Thanks to a unanimous vote by the City Council Thursday night, Mandeville now has its first physical policy on the usage of city-issued credit cards and purchasing cards.

The policy comes after the report issued by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor accused Mayor Eddie Price and other city officials of spending thousands of dollars for personal use on their city credit cards.

Finance Director Milton Stiebing, who allegedly spent nearly $13,000 on his city credit card in a five-year period, said in the 22 years as the director, there has never been a written policy, only an oral policy. He said he’s accepting the recommendations of the audit and promptly developed the new three-paragraph policy. The council accepted the measure after Mayor Pro Tem Trilby Lenfant made numerous adjustments to the document, lengthening it to two pages, and said she felt the policy comes “several thousands of dollars late.”

The policy states credit cards and purchasing cards issued to city employees and other elected officials can only be used for city business. Transactions incurred have to be “well documented,” with detailed receipts and credit card reconciliation forms that list item amounts, reason for purchase, date of charge and in the case of meals, the number of persons involved in the meal.

The forms have to be submitted to the finance department within 10 days of purchase and must be signed by the employee or officials who used the card.

If a credit card user fails to submit documentation for a charge that appears on the monthly billing statement, the finance director will request the required documents from the user, which must be submitted within 10 days. If documentation for the purchase is not submitted, the city official will be asked to reimburse the funds back to the city, and if they refuse, the amount will be deducted from their pay check.

“Employees or other elected officials may be issued credit cards or purchasing cards, which are to be used for city business purposes only,” the policy states. “Any misuse shall be cause for disciplinary action, including revocation of privilege of the use of the card and termination of employment.”

The policy also states the cards must be used in accordance with state laws, and transactions will be deemed pertinent by the finance department and finance director. Detailed reports of all charges incurred will also be furnished to the City Council on a quarterly basis.

Lenfant said this new procedure will provide several levels of security measures that will prevent the future misuse of city funds.

The audit also alleged city-issued vehicles and Fuelman cards were misused. Stiebing said he has already submitted a travel policy to the City Council, where he “basically took the state’s travel policy and tailored it to the city of Mandeville.”

The council will likely discuss that policy at its Aug. 28 meeting.