DeKalb Commissioner Under Fire For Alleged Misuse Of County Funds

The AJC reports that many of the purchases came during a two-year period in 2012 and 2013 in which Boyer and her husband were in danger of losing their home to foreclosure.

Boyer, who represents portions of north DeKalb including Brookhaven and Dunwoody, sometimes repaid the charges to the county within weeks or months, but more than $2,600 remained outstanding at the time the AJC began asking for receipts.

William Perry of the government watchdog group Common Cause said it appears Boyer was using the county VISA card as an open line of credit for personal expenses.

“This isn’t something that should be used as a slush fund or a line of credit. This is taxpayer dollars,” said Perry.

Boyer did not respond to WABE’s requests for comment, but to the AJC, she said the expenses were the result of sloppy bookkeeping.

Currently, DeKalb commissioners have no oversight on how they use their county debit cards, beyond signing an initial statement pledging to use it only for work expenses.

Many in the county have called for reform and the creation of a new internal auditor position. After years of talks, DeKalb Interim CEO Lee May and the county commission signed off on a budget that includes funds for the position. However, it remains unfilled.

Boyer has been one of the commissioners to voice concerns about the amount of power the proposed auditor would have, particularly when investigating elected officials.

Perry says it now makes more sense why Boyer has been raising those concerns.

“She has both stalled on the ethics budget – getting an increase – as well as this position for an independent auditor, so it surprises me when anybody does this kind of thing but there have been reasons perhaps why she has been trying to stall this process,” said Perry.

DeKalb District Attorney Robert James declined WABE’s request for comment, but the AJC reports James said he needs to see records before his office decides to launch an investigation.