Daytona Beach city commissioners spent hours Tuesday night in a tense public back-and-forth over an internal audit that says the fire department racked up more than $500,000 in poorly tracked vehicle maintenance charges and at least $50,000 in restaurant and fast-food spending between 2021 and 2025. The marathon discussion triggered demands for paperwork, talk of an outside review, and promises from city officials to dig up more records.
Audit Finds Missing Receipts And Unusual Buys
The report outlines 11 separate issues that auditors say undercut basic financial controls. The findings include hundreds of missing receipts and purchases that auditors described as unrelated to core firefighting work. Among the line items: roughly $50,000 at restaurants and fast-food chains, 15 televisions, baby-shower decorations, shoe purchases, and more than $500,000 in vehicle repairs and fuel that often lacked proof that the city’s fleet management signed off.
Investigators also flagged employees using take-home vehicles without supporting mileage logs. The findings were summarized for commissioners in a public presentation, as reported by FOX 35 Orlando.
Fire Department And City Response
Fire department representatives told commissioners that several of the food purchases were tied to previously approved budget lines and documented for specific events. They also said some vehicle assignments have already been adjusted in response to the audit.
City leaders stressed that the goal of the presentation was to keep the commission informed, while acknowledging that a deeper look may be necessary as questions pile up, as reported by FOX 35 Orlando.
Commissioners Press For Independent Review
On the dais, commissioners split over how much weight to give the audit as written. Several argued that any complaints about inaccuracies or context should be backed up with evidence before the report is either embraced or dismissed.
Some commissioners pushed for a third-party review and asked for the underlying documents that would show whether the questioned purchases and take-home vehicles were justified. During the meeting, they were told at least some take-home vehicles had already been returned and that certain purchasing cards issued to contractors were suspended while the review continues, according to ClickOrlando.
Policy Gaps The Audit Highlighted
The city’s own purchasing-card rules explicitly bar gasoline and vehicle repairs on P-cards and require itemized receipts and event names for food purchases. Auditors said those requirements were not consistently followed.
Training materials also put the responsibility on supervisors to review transactions and keep supporting documentation. Those expectations are spelled out in the city’s P-card training guide, available through the City of Daytona Beach. If the audit findings hold up, they would represent a compliance problem as much as a bookkeeping mess, based on the city’s own written rules.
State Audit And Next Steps
City officials told commissioners they plan to pull together additional receipts and approvals in an effort to clear up which charges were legitimate and which may have crossed a line. They urged patience while the staff dug through the records.
At the same time, a separate state-level audit of Daytona Beach is expected later this year. Commissioners said they want outstanding questions resolved before they consider any personnel moves, as reported by FOX 35 Orlando.
What Investigators Say About Wrongdoing
City auditor Abinet Belachew told WESH that he does not expect to uncover evidence of fraud but warned that investigators would open criminal inquiries if the review turned up clear misuse.
The debate exposed long-running questions about oversight and governance that city leaders say they want to fix. Commissioners left Tuesday’s meeting with more questions than answers, and both the internal audit and the looming state review are poised to reshape how Daytona Beach handles its purchasing cards in the months ahead.
