Lawrence Mayor Jeremy Farmer looks to the crowd at a City Commission meeting, April 14, 2015, at City Hall.

Former Lawrence Mayor Jeremy Farmer used a city-issued credit card to pay for about $1,100 of personal expenses, but repaid the city just prior to resigning his position Wednesday, city officials have announced.

Farmer reimbursed the city for items that included purchases at Dick’s Sporting Goods, at a movie theater, airline tickets and other items after interim City Manager Diane Stoddard asked for an explanation of the charges. Stoddard said city staff members closely monitor city credit card usage and routinely reconcile credit card accounts.

“Our processes had identified that we had some irregular charges there,” Stoddard said. “As we learned of the charges, we visited with him and his reasons for those.”

Farmer provided the city checks totaling $1,148.85 on Tuesday, and also wrote a memo to city staff members and commissioners explaining that he used the city’s credit card to pay for some personal expenses because his personal credit cards on two separate occasions had been “compromised.”

In the memo, Farmer said he thought this was an acceptable practice because he had done so in the past when David Corliss had served as the city manager.

“Since this time, Diane Stoddard has advised that this is not something that is acceptable per our travel policy, which I received a copy of just a few weeks ago,” Farmer wrote in the memo.

Stoddard said she believes there was only one other instance where Farmer used a city credit card for a purpose that required him to reimburse the city. She said he attended a city meeting in Los Angeles last year where part of his hotel bill included charges for alcohol. The city’s policy does not allow for city funds to be used to pay for alcohol as part of a business trip. Stoddard said Farmer reimbursed the city for those charges, but she is unaware of other instances where Farmer used the card for personal expenses prior to this recent episode. She said the city’s financial staff routinely looks for such charges.

“I think our staff has been extremely diligent on this matter,” Stoddard said. “We understood it was very important.”

Most of the charges in question occurred in July. Farmer traveled to Washington, D.C., two times during the month — once for a fact-gathering trip on how the community’s justice system could better serve the needs of people with mental health issues and another trip to attend the Young Elected Officials conference.

In Washington, D.C., Farmer used a city credit card to pay a portion of an airline ticket for a traveling companion who was not a city employee or part of the city’s delegation. Stoddard said it appeared the companion originally paid for the ticket, but when a flight needed to be changed, Farmer used the city credit card to pay for the additional charges related to the flight change. One expense was for $240.99 to Southwest Airlines and another expense was for $103 to Southwest Airlines.

Other personal expenses in Washington, D.C., included $102.31 for a pair of ties at JoS A. Bank and a nearly $27 dry cleaner’s bill. Farmer wrote in the Tuesday memo that the use of the city’s credit card was required because his personal credit card had been compromised and “I had no other means to pay for anything.”

Farmer said a second personal credit card also was compromised, which required him to use a city credit card for a couple of purchases in Kansas City: $50.32 at Dick’s Sporting Goods and $20 at the Legends Stadium 14 movie theater.

In his memo, Farmer said the use of the city credit card had nothing to do with “things that have gone on in the past” and recently came to light in the media. On Monday, the board of Just Food announced that it and Farmer had come to a “mutual decision” that Farmer should step down as executive director of the food bank. Farmer has conceded that he failed to pay about $50,000 in federal payroll taxes for the nonprofit. On Wednesday, Farmer resigned from the Lawrence City Commission.

Stoddard said she was not aware that Farmer was using the city’s credit card for personal expenses until she requested an explanation for the unusual charges. She said Farmer was still within the accepted time frame for city employees to turn in their reconciliation statements, but she said earlier notification of the personal expense issue would have been useful.

“I think it certainly would have been helpful for me to be notified of his personal use of the card,” Stoddard said.

Stoddard’s office released details of the travel expenses on Thursday at the urging of Commissioner Leslie Soden, who as vice mayor is serving as acting mayor. Soden said she wanted the city to be proactive in dealing with the travel expense issue.

Stoddard’s office had recently individually notified city commissioners of the irregular expenses incurred by Farmer. Stoddard had planned on releasing the documents at a special meeting at 2 p.m. on Friday at City Hall, where commissioners will discuss the process for replacing Farmer.

2015 Mayor Farmer Travel Expense Statements

San Antonio, TX, April 8-11

http://www.lawrenceks.org/assets/cmo/purchasingcardrelease/04-08-15_04-11-15_san_antonio_expense_statement.pdf

Washington D.C., April 14-17

http://www.lawrenceks.org/assets/cmo/purchasingcardrelease/04-14-15_04-17-15_dc_expense_statement.pdf

Washington, D.C., June 27-July 4

http://www.lawrenceks.org/assets/cmo/purchasingcardrelease/06-27-15_07-04-15_dc_expense_statement.pdf

Washington, D.C., July 23

http://www.lawrenceks.org/assets/cmo/purchasingcardrelease/07-23-15_yeo_expense_statement.pdf

Purchasing Card Reconciliation Statements

April 27, 2015

http://www.lawrenceks.org/assets/cmo/purchasingcardrelease/04-27-15_visa_statement.pdf

July 27, 2015

http://www.lawrenceks.org/assets/cmo/purchasingcardrelease/07-27-15_visa_statement.pdf

Mayor Farmer Explanation of Charges

http://www.lawrenceks.org/assets/cmo/purchasingcardrelease/Farmer-reimbusement-memo.pdf