Recorder spent more on travel than elected colleagues - Bloomington Pantagraph
BLOOMINGTON — A review of travel records for McLean County's elected officials by the county auditor confirms that Recorder Lee Newcom has spent more annually on travel than his colleagues.
County Auditor Michelle Anderson released three additional travel reports Wednesday to The Pantagraph that detail the cost and extent of officials' travel.
The auditor's comparison comes in the wake of a controversy over how Newcom books travel and his use of the county credit card. The auditor's office took away Newcom's card three times for violating county policy by purchasing hotel rooms on discount Internet sites Priceline and Hotwire.
He also put an airline ticket for his daughter on the card several years ago. He promptly repaid the cost, but the personal expense violated county policy.
Anderson said her report "shows Mr. Newcom is the only one who is routinely breaking the travel policy and it shows he travels more than his colleagues."
The review of travel by all eight countywide elected officials shows that Newcom's annualized travel costs since he took office in 2004 amount to $4,333 for both in- and out-of-state travel. The smallest expense for travel comes from County Clerk Don Everhart, who has spent $593 per year on average since 2008.
Newcom declined an offer by The Pantagraph for a copy of the auditor's breakdown of travel expenses.
"I don't care to see it or comment on it," said Newcom, calling the report "a stupid, meaningless comparison."
Newcom maintains that he did not intend to offer public comment on other officials when he previously asked Anderson for copies of their travel records.
In an email to officials last month, he said he would review the materials privately to determine the truth of Anderson's claim that he traveled more than others and his own assertion that he saved the county money by using discount sites.
"This is not an attempt to engage in any 'gotcha' type of activity," Newcom told other officials in the email message.
Starting Aug. 23 with Sheriff Mike Emery, all seven elected officials released their own reports.
Newcom said his travel is necessary to obtain information for his office, information that he said has resulted in many upgrades in technology and efficiency.
"This is an office no one understands. I took one of the worst, most abused county recorder's offices in the state to what is probably one of the best," said Newcom.
Travel costs
Following is a comparison of how much each of the following countywide elected officials has spent per year on travel.
Official...Cost/year
Recorder Lee Newcom...$4,333.17
State's Attorney Bill Yoder...$3,570.35
Auditor Michelle Anderson...$3,132.12
County Clerk Kathy Michael...$2,301.75
Treasurer Rebecca McNeil...$1,934.47
Sheriff Mike Emery...$1,227.20
Coroner Beth Kimmerling...$646.82
Circuit Clerk Don Everhart...$593.02
Methodology notes
-- The total each spent between the day they took office and Aug. 30, 2011, was divided by the number of years they have been in office. For example, Newcom spent $29,240.01 since taking office on Dec. 1, 2004. Thus the total was divided by 6.747945 years (2,463 days) to yield $4,333.17.
-- Emery and Kimmerling have county vehicles, so some actual travel costs cannot be included and may skew the analysis.
-- The continuing education requirements vary office to office.
31 Aug, 2011--
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