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Council receives credit-card statements; staff suspends purchasing-card program pending investigation
Summary
The council received and filed staff-provided credit-card statements for early 2025. Staff said an investigation is underway, the purchasing-card program has been temporarily suspended and new cards will be reissued; staff said travel already booked for council members has been secured.
The Compton City Council on Dec. 9 received and filed quarterly credit-card statements staff provided for earlier 2025 and was told an active internal investigation is underway.
Assistant City Manager Tamara Benz said the city has temporarily suspended its purchasing-card program after determining that card numbers had been exposed and that cards will be reissued. "We immediately suspended the program until the cards can be reissued with new credit cards," Benz said. She told the council that the suspension bars new charges until new cards are issued but does not cancel existing, already'processed payments for travel or registration.
Staff characterized the reconciliation as ongoing. The staff cover memo included a total number of charges shown in the transcript as "89,3694," which staff described during the meeting as part of a reconciliation process; Benz said full reconciliation is pending and the investigation will determine whether further action is needed.
Benz and the city manager told council members that travel for a legislative trip to Sacramento in January has been "secured" because those charges were processed before the suspension. Council voted to receive and file the statement and directed staff to return when the investigation and reconciliation are complete.
Ending: Staff said it will reissue new purchasing cards and notify council and the public about program changes and the results of the investigation.
