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Paul “Andy” Stewart
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Tab 11
Ledger, The (Lakeland, FL)
March 9, 2011
Dundee Mayor Embroiled in Credit Card Dispute
Author: DONNA KELLY
Mayor Linda Riner-Mizel used the card for a National League of Cities conference.
DUNDEE Mayor Linda Riner-Mizell once again found herself on the hot seat during Tuesday
night's discussion of the town's credit card policy. The Town Council needs answers,
Councilman Randy Dowd said. "We have a situation between our town manager and our mayor.
We need to know which one is not being truthful," Dowd said. "This needs to be settled as soon
as possible."
The mayor has said Town Manager Andy Stewart approved her using the credit card to buy
tickets for a trip she took last fall in her capacity as president of the Ridge League of Cities.
Stewart denies having known about the trip until after the credit card was used.
The council opened the meeting with a discussion about the town's procurement ordinances and
credit card procedures relating to staff. But then resident Maria Cumberbatch asked the council
about restrictions on council members. Credit card procedures were put under scrutiny recently
when three council members asked Riner-Mizell to explain the chain of events surrounding her
use of the town's credit card for the trip to a conference in Colorado sponsored by the National
League of Cities.
Riner-Mizell apparently asked for a credit card from Finance Director Martin Munger and took it
home to book the trip online. The card was returned several days later. Her explanation about
how the trip was to be paid for has changed several times.
The majority of Tuesday night's discussion focused on a policy put into place after the 2004
hurricanes when, Councilwoman Melinda Carden said, credit card spending by town officials
and employees went unchecked. Minutes from the June 8, 2004, council meeting indicate the
council approved a motion to approve credit cards for the town manager, town clerk and finance
director.
"What is the issue here?" Cumberbatch asked. "It seems like we didn't get to the point. The credit
card policy doesn't seem to be the problem. If I were on council and I was going to represent you
and the group didn't know (about the trip) -- who was I going to represent?" But Carden went
back to the 2004 policy that was discussed but never codified. "When I found out that anyone
gets that credit card other than the three, that's when I got involved," Carden said.
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