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W.Va. Ethics Commission orders sanctions against Spa City mayorSep 15, 2012 (The Register-Herald - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The West Virginia Ethics Commission has ordered sanctions against White Sulphur Springs Mayor Thomas Taylor, who acknowledged he used his town's petty cash and credit card for personal use in 2011. In the commission's final order, Taylor will pay a fine up to $250, attend training on the Ethics Act, repay the remaining restitution of $223.74 to the town of White Sulphur Springs, stop using the town's credit card and receive a public reprimand. White Sulphur Springs council members and town employees must also attend training on the Ethics Act. The complaint from which the sanctions against Taylor are being issued stated he misused White Sulphur Springs' credit card to purchase approximately $169 in auto parts for his personal vehicle. By using the town's credit card Taylor received a 25 percent government discount and did not have to pay West Virginia sales taxes. Taylor repaid the town in full and sales tax to the state. Taylor also used the town's credit card to purchase for personal use a $124 hotel room in Charleston; unauthorized meals for his wife when she accompanied him to the 2012 Municipal League conference; meals for himself without prior approval; to purchase gasoline for both town and personal business without authorization or providing the town with a mileage report. He also used the town's E-Z toll pass during personal travel, but repaid the town. The commission also found that Taylor solicited $400 in donations for a noncharitable event to raise money for the White Sulphur Police Department. The $400 in donations have been returned. Also, Taylor did not follow contract policies by awarding a more than $4,000 contract for landscaping cleanup services for the town to council member Bobby Sams, who recently resigned his seat. It was later agreed that Sams would donate his services to the town in order to ensure compliance with the White Sulphur Springs codes and the Ethics Act. In the findings, the Ethics Commission said Taylor cooperated with the investigation and expressed a willingness to "conform his behavior" to the requirements of the Ethics Act. Taylor signed a Conciliation of Violation, which states: "I, Thomas Taylor, freely and voluntarily acknowledge that I should not have used the town's petty cash and credit card for my personal use. "Based upon my current knowledge and understanding of the West Virginia Governmental Ethics Act, I freely acknowledge that I violated the Ethics Act. I now realize that this is wrong and that just because others have done it in the past does not make it appropriate." ___ (c)2012 The Register-Herald (Beckley, W.Va.) Visit The Register-Herald (Beckley, W.Va.) at www.register-herald.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |