Kane auditor hopefuls differ on county credit card use
Two people seeking the Republican nomination for Kane County Auditor in the March 15 primary election have differing views on the county's policies for credit card use by employees and hiring practices.
The issue surfaced late last year as Auditor Terry Hunt and other officials proposed tighter controls on use of 84 county-issued credit cards, which technically could have been used to rack up some $768,000 in purchases.
Hunt, a Sugar Grove resident who was first elected in 2012, is seeking another 4-year term; challenger Craig Lee, a retired financial consultant from Geneva, is seeking his first public office.
Lee said county credit card use is up 165 percent from previous years and the auditor should have more control over expenditures.
"There's a lot of grey area," said Lee, who argues that Hunt's office has become politicized when the auditor's role is verify and review county expenditures.
The credit card issue arose last year when Kane County Coroner Rob Russell was criticized for spending $6,000 on promotional expensese for his office.
A new county policy considers a department to be over budget if at any time during the year the department is projected to spend more than it takes in. When that happens, Hunt's office can withhold a credit card payment.
County employees are banned from using credit cards for alcohol, tobacco and personal use.
"Each and every credit card transaction is reviewed at least twice," Hunt said. noting employees mainly use county-issued credit cards for travel expensese and to register for professional conferences. "The fact that (credit) card use has increased is not necessarily a bad thing."
The winner of the March 15 election advances to the November general election. Early voting has begun and runs through March 14.