Jan 18 2012 by Craig Robertson, Dumfries Standard Wednesday
COUNCIL chiefs have revealed more details on the authority’s £750,000 credit card bill.
Purchases included 10 Nintendo DS consoles and the Ultimate Band game for a school and a £300 microwave for firefighters.
The council also splashed out nearly £1,500 at the four-star Cavens Country House Hotel near Kirkbean when chief executive Gavin Stevenson and directors attended a two-day seminar in 2009.
And £500 was attributed to the Hilton Doubletree Gateway Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina, in America.
That covered seven nights’ accommodation for a fire and rescue station officer who attended the 2010 UK/US Flood and Water Emergency Tactical Master Class.
The latest figures follow an investigation by the Standard last month which revealed that a credit card bill totalling £750,000 had been racked-up over three years.
It detailed how officials and councillors had visited several countries, including America, Canada and Germany, on local authority business.
The information was released under a Freedom of Information request.
The new details came in a second response from the authority on £5,581 worth of the total spend.
Nearly £2,000 of that went to electrical retailer Comet.
The purchases included £130 on a fridge for a council office; £539 on four freezers for Dumfries Fire Station; and £300 on a commercial microwave for the fire station.
It also includes £20 on a netbook cover and spending on a fridge and a camcorder for schools.
Another £352 was spent on a gift card at Comet for a long service award.
About £1,200 was spent at retailer Currys on a microwave for the fire service control room; the Nintendo gaming machines; two microwaves for Dalry School; and a digital camera for the Sulwath Project.
A council spokeswoman said: “Purchase cards can save the council money especially for one-off purchases because it allows officers to search the internet for best bargains. However, the council does have negotiated framework contracts which officers must follow for a range of goods/services ordered through our electronic system.
“Some suppliers do not follow traditional purchase ordering/invoicing routes, but require the monies to be paid at the same time as the order is placed.
“Hotels and travel related companies tend to follow this business model. “Purchase cards have to be used for these particular goods and services.”
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