Fort Lauderdale audit flags questionable city credit card spending

Fort Lauderdale’s audit of city-issued credit cards flagged at least $336,650 in questionable or prohibited spending and triggered unpaid suspensions for three senior managers at City Hall. The review covered transactions from October 2023 through December 2024 and found more than $10,250 in Florida Panthers tickets, catered food and event parking used as gifts for airport tenants.

The city’s purchasing cards, or P-cards, are meant for authorized small-dollar business purchases and travel expenses, not personal spending. City Auditor Pat Reilly and his office presented the findings at the May 6 City Commission meeting, laying out weak approvals, poor recordkeeping and uneven enforcement. Among the items flagged were $3,100 in gifts for airport lessees tied to travel to a Las Vegas marketing conference, $1,800 in leather luggage bought for members of the Airport Advisory Board, and a compromised card that was left unreported for months and racked up $20,000 in third-party fraud.

The audit also identified $180,000 in vehicle repairs and modifications, $55,000 in food transactions above allowable limits, $30,000 in non-travel items bought with travel cards, $30,000 in telephone and telecommunications expenses, a $3,500 duplicate payment, $1,500 in retirement gifts over the limit and a $1,500 computer purchased without pre-approval.

City Manager Rickelle Williams disciplined Finance Director Linda Short, Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport Director Rufus James and Assistant Director Carlton Harrison. The audit did not accuse them of personally abusing cards but held them responsible for approving and overseeing the system. James and Harrison received three-day unpaid suspensions, while Short received a two-day unpaid suspension. Williams, who started as city manager on April 2, 2025, oversees a budget of about $1.2 billion and more than 3,000 employees. The audit covered a period before her tenure.

More than a dozen residents forwarded Commissioner Steve Glassman a robotext about the audit urging people to call Williams and complain.

Florida’s Department of Government Efficiency requested more than 9,200 documents from Fort Lauderdale on June 10, with a June 23 deadline to turn over the records. Gov. Ron DeSantis created the state effort in February 2025.