A Dade County commissioner is under investigation after reports she may have used her county credit card for excessive charges.
The Dade County Sheriff’s Office began reviewing documents and receipts submitted by concerned citizens, the office said in a social media post, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation will handle the internal investigation.
The GBI is analyzing two years of credit card records, Dade County Executive Don Townsend, who also chairs the county’s Board of Commissioners, said.
Townsend said there were several excessive charges made by Commissioner Melissa Bradford on a county credit card. The alleged charges include one that includes alcohol while attending a National Association of Counties conference in New Orleans. Townsend has since asked Bradford to pay the amount back.
Bradford did not respond to a request for comment. She was absent from the most recent Board of Commissioners meeting due to a family emergency, Townsend said.
Resident Joy York spoke up about the potential misuse of funds at the meeting. York said receipts she obtained through an open records request showed Bradford spent $1,181 on food and drink during the four-day conference at the end of July.
York and resident Susie Talbott confronted Dade County commissioners about a total of $21,000 spent on food and drink over the past 18 months that the pair found through an open records request. The Chattanooga Times Free Press was unable to obtain the records they referenced prior to publication.
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“I’m not standing here claiming that every one of these purchases was improper. I’m saying that taxpayers should not have to guess,” Talbott said to commissioners during the Sept. 3 meeting. “Tell us what was purchased, tell us who it was for, tell us the county purpose, show us the itemized receipt. That is basic accountability.”
Talbott said it was important to account for this spending before the commission moved forward on increasing the county’s local sales tax rate by 1 or 2 cents.
Elected officials do not necessarily have to follow the same travel policy that county employees do, Townsend said, due to the separation of powers denoted in the state constitution. Townsend said the county is developing a policy for elected officials, but the county can only request they abide by policies that they set for themselves.
“The situation calls for further action, I feel like, to examine ourselves as elected officials,” Townsend said by phone. “Elected officials of Dade County, Georgia, should lead by example and set the pace for our employees to do the right thing when using our citizens’ taxes.”
Talbott said she submitted a request for records of credit card transactions. The resulting records showed transactions in Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia at businesses that included Champy’s, Rembrandt’s Coffee House, Sam’s Club and Lowe’s, Talbott told commissioners.
“If you’re going to hand someone a credit card, backed by the taxpayers of Dade County, there should be absolutely no confusion about the rules and who is responsible,” Talbott said.
York addressed the commissioners after Talbott and cited Bradford’s visit to New Orleans as an example of the excessive spending she noticed when reviewing the records. Bradford was said to have spent upwards of $75 during various meals, $42 on two milkshakes and more than $200 on Ubers despite having access to a car in New Orleans and staying at a hotel next door to where the conference was held, York said.
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York emphasized two vodka “blood bags,” the name of the drink Bradford was said to have purchased at the New Orleans Vampire Cafe, when listing off the purchases Bradford made while in New Orleans.
“What legitimate government purpose did those alcoholic drinks serve for taxpayers?” York said to commissioners.
Contact Northwest Georgia reporter Ignacio Perez at [email protected] or 423-757-6710.