MONTEREY, Calif.- Demanding answers; workers in one central coast city claim the city is wasting tax dollars on food and hotels, while laying off employees.
Central Coast News showed the protest in Soledad Wednesday night.
Union workers claim the city is abusing credit cards with no accountability.
The city manager said that's not true.
Thursday, the Center for Investigative Action went to work to find out what other cities do to make sure there are no problems.
"A credit card transaction is much easier to manage through the system than the traditional purchasing process that involves purchase orders, invoices," said assistant city manager Fred Cohn.
In fact, for the last 10 years every single department in Monterey's City Hall has used credit cards.
"We use them with our maintenance people when they make parts runs, it's a lot simpler than setting up a charge account with a car parts store, or a home improvement store, it helps us streamline."
Assistant city manager Fred Cohn said credit cards are more efficient and more secure because there are paper trails and limits for each.
"Series of limits we are able to put in place with credit card it can be per transaction, per month limit...Every single credit card transaction that is made is reviewed by at least one manager in the city and signed off before it's processed."
Cohn points out that if there is a problem, it's not with the credit cards it's with something that each city should have, a purchasing policy.
Monterey follows most of the spending guidelines set by the IRS.
"When are meals permitted, what are they used for, what is the typical rates in play...Alcohol is always prohibited," said Cohn.
Cohn said what is spent is relative to where you are, "That varies by the market. You go to Washington, DC and $100 hotel and that doesn't buy you too much, you go to some other markets and you can do pretty well for $100 a day."
