"They Swipe A Lot"

INVESTIGATIVE CATEGORY — SHOWCASE Certificate of merit

Fort Bend Herald
Contributors: Scott Reese Willey
04/30/2023

In February 2023, three members of the Kendleton City Council showed up at the Fort Bend Herald Newspaper in Rosenberg and informed its editor that they had been trying unsuccessfully to obtain city of Kendleton credit card and bank statements. As council members, they were legally allowed to review the monthly credit card statements and checking account expenditures, but the town’s mayor would not provide the documents to the council, they informed the editor.

The following day, the Herald’s editor filed a Texas Public Information Act request for the city’s credit card statements dating back 10 years.

About two weeks later, the Herald received the three years' worth of credit card statements and in April published a series of stories on the credit card statements.

The series of stories, titled “They Swipe A Lot,” revealed the mayor and city secretary had spent tens of thousands of dollars over that three-year period dining out, shopping, gassing up and more.

The series included a detailed look at all the credit card expenditures over those three years, including the dates of each purchase, the location and the amount spent.

Follow-up stories included a close look at the fuel receipts issued to the city of Kendleton by the county fuel depot. Government agencies within Fort Bend County can purchase low-cost fuel from the county and records obtained through the Texas Public Information Act revealed that the city of Kendleton used the county fuel depot monthly. However, the city credit card statements revealed that the mayor and city secretary also spent tens of thousands of dollars at gas stations and convenience stores — sometimes spending over $100 per purchase, an excessive amount for a community measuring one square mile.

In all, the Herald allocated more than 1,000 inches of newspaper space to publish the series and follow-up stories.

The Herald also covered Kendleton City Council meetings to follow up on the issue of credit card and checking cashing use by the mayor and city secretary.

One follow-up story revealed the city of Kendleton was forced to buy two used pickup trucks from the county because it couldn’t afford to buy new vehicles.

Other stories revealed the former city bookkeeper had brought up the issue of the questionable credit card use with the mayor and she was fired.

Yet another story revealed the mayor had spent taxpayer money to pay for a defense attorney after he was indicted. Another story revealed the mayor had cashed a $9,000 city check to pay off the plaintive in his criminal case. In both stories, the city council members said they were unaware of the transactions and went on record to say the mayor had no authority to use city money to pay for personal use.

Other stories revealed the city council members’ frustrated attempts to bring up at council meetings the city’s credit card use and checking account use.

The Herald also published multiple editorials blasting the mayor and city secretary on their unwise spending practices and flagrant disregard for taxpayers' dollars.

In June, the city council fired the city secretary against the mayor’s wishes. In December 2023, despite the vehement protest of the mayor, the city council put restrictions on city credit card and checking account use.

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Submitted by Scott Reese Willey.