Mayor Lenny Curry’s administration says it can’t find more than $27,000 in prepaid debit cards purchased by predecessor Alvin Brown’s team meant to reward city employees who go above and beyond in their jobs.
In emails last week, Sam Mousa, Curry’s chief administrative officer, said it wasn’t known if the cards were distributed but not recorded or simply are missing.
In all, the 507 missing cards total $27,425. Additionally, $2.75 was spent per card for an activation fee, pushing the total spent to $28,819 for the batch that hasn’t been found.
Curry spokeswoman Marsha Oliver said Monday the mayor couldn’t speak to who handled the cards in the prior administration or whether they were properly utilized. But, the cards were purchased through the city’s employee services department.
The program was started by former Mayor John Delaney to “encourage, educate and motivate employees,” according to the executive order he signed in 1999.
The missing 507 cards were part of 729 bought from VyStar Credit Union in October 2013, said Oliver. They comprised 130 $100 cards, 200 $50 cards and 399 $25 cards. All of the $100 and $50 cards are missing, while 177 of the $25 cards can’t be accounted for.
The other 222 $25 cards were properly logged with a department head and employee name in addition to the recognition awarded.
Another 246 cards purchased in November 2014 totaling close to $25,000 also are available.
They were found by the Curry administration in a safe used by Brown’s former chief financial officer, Ronnie Belton.
Belton did not return a call Monday seeking comment. David Hunt, who is handling communications for the former mayor, said he didn’t have immediate answers Monday.
Oliver said the administration is working with VyStar to review sequence numbers to determine if the missing cards have been spent. The administration will then determine its next course of action.
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