Houstonist hasn't heard much from former TSU President Priscilla Slade in a couple of months, and we were beginning to worry that it might be a long time before we got to enjoy another story of public officials going on taxpayer-funded spending sprees. But it turns