[
News : Prepaid Credit Card UK
Letter : Regarding City credit cards
May 23, 2008
I do not believe that Canyon Lake employees, volunteers or councilmen should be issued a Canyon Lake credit card. The norm is to have the persons charge their expenses to their own credit card and then submit an expense report to be reimbursed and reviewed for allowable charges. A recent report in The Press Enterprise, which I agree with, stated the following on May 19:
“A solid majority of Inland cities do not allow council members access to city credit cards, a practice that has come under scrutiny with recent cases of alleged and proven credit card misuse.” Of 24 cities contacted, 18 gave their elected officials no access to city credit cards. A Desert Hot Springs City Manager likened the practice to “juggling grenades.” He went on to say that “his observation is that it is easy to make a mistake. At the same time when some people find themselves in financial difficulty, they can make a convenient mistake.” And “with all of the scrutiny public officials live under today, (using credit cards) is just one opportunity for officials to make a mistake, and it`s just not worth it.”
When one is required to charge the expense to their own credit card, there appears to be fewer expenses; since if not approved, the person must pay for the charge themselves.
Also travel expenses (airfare and hotel rooms) are much less as business meetings can be held via computer hook-ups. There would not be any annual credit card fees to pay. Canyon Lake needs to review all cost-saving measures. Let`s start today and cancel all credit cards given out to members.
