COVINGTON, Ga. — Since Newton County purchasing card (P-card) records of 50 employees and officials were revealed last week in Part II of a Covington News series, several residents and community stakeholders have been airing out concerns and asking lots of questions.

 The majority of those questions have been specifically directed toward Chairman Marcello Banes, as his records showed purchases that many viewed as potentially against policy.

In review, the policy originally adopted in 2013 states P-cards are meant to be a “more efficient, cost-effective” way to complete small-dollar transactions, but not “bypass or avoid appropriate purchasing procedures.” Policy also states P-cards are “not for personal use,” and must be used for buying “supplies that are deemed necessary for the operation of the county,” and for “legitimate business purposes only.” P-cards may not be used for “entertainment, alcohol or cash advances.”

In wake of claims that Banes had not abided by the P-card policy, the chairman took time to address those allegations and answer a few questions from The Covington News:

THE NEWS: Could you provide a few examples of what constitutes “legitimate business purposes?” Something records showed on several different P-card users’ statements was a term “meeting with a constituent” or “lunch with a constituent.” Could you explain to readers and other county taxpayers what exactly a “meeting/lunch with a constituent” is and entails? How are those for “legitimate business purposes” and not simply a lunch? 

BANES: As stated in the Enabling Legislation, part of the Chairman role is “To be the official spokesman for the county government”, and “be available to the constituency, citizens and civic associations on a regular basis.” With a busy schedule, as the chief executive officer of the county, lunch is often a productive time to meet with someone who has a concern that affects members of our community. “Meetings with constituents” include lunches with business owners, stakeholders, community members and community partners. Most of my meetings are not at lunch or involve food purchases. Food-related meetings are helpful for a few reasons. One, with a busy schedule, every minute is required to perform the duties of chairman. Second, I find mealtime puts people at ease and makes the conversation more approachable, which can be helpful when discussing difficult and uncomfortable topics. Third, I believe it is good to meet with the people who live in the county in order to identify the needs of the county and to collaborate on how to meet the needs of the people in the county in the most efficient way possible. Finally, providing food for meetings with staff and other county employees has proven to boost morale and make the meetings more engaging and productive. 

THE NEWS: After The Covington News conducted an Open Records Request for all P-card spending documents for all Newton County cardholders from June 2020-June 2021, records showed you, Mr. Banes, had spent $12,895.90 over that period. Statements confirmed $3,633.43 (28.2%) was spent on food-related purchases, and of those food related purchases, $3,346.15 (25.9% of total spending) was spent specifically on food for meetings and lunches with constituents. Among the documented “meetings with constituents,” there were two instances that documents showed the only persons present were you and your wife, Cheneeka. Would this not be considered a personal use of the P-card? If not, could you please explain how these instances are not considered personal? If they were personal, did you pay these amounts back to the county? If so, can you show documents? 

BANES: During a one-year period, I know I have had well over 100 lunches or dinners with my wife, Cheneeka. My wife has volunteered hundreds of hours at county weekend events when we have been short staffed or needed her particular assistance. She has assisted me during numerous weekend duties that I have performed as chairman. In the one-year period that you requested my P-card activity, you have identified two instances where I have produced receipts where I paid for lunch for me and my wife. While you only identified two, there are actually three totaling less than $92. I have taken my wife to a lunch with others to get her perspective on certain county issues. I’ve taken her to a newly opened local business owned by a husband and wife that contacted me through my office for an appearance and discussion regarding county affairs. I have taken her to lunch on one occasion because of her commitment to help at one particular county event. I consider these to be a legitimate expense that is far exceeded by the benefit received. 

THE NEWS: Before and after publishing these findings, members of the public, specifically taxpayers, have voiced their concern to The Covington News that they believe this spending amount on “meetings with constituents” and food related expenses is excessive. What would you say to that claim? 

BANES: It is impossible to perform the role of chairman of Newton County without regularly talking with the people who live here or those who are employed by the county. I not only want to hear the concerns of the people of Newton County, I want them to know that the chairman’s office is accessible because I represent them. Meeting with members of the community, fostering relationships with stakeholders and building [morale] of county employees are essential to performing my job. Many elected officials have a supplement in addition to their salary to fund items such as lunches and food for meetings. Based upon the Enabling Legislation and the customary expenses of previous chairmen, these “meetings with constituents” and food related expenses are appropriate. 

THE NEWS: Readers and taxpayers have also stated to The Covington News on many occasions that they do not understand why you would spend a sizable amount of money on things like “uniform cleanings,” work boots and car washes. Could you address those concerns? How are these things considered as “legitimate business purposes?” 

BANES: Again, as the chief spokesman for the county as stated in the Enabling Legisation I represent Newton County. I represent the county on job sites, at ground [breaking events], statewide economic development meetings and televised announcements. As you can see by the P-card purchases of others with county vehicles, a monthly membership to an unlimited “drive through” carwash is typical. My county vehicle travels throughout the county, on job sites, dirt and rural roads. It gets dirty frequently. When the vehicle is dirtier than usual, I will get the vehicle detailed. I often have to meet with heads of industry, state representatives, and congressional delegates with the goal of impressing upon them the professionalism of Newton County and its representatives. It is critical that when engaging in my duties as chairman I am putting the county’s best foot forward. These expenses are incidental to achieve this goal. These exact expenses also have been cleared by county policy and/or our county attorney prior to them being incurred and are customary expenses of previous chairmen. 

