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****PRELIMINARY AND TENTATIVE FINDINGS**** Recommendation: The FMPA should enhance its procedures to ensure compliance with its policies regarding credit card user agreements. The FMPA should also enhance its existing policies to clarify responsibilities regarding notification of credit card user termination and associated card cancelation, including notification requirements of member municipalities; require all credit card users to sign the monthly credit card activity reports; and require periodic reviews of credit card user credit limits for reasonableness. Travel Finding No. 12: Travel Expenditures Section 166.021, Florida Statutes, provides that the governing body of a municipality or an agency thereof may provide for a per diem and travel expense policy for its travelers that varies from the provisions of Section 112.061, Florida Statutes. Accordingly, the FMPA, as a municipal agency, has established policies and procedures related to travel in its Per Diem and Travel Expense Po/ic3' 'Trane/ Polia_7). During the period October 2012 through June 2014, FMPA charged and coded a total of $591,999 to relations events," and "training." \x'e tested 26 totaling $95,543 and noted the following: Meal Cost. The Travel Policy provides that "Each employee or officer will be reimbursed for his or her actual meal expenses incurred that are just and reasonable as determined by the General Manager (or Chairman of the Executive Committee in the case of the General Manager)." 1" Insofar as there are no ranges or limitations on meal costs individually or in aggregate in the Travel Po/icy, the potential exists for inconsistency in determining what qualifies as "just and reasonable" and for excessive meal costs to occur. Specifically, we noted 2 payments of $3,453 and $3,830, coded as "travel" and "government relations events," respectively, paid to the same restaurant during the annual legislative rallies in Washington, D.C., in March 2014 and March 2013, respectively. The average expenditure per meal per person of $105 in 2014 and $109 in 2013, appear to be excessive. Additionally, $1,022 and $1,207 of the bills from 2014 and 2013, respectively, included alcoholic beverages, which are not expressly prohibited by the Travel Policy, and associated taxes and tips. ➢ Family Travel Expenses. The Travel Policy provides that if any expense of a spouse is paid in conjunction with the travel expense of an officer or employee, FMPA will invoice the officer or employee who shall promptly reimburse FMPA for such expense. In connection with the 2013 Florida Municipal Electric Association (FMEA)/FMPA Annual Conference, FMPA paid $14,420 for hotel rooms and meeting rooms for its employees including three hotel rooms costing $1,080 for family members of the FMPA's CEO, General Counsel, and former Chairman of the Board. The FMPA also paid $42 for valet charges for the family of the Chairman of the Board. For the 2014 FMEA/FMPA Annual Conference, FMPA paid $14,163 for hotel rooms and meeting rooms for its employees including two hotel rooms costing $1,295 for family members of the CEO and General Counsel. Contrary to the Travel Po/icy, these hotel expenses and associated valet expenses were not initially invoiced to officers and employees and reimbursed to the FMPA. Subsequent to our inquiry, the FMPA researched personal use of rooms for the CEO and General Counsel from 2010 through 2014 and received reimbursement totaling $5,727 from the CEO and General Counsel for such personal use of these rooms. Y Most Economical Class of Air Travel. The Trove/ Policy states, "If transportation other than the most economical class is provided by common carrier, the officer or employee must reimburse FMPA for charges in excess of the most economical class." An exception may be authorized by the CEO, Chairman of the account codes "travel," "Board of Director travel," "government expenditures charged to these account codes during this period 1" The terms General Manager and Chief Executive Officer are used interchangeably by the FMPA. 22 24