Editorial: Abusing their card privileges

Friday, May 5, 2000 | 10:07 a.m.

It's outrageous that some state government employees have been abusing their government-sponsored credit cards. The Reno Gazette-Journal first disclosed earlier this week that not only have 40 state employees run up unpaid bills totaling $57,000 over the past two years, but they also have used the Diners Club card, which is only supposed to be used for official use, to pay for personal purchases.

About 2,900 employees, who do extensive traveling in their jobs, have these Diners Club cards. Of the 40 employees who are in arrears, four are responsible for practically half of the $57,000 amount, while another 17 employees have unpaid balances of between $100 to $1,000, according to the Reno newspaper.

If there is a bright side, and in this instance it sure is hard to find one, it is that the state actually isn't liable for the unpaid amounts. Under the contract with Diners Club, the company must assume the losses, not the state. But these losses mean the state won't collect a rebate -- an incentive for getting employees to pay off their cards -- of $8,000 from Diners Club. In addition, because of the losses, in future contracts the company wants to charge the state $10 annually for each employee who has one of these credit cards, which could amount to $29,000 a year.

While misuse of these credit cards certainly should be grounds for disciplinary action, Nevada state government doesn't even know which employees are abusing their credit card privileges. State Controller Kathy Augustine said government can't do much to collect the unpaid amount because of the confidential financial arrangement between the employees and Diners Club.

While we believe in privacy rights, whether it's for employees in the private or public sectors, this crosses the line. After all, the only reason these employees were getting the card in the first place was because they're public employees -- with the understanding that it would be used for official use only. State government department heads should have access to these records in order to prevent their employees from abusing the privilege a state-sponsored credit card offers them.