County Manager Lloyd Kerr also answered a few questions on behalf of the county government as a whole to further explain P-card policy and procedures:

THE NEWS: After reviewing P-card policy and procedures, it is understood there are certain things county employees and officials can and cannot use P-cards for, such as personal items, cash advances, alcohol, etc., but the term “personal use” seems to be quite broad. Is there a guide for P-card users to refer to if an item, activity or service is ever in question? 

COUNTY: An item is for personal use if it is not of relevance to performing duties as detailed in an employee’s job description, or the Enabling Legislation of the county, or Georgia’s Constitution, depending on the user. As you have noted in an earlier article, each purchase has a log sheet, in which the description of the purchase is noted. 

THE NEWS: Could you provide a few examples of what constitutes “personal use?” 

COUNTY: Personal use would be for something that does not fall under the job description. Each P-Card user has different roles therefore their work-related use would be different. For example, part of the duties of Chairman Banes, as stated in the Enabling Legislation, says “To be available to the constituency, citizens and civic organizations on a regular basis” therefore a lunch with constituents is in line with performing that duty. However, for, say, someone in Information Services whose description doesn’t include to be available for constituency, that use would be different. 

THE NEWS: With what many argue as broadly, loosely defined terms within the P-card policy, how can one differentiate or draw the line between what is legally acceptable versus what is ethically acceptable? 

COUNTY: We follow state law along with our own legal policies, which ensures we do things that are legally acceptable. Newton County also has ethic policies and guidelines. That, coupled with the character of the people we employ, help us stay in line with what is ethically acceptable. All Newton County employees and our elected officials are cognizant of the fact that we are funded by the taxpayer, and their actions reflect that responsibility. 

THE NEWS: Will the county consider taking a look at the nearly 10-year-old P-card policy and aim toward tightening up these definitions to ensure taxpayers dollars are being spent in the most efficient and prudent ways possible? 

COUNTY: Yes, we are always wanting to improve what we do in terms of transparency, efficiency and being as prudent with taxpayers’ funds as possible. 

Also in response to the P-card records report published Saturday-Sunday, July 31-Aug. 1, District Attorney Randy McGinley issued the following statement to The Covington News:

“I believe that any department head and county employee must never lose sight of the fact that they are paid by the citizens and taxpayers,” McGinley said. “Therefore, they must always keep this in mind when taking any action or incurring any expense. When I took office as the District Attorney, I elected to decrease the limit for my County issued P-card from $5,000 to $1,500. I did not see the need to have a such a high limit. My P-card stays in my office, and I do not carry it at all unless I have had to go out of town for work purposes. I recently went through the procedure of having a hotel expense paid for by the county my having it pre-approved and having a check for that expense. However, I ultimately had to pay for that hotel with my P-card when the hotel refused to accept a check.

“My Victim Services Director [Leslie Smith] does have a $5,000 limit. As the victim services director, she is often responsible for arranging travel expenses for victims. In the event that we have multiple victims/witnesses for a certain trial or a month that sees multiple trials, $5,000 is not at all unreasonable. As an example, just a couple years ago, a victim in an Aggravated Child Molestation (and numerous other similar charges) and her mother, who was also a witness for the trial, moved across the country prior to trial. Because of the awful and serious nature of the charges, we were not willing to just give this person a lighter plea recommendation because the victim moved. Therefore, the case proceeded to trial and the expense of flying the victim, her mother, and a sibling back to Georgia for trial had to come from our office’s budget.

“For many reasons, trials can be continued at the last minute. Because of this, we often wait until very close to the trial date to book a flight and hotel rooms for victims. I understand this sometimes means that the flight may be more expensive, but it is a better choice than paying for a ticket only to have the trial continued. Travel insurance does not cover this circumstance. Trials such as this often take days; therefore, our office had to pay for flights for multiple people and for hotel rooms for multiple days. Ultimately, the trial ended in a conviction for all charges and the defendant was sentenced to life in prison.

“Any travel expenses such as this, must be approved by my victim services director and me. However, the taxpayers of our county should also be aware that I anticipate further expenses like this in the near future. We currently have multiple cases of child victims of serious crimes that have moved out of the state. Part of that is just based on the normal moving of people as they live their lives as time passes. But having an entire year without trials due to the ongoing pandemic means that these cases are older and people cannot put off their lives forever. I asked to increase the amount of money that is in my budget for witness/victim travel because of this. This increase was questioned by a county commissioner at our budget meeting. I explained the reasoning and it appeared everyone was satisfied with my explanation.”

In the final part of this series on P-cards, hear from readers’ and Newton County residents’ take on the issue, and learn what could be done — if anything — to make changes, whether it be at the hands of residents, county officials, the district attorney’s office or state leaders.