DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Florida lawmakers will audit the city of Daytona Beach over reports about spending irregularities and a surplus in building permit revenues.
The state’s Joint Legislative Auditing Committee, made up of state representatives and senators, voted unanimously Monday to investigate the city.
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State Sen. Tom Wright, R-Port Orange, who requested the audit, said recent reporting shows issues with purchasing card use, or P-cards. He said a Daytona Beach commissioner claims city employees and contractors have used the cards to spend thousands on travel and food, and at stores, with one credit card user spending $76,000 in one year.
A city auditor review of P-cards found “multiple areas of concern, including outdated policies, weak internal controls, the use of business-class travel, excessive meal and parking costs, insufficient documentation, and noncompliance with best practices. You can read the report HERE.
Wright’s request also says the committee has recently looked at the fact that the city had “substantial and unnecessary surpluses in building permit revenues, well beyond what is permitted under state law,” and said other members of the Volusia County legislative delegation have also been concerned about the city’s “inability to properly manage or justify these excess funds.”
Wright says some questionable vehicle purchases have been tied to the extra money.
We have reached out to Daytona Beach city officials for a comment on the audit decision.