Even as Maricopa County supervisors question whether Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s office has misused county-issued credit cards, the supervisors have used their own government cards to buy gifts for constituents and employees, stay at luxury hotels and cater meals to their offices, records obtained by The Arizona Republic show.
A review of spending records since 2005 revealed one supervisor spent nearly $2,600 on Arizona Diamondbacks merchandise for underprivileged children, while another bought nearly $4,300 in promotional newspaper ads and sent flowers and gift baskets to colleagues and staff whose family members died.
The credit cards are issued to supervisors and their employees to help them easily purchase everyday items to run their offices, including office supplies and registration fees for conferences. There is no written policy on what can or cannot be purchased.
Employees must get prior approval from a county supervisor before making charges; supervisors can approve purchases for themselves.
The spending has raised ethical questions.
David Berman, a senior research fellow at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute, said there is “no rationale” for some of the spending.
“On the surface, it doesn’t look like they are concerned about the taxpayers’ money,” he said. “Certainly, it’s particularly objectionable when a recession is going on. It’s politically dumb if nothing else.”
He said it was “hypocritical to crack down on the sheriff when they are doing the same thing.”
Two months ago, county management confiscated government charge cards from hundreds of sheriff’s employees and volunteer posse members, and limited most purchases to $200 per transaction. The Republic then requested documents showing charges by each of the five supervisors’ offices.
Over the past five years, the supervisors or their staff charged nearly $181,000, records show. The charges do not represent the total amount each office has spent on other items bought through purchase orders and other methods, county officials said.
· The office of Supervisor Fulton Brock, who represents East Valley cities, was the biggest spender, at $64,344. He spent nearly $4,300 on ads to celebrate Flag Day, promote hazardous-waste-collection efforts and publicize other events. The ads featured his portrait.
Brock also spent $15 on the “LDS Network,” which appears to be a Mormon social-networking website. He could not provide more details on the transaction in response to a request from The Republic. The supervisor also spent $90.57 for an AJ’s food basket for another supervisor’s receptionist after her husband died, $76.54 for a bouquet for another supervisor after his mother died, and thousands of dollars on newspaper and magazine subscriptions.
When questioned about the expenses, Brock said he planned to destroy his office’s credit card and instead buy items only with purchase orders through the clerk of the board. That process could help him avoid future questionable spending. He said he and his staff have cut back on travel and subscriptions to Forbesmagazine and the Wall Street Journal this year, adding that board members should be “equally circumspect” in their use of credit cards as county officials review spending by other county agencies.
· Supervisor Don Stapley, through a spokeswoman, declined to answer questions regarding his office’s $49,361 in charges.
Instead, his deputy chief of staff who controls the office’s card, Susan Schuerman, was made available to comment. She said most of the major purchases were to register staff for conferences as well as to fund conference travel and hotels.
· Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox’s office charged $45,817.
She spent $2,600 on Arizona Diamondbacks merchandise – including $65 jerseys – over three seasons for a program she runs for inner-city Phoenix children. Wilcox also spent $2,500 to be a platinum sponsor for the Hispanic Leadership Forum and hundreds of dollars on food for staff and constituent meetings.
Wilcox defended the purchases, saying the leadership forum provided scholarships and the merchandise rewarded students who volunteered for community service.
“It’s a prevention program to keep kids out of trouble,” she said. “I really wish the county would do more for kids.”
· Supervisor Andy Kunasek’s office spent $17,570.
Most of his high-dollar charges were for registration, travel and hotel rooms for his staff to attend conferences. He said the conferences provide a “clear benefit” to county residents.
· Supervisor Max Wilson’s office spent the least, $3,758. Most of his spending was on office supplies.
The standard of $200 per transaction recently placed upon the Sheriff’s Office would have prohibited more than one-third of all charges supervisors made the past five years, records show.
“They have constantly gone after the sheriff and those in our office and never, never held a mirror to themselves,” said Lisa Allen, an Arpaio spokeswoman. “When you look at their backyard, it looks pretty crummy.”
Wilson declined to comment on his colleagues’ spending. He said his personal philosophy was he didn’t “charge the taxpayers for anything that I do,” including out-of-town lodging, airfare and food. Wilson, who is independently wealthy, also shares a portion of his salary with staff and donates some of it to non-profits.
Brock was taken aback by the paper’s findings.
“I’m very surprised that these things have totaled up, and with food baskets and flowers. . . . I really probably need to be more circumspect,” Brock said. “We have decided to shred our purchase card. I think that our office has responsibly used our purchase card, but it creates an image of and an opportunity for abuse.”
Leesa Morrison-Weisz and her husband George Weisz
