County Council Dishes the Dirt on Procurement, P-Card Audit
Beaufort County Council surely got people talking after they let out a glimpse into their procurement and P-Card audit results. The report, dropped in a Special-Called Council Meeting on July 23, shows some significant issues in the way purchasing and procurement was carried out previously.
The audit is the result of a probe into the P-Card purchases and procurement process which got started after the decision to boot former County Administrator Eric Greenway out of his seat. The folks digging into the matter were from an external law firm Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd.
So What Does the Report Say?
The results? A staggering 312 out of 392 contracts signed off in 2023 didn’t see the light of the competitive bid process. That’s a pretty chunky amount roughly around $13 million, not going through competitive bidding! On the flip side, 80 contracts that did face the bidding process came to a hefty sum of over $85 million.
P-Card spending wasn’t a small figure either, with county employees racking up just over $6 million from 2019 to 2023. However, the report decided to stay mum about specific contracts, employees involved in the P-Card transactions, or those responsible for dishing out contracts, both competitive and non-competitive.
But hey, every cloud has a silver lining. The report suggests that it’s “more likely than not” the missteps by county staff were a result of misfeasance rather than malfeasance, Basically, it was a balls-up, not a criminal act.
Learning from the Past
Moving forward, the report sets out some “action items.” County employees must ensure proper documentation for procurements and stay within the County’s budget authority. They need to work out fair and reasonable pricing and keep an eye out on erroneous justifications that could allow non-competitive processes.
Beyond that, they also need to step up the game in terms of competition and negotiations with bidders, giving smaller, disadvantaged businesses a fair go. Needless to say, some thorough staff training will be on the cards moving forward.
Cracking Down on P-Card Purchases
But what about those P-Card purchases? Well, the county plans to set up a policy to keep the number of P-Card users in check and keep a closer eye on authorizations and documentation for purchases. One significant change will be that workers won’t be able to authorize expenses for their boss or themselves – way to keep things fair!
A fresh travel policy is also on the horizon. It’ll set rules for hotel stays and meal reimbursements, restrict the number of employees off to meetings, conferences, or events, and prevent folks from racking up loyalty points.
The cherry on top? A centralized purchasing policy to keep watchful eyes on purchases like IT equipment, office supplies, work gear, and the likes.
The Lowdown on the Council Discussion
Not every council member was on board with executing this report behind closed doors. Council members Tom Reitz and Paula Brown suggested discussing the findings openly. Council Chairman Joe Passiment reassured that the report was proofread in the executive session to correct any grammar or punctuation errors, and would shortly be available for the public eye in all the right places.
