PITTSBURGH — Another P-Card controversy in the city of Pittsburgh. The city controller’s office is raising questions about a $600 for catering at a councilman’s home.
The food was for a memorial service at a council member’s home.
The council president approved the purchase.
City Controller Rachael Heisler’s office says it’s one thing to send flowers, but $600 worth of catering on the taxpayer’s dime is too much.
While the city council unanimously approved the P-Card purchase without discussion, the city controller’s office is pushing back.
According to an email obtained by 11 Investigates, the controller’s office is questioning the purchase of more than $600 worth of wraps, chicken tenders, and other food items, including a tip for a memorial service for Councilman Khari Mosley’s house.
The controller’s office wrote in a letter to the council, “Our office is empathetic to the tremendous grief all City employees experience when they lose loved ones. However, this charge falls outside the Controller’s generally accepted reimbursable expenses.”
Council President Dan Lavelle authorized the expenditure as a condolence acknowledgement.
“We’ve donated food. We’ve donated flowers. We’ve had plaques prepared for those who have been deceased, and related to councilmembers, so to me, there’s nothing out of the ordinary,” Lavelle said.
While other city council members recall sending flowers in the past, they don’t remember catering a wake.
Lavelle is defending the purchase, saying Mosley’s father, renowned sculptor Thaddeus Mosley, was more than just a councilman’s father.
“It wasn’t just that it was an actual father of a council person, but it was actually a significant figure in the City of Pittsburgh,” Lavelle said.
Lavelle says the wake was open to the public, but some who attended said they didn’t know that.
This is the third time in the three years that the controller’s office has raised questions about P-Card.
The controller’s office is now urging the council to seek an opinion from the ethics hearing board and the law department.
Some council members are privately acknowledging it’s time to establish guidelines...especially while the city is struggling financially.
Earle: Even in this day and age, when you passed a 20% tax increase and money’s tight, you think this is a justifiable expense?
Lavelle: Yes.
Earle: $600 worth of food paid for by the taxpayers.
Lavelle: Yes.
Earle spoke with Councilman Mosley about all of this and he said that he was unaware that the council was sending food until it arrived that day. He says he also ordered and paid for food out of his own pocket.
The controller’s office also reached out to the law department for an opinion.
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