COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Richland County Sheriff's Department is investigating the use of purchasing cards within Richland County Council.
RCSD says they have been "made aware of possible fraud involving the p-cards, and will be looking into it and coordinating with the county administrator."
County Council held a virtual meeting on Tuesday night, and addressed some of the concerns surrounding the use of the cards.
"The p-card policy in its current form has gaps in its internal control measures," says Leonardo Brown, County Administrator.
The cards can be used by council members for county-related expenses. Brown says they are working to change the protocol as currently, card holders can spend outside of their allotted budget.
"Because the county is obligated to pay those funds for the p-card, the county would have to pay that statement and money would have to be found and moved around from some areas to cover that expenditure," explained Brown.
Councilwoman Dalhi Myers says she asked Brown to look into the p-card protocols after she came under fire for allegedly using her card to make purchases while on a personal trip to Greece.
Myers explained during the virtual meeting that she did not spend County money to pay for her personal trip.
"To the public and to the people I serve, to my colleagues and to the staff, there is noting on my p-card to indicate that Richland County ever paid for me to take an international trip," says Myers. "In fact, Richland County's record, from March of last year, reflected that while I took a personal trip, I in fact met with local elected officials and took them to dinner to hopefully make something useful for the county. The day I got back I talked to Richland County staff and asked if that information could be weaponized or misused and Dr. Yudice, who was then in charge of the finance department, said that she thought it could. Immediately when the charges came to the county I paid the charges. That's reflected in the county's record."
Myers says she was also questioned about a rental car charge, that she says she never made.
"No one ever asked me about it," explains Myers. "No one told me that they were going to pay and had they asked me anything or even told me rather than discussing it as internal gossip with other council members, I would've said this needs to be challenged. I would've immediately said this is not a legitimate charge."
Myers says she immediately had the charge reversed back to Richland County because it wasn't a legitimate charge.
Myers hopes that more can be done to look into how that charge was created.
Brown says establishing new protocols will give the county the opportunity to close the gap in some of the concerns surrounding spending.