Williston Council Vice President Challenges Mayor’s Claim He was Falsely Accused of Misusing City Credit Card

By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter

Williston Councilwoman Marguerite Robinson, vice president of the council, broke her silence Tuesday to say she believes Mayor Charles Goodman did indeed misuse a city credit card earlier this year.

Goodman gave up his city credit card and repaid about $650 at the request of Council President Debra Jones, but complained in a November council meeting that he had been falsely accused of using the card for personal expenses.

Robinson said Goodman is wrong.

Starting in April and lasting for more than a month, she said Goodman spent between $600 and $700 using his city credit card. He used the card to fill his personal vehicle with gas and bought a pair of reading glasses at Walgreens.

“I was astonished, to say the least,” she said.

Reading from a statement at Tuesday’s city council meeting, Robinson apologized for failing to defend Jones against verbal criticism by Goodman when the two squared off in a verbal exchange at the November meeting over the mayor’s use of the credit card.

“I would like to apologize to President Jones because she took some of the heat at the November meeting and I said nothing,” Robinson said.

Robinson said she was asked by several citizens after the November council meeting if any other council members knew about what Goodman purchased with the card. She said she doesn’t know if the other council members knew about the charges prior to Goodman placing it on the council agenda in August because the council can’t discuss matters between themselves due to the Sunshine Law.

The matter was never discussed at the August council meeting. It was withdrawn from the agenda after Goodman paid the city for all the charges on the card at the request of Jones.

Goodman brought it back for public discussion in November. He said he had been falsely accused of misusing the city credit card. Jones disagreed, saying he did in fact misuse the card. Robinson said nothing at the meeting.

Robinson said City Clerk Latricia Wright brought the mayor’s credit card charges to her attention in June of this year. She said Wright pointed out that the mayor had used the card to spend between $600 and $700 on gas charges, plus one purchase of glasses at Walmart, in a little over a month.

“I considered this taking what does not belong to you or taking city funds,” Robinson said.

Robinson, who has signature authority along with Jones for approving city expenditures, instructed Wright not to approve any additional charges on the card until the matter could be investigated. She said Wright informed her the council president was aware of what happened and had already told the clerk to not approve additional charges on the card made by Goodman.

Robinson said Goodman called and asked her to meet with him at the animal shelter. He wanted to discuss something. Robinson said she met with the mayor and he was upset about a letter he received from Jones requesting he pay the city for all charges on the card.

“He said the (new) shelter belonged to the city and he was doing the city a favor,” she said. (Goodman volunteered to use his expertise as a professional contractor to supervise the construction of the new animal shelter) “I told Mr. Goodman I would not comment to him at that time until I checked out all the (meeting) minutes and facts about the shelter.”

Robinson said she investigated and found out the shelter was still owned by a committee that was raising funds for the new building, and the city wouldn’t take official ownership until a certificate of occupancy was issued by the city.

She said the committee was having trouble building the shelter and approached the council for assistance. That’s when Goodman raised his hand and volunteered his services as a contractor.

“As I have been raised to believe, if you volunteer that is exactly what it is – you are giving yourself and your time and if you give monetarily that is up to you,” Robinson said.

Goodman has indeed supervised construction of the new shelter. He says it is almost finished. He says the charges on his city credit were made in connection with building the shelter.

After Goodman repaid the city, Robinson said she thought the matter was over, but in November, Goodman placed the credit card issue on the agenda and said he wanted to set the record straight. She said he began to quote from the charter about compensation and expenses the mayor can receive, but fell short of giving a full explanation.

She said Section 2:04 of the charter states, “Compensation: expenses.” “The Mayor shall receive his actual and necessary expenses in the performance of his duties.”

“The Animal Shelter is not the duties of the Mayor,” Robinson said.

At the point when Goodman was accused of using his city credit card for personal purchases, the Animal Shelter was being built by a volunteering citizen (Goodman), but not by Goodman in his role as the mayor, Robinson said.

She said Goodman had served in the council for 7-8 years before he resigned, including serving as council president. He then ran for mayor and defeated incumbent Mayor Jerry Robinson, husband of Marguerite Robinson, for the position.

“And he admitted and stated he did not know how to use a city credit card. I know you do not use someone else’s credit card for your own use,” she said. “By the way, if we do go out of the area to perform city duties, we use expense reports. We get reimbursed by mileage for city duties, not by filling (gas) tanks. If he did not know, he should have asked prior to starting to charge his gas. I think I have only used an expense report once or twice since I have been on the council for almost six years – to go to Tallahassee for Legislative days.”

She called Goodman’s claim that he was never instructed how to use a city credit card “bizarre.”

“Again, citizens and Madam President, I am sorry for not stating the facts as I knew them.”

Goodman remained silent throughout Robinson’s statement to the council and audience.