City car usage slammed

Mayor drove car with suspended license, audit says

The city of Riviera Beach isn’t doing enough to protect taxpayer money, failing to keep track of how often officials travel in city-owned cars, a new inspector’s report says.

five City Council members and the mayor each receive $346 in taxpayer funds for a travel allowance.

But they still can use cityowned cars on top of that, according to an audit by the Palm Beach County Office of the Inspector General, the county’s watchdog agency that guards against abuse in government.

City officials “should come up with some pretty clear reason why — if you’re getting paid $750 per month — why you shouldn’t use your vehicle,” county Inspector General John Carey said.

Carey said he has not received a formal response from the city, but Riviera Beach Manager Jonathan Evans office said Monday the city intends to address the report.

“Currently, the organization is looking into each aspect of these claims and conducting further research,” Evans said in a statement. “In the event that we were inconsistent in applyThe ing the existing policies, we will take full responsibility, and corrective measures will be instituted in the event that those actions are warranted.”

Among the inspector general’s findings:

Riviera Beach officials and staff kept and used city-owned cars during weekends despite policies stating the cars must be returned on those days when the city is closed.