Following an investigation into its former mayor, Walton approved updates to its policies on travel and use of city property and credit cards at its meeting Tuesday evening.
Council first introduced the changes at last month’s meeting, intending to “tighten up” outdated policies in the wake of the investigation earlier this year into potential misconduct by former Mayor Gabe Brown.
The travel policy states that Walton will pay for or reimburse city employees and officials for expenses related to authorized travel, including costs for transportation and air travel (less than first class), lodging, meals, registration fees for trainings and conferences, tips and service charges. Officials must submit itemized receipts of their expenses to the city within 14 days of their return or be held personally responsible for paying them.
The city equipment use policy states that officials must sign acknowledgments of receipt for any equipment issued to them and must return it to Walton once they’ve left their position. If it isn’t returned, the official must pay the full replacement cost.
Lastly, council amended an ordinance it passed back in March regarding the use of city credit cards. The previous ordinance stated that if the receipt of purchase isn’t provided to the city clerk for transactions made with city credit cards, the amount will be deducted from the official’s next pay. However, city attorney Michael Duncan said that this measure wasn’t lawful, and council voted to remove it from the ordinances.
Council voted unanimously in favor of all three measures.