DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Daytona Beach finances will now be investigated. That vote happened just after 4 p.m. in Tallahassee on Monday. It’s in direct response to our deep dive into the city’s credit cards, travel, and car allowances.
State leaders said they’re concerned about how defensive Daytona Beach has been throughout this entire process. They even called out a commissioner for the way he reacted.
Senator Tom Wright said he first became concerned when the state discovered the city was sitting on millions of dollars in permit and licensing fees, which is against state law. Then, after our investigation uncovered issues with credit cards, travel, and car allowances, he knew it was time to step in.
“The city asks for money and yet when we ask them for accountability, they shrug it off like it’s not important, or as you’ve heard it, it’s not our business, we should stay out of their business. Well, it is our business,” said Wright.
The city manager sent us a statement saying:
As City Manager, I take our responsibility to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars very seriously. The City of Daytona Beach welcomes the state’s Auditor General to conduct an operational audit of our city. JLAC’s unanimous decision to support Senator Tom Wright’s request for this review underscores the importance of protecting public resources and maintaining confidence in local government. We recognize questions have been raised about the city’s handling of public funds, and we see this as an opportunity to correct misinformation, identify areas where we can do better and reinforce internal controls.
Our staff will provide complete access to records, systems and personnel, so the audit team can thoroughly evaluate our policies and financial practices. We are committed to transparency and accountability, and we welcome constructive recommendations that will help us improve how we serve the public.
Wright said he wants the investigation to happen immediately.
“I think we are going to have to ask our auditor to please prioritize this because there’s a lot of bad things going on and it makes me nervous as to what’s going on right now,” said Wright.
We also spoke to State Representative Chase Tramont who is a committee chair. He agreed with Wright, saying much of the spending doesn’t make sense.
“I don’t want to accuse anyone of anything but a lot of it doesn’t make sense to me. Over 280 out of 1000 employees with p cards that’s an awfully large number. 10 workers for a contracted company spending taxpayer dollars. Again, not something that makes sense.”
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