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The Austin City Council meets at City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025.<\/p>\n
Jay Janner\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n
Austin City Council staff will soon get a refresher on what they can and can\u2019t charge to their taxpayer-funded credit cards.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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An email obtained by the American-Statesman shows council staffers were asked Wednesday to attend a \u201crefresher course\u201d next week covering city rules for credit card use and travel. The directive came days after the Statesman published its latest investigation into questionable credit card and travel expenses by Austin City Council members\u00a0\u2014 some likely made in violation of city policy.<\/p>\n
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The training, described as specifically for City Council staff, will walk through \u201cwhat are and aren\u2019t allowed purchases\u201d on city-issued cards and offer \u201cbest practices for completing travel authorization and reimbursement forms,\u201d according to the email from City Manager T.C. Broadnax\u2019s chief of staff.<\/p>\n
Previous Statesman reporting revealed<\/a> that Broadnax himself\u00a0had expensed his lunch almost every working day since he started the job last year, mostly at the upscale salad chain Sweetgreen. Council Member Ryan Alter likewise expensed thousands of dollars worth of \u201cworking lunches\u201d in likely violation of city policy. Both men agreed to reimburse taxpayers for a combined $4,500 after the Statesman started asking questions.<\/p>\n MORE: Inside Austin City Council\u2019s spending habits<\/a><\/p>\n City spokesperson Erik Johnson did not provide answers to several specific questions from the Statesman about next week\u2019s training, including whether it was called in response to the newspaper\u2019s recent reporting.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n In prepared statements, Johnson said Wednesday\u2019s invite was directed at \u201cdesignated staff members,\u201d \u201cbut City Council members and other staff in their offices are able to attend as well.\u201d An earlier statement noted that \u201crefresher trainings\u201d are offered annually to council offices, as well as one-on-one sessions for new chiefs of staff, and that\u00a0all city employees receive training before they are issued a procurement card, or ProCard.<\/p>\n \u201cThis training will also include guidance on other financial topics related to travel and ProCards as a knowledge refresher,\u201d Johnson said of the Nov. 14 training.<\/p>\n A second refresher will be offered in March, according to Wednesday\u2019s email.<\/p>\n The Statesman\u2019s latest investigation<\/a> revealed that some council members, including Alter, had spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on donations to nonprofits and advocacy organizations, furniture, artwork, consultants, staff development, international travel and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n While many of the questionable expenses the Statesman has uncovered did not constitute a clear violation of city policy, experts also told the newspaper the city\u2019s spending rules are too permissive with one saying they\u2019re \u201cabout as minimal as you can get while still having a policy.\u201d<\/p>\n Audit revealed procurement card abuse<\/p>\n The refresher training invitation also comes a week after the release of a city audit report that details allegations\u00a0of city credit card misuse\u00a0against a former Austin Water hydrologist. The employee, Nico Heuwert, resigned last summer after an internal investigation found he reportedly charged $78,000 to his city ProCard improperly between 2019 and 2023, the Statesman reported last week<\/a>. Much of the sum was directed to contractors for work on private land, according to the report.<\/p>\n Heuwert has defended the charges, saying they were necessary to get around red tape and meet federal requirements.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n City Auditor Brian Molloy told a City Council panel late last month that his office was working through another investigation into ProCard misuse, which he expects to wrap up soon. In addition, Molloy said he\u2019s launched a wider review of credit card use, with results expected next year.<\/p>\n Mayor Kirk Watson called for an audit<\/a> of the entire city budget following Tuesday\u2019s election where Austin voters\u00a0soundly rejected<\/a> Proposition Q, a planned 20% property tax increase that would have sent $110 million in additional revenue to the city for a variety of initiatives, including housing and homelessness services. More than 63% of Austin voters said \u201cno\u201d<\/a> to the proposal.<\/p>\n