Former County Head Start Director’s Extensive Travel Months Before Retirement, Including A Trip To Hawaii, Received “Verbal” Approval
Washtenaw County’s former Head Start Director Patricia McGee was put on leave weeks before she retired in December 2011. A county official told a reporter in December 2011 that Ms. McGee was being investigated due to unspecified “allegations.” In January 2012, a county official confirmed that the allegations had been “founded.”
IN THE MARCH 11 issue of The Ann Arbor Independent, it was reported that multiple Washtenaw County employees had used their county-issued credit cards to pay for lodgings and meals at Las Vegas casinos. As a part of that article, The Indy compiled a time-line of travel for former Washtenaw County Head Start Director Patricia McGee.
In 2011, months before her December retirement, Ms. McGee took multiple trips at taxpayer expense, including a May 2011 trip to Waikiki, Hawaii, where she paid a $1,846 charge at the Waikiki Sheraton with her county-issued credit card.
Verna McDaniel, County Administrator, was asked by Ann Arbor County Commissioners Yousef Rabhi and Andy LaBarre to produce a report detailing the credit card charges revealed in the March 11 article.
Ms. McDaniel wrote a detailed four-page report which included information about exact amounts spent at the casinos for lodging, as well as meals. In her report, Ms. McDaniel explained to the county commissioners that county staff who had lodged at the Las Vegas casinos had done so for purposes of professional development and training.
In her report Ms. McDaniel did not respond with additional information about the multiple trips taken by Ms. McGee at taxpayer expense.
In December 2011, a county official confirmed to the publisher of the online site AnnArborchronicle.com that Ms. McGee had been under investigations for unspecified “allegations. Patricia McGee, as well as her assistant were put on paid leave on December 13, 2011.
A source at the county who asked not to be identified, but who had knowledge of the investigation said county officials “were close-mouthed about what happened to Patricia McGee.”
In January 2012, a county official confirmed to the Ann ArborChronicle.com that the “allegations” against Patricia McGee had been “founded.” No more information was released to the public. The Ann Arbor Independent filed a Freedom of Information Act request for information related to both the investigation and the findings.
Documents released in response to multiple Freedom of Information Act requests show that by December 22, 2011 in the 12 months prior to her retirement, Patricia McGee had 182 hours of vacation time and 52.5 hours of sick time at a cost of $14,082.85 to taxpayers.
Documents also show that Ms. McGee submitted her Notice of Intent to Retire on November 22, 2011, prior to when she was placed on paid leave. Ms. McGee retired on December 30, 2011, according to the county administrator Verna McDaniel.
Ms. McDaniel also stated that Washtenaw County has “internal controls” which govern employee travel. She explained that department heads are expected to review all travel requests. The Washtenaw County finance director Kelly Belknap is in charge of county credit card enforcement.
Ms. Belknap, by phone, outlined the procedure in place for use of county-issued credit cards. Employees with county-issued credit cards submit receipts to the “credit card liaison” person in each county department. That individual is responsible for collecting and examining all receipts.
Independent examinations of the county’s credit card receipts by auditors found no evidence of missing or incomplete credit card documentation, according to Ms. Belknap. Her assertions were confirmed by examinations of the county’s two most recent audit statements. In a single year, county employees may submit over 4,000 credit card receipts for a variety of charges.
The Ann Arbor Independent filed a Freedom of Information Act request to see receipts for the following charges to Patricia McGee’s county-issued credit card:
6/13/2011, House of Nuts
6/13/2011, Nordstrom
6/11/2011, Cheesecake Providence
County officials produced copies of each of the receipts. With the exception of the receipt from the House of Nuts for a charge of $15.04, each receipt was annotated with information about the charge.
The Nordstrom receipt indicated that Ms. McGee had a meal at the store’s cafe and the $70 charge at Cheesecake Providence was for a meal at the Hilton hotel in Dedham, MA on June 11, 2011.
County officials produced no written records of who approved Patricia McGee’s requests to take trips to Hawaii, Washington, DC, Providence, RI, New Orleans and Chicago and stays at luxury hotels, including the Hilton in New Orleans.
Judy Kramer, the county’s FOIA officer denied The Ann Arbor Independent’s request to see “copies of Ms. McGee’s travel requests submitted for the following trips: December 2011, New Orleans, LA, May 2011, Waikiki, HI, April 2011, Kansas City, MO, June 2011, Providence, RI.”
Ms. Kramer responded that “The County policy requires appropriate Department approval before travel expenses are incurred. That approval is not required to be in writing.”
The County’s Travel Policy states that “Appropriate department approval shall be obtained before travel expenses are incurred.”
While The Indy asked to see the dates of Ms. McGee’s vacation days taken in 2011, the response was limited to a paystub which showed the total number of vacation hours Ms. McGee had as of December 22, 2011.
Patricia McGee was unavailable for comment.