozen, and that he promptly reimbursed the city.
"They had done the work and I didn't have no choice," he told the newspaper.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2007/12/205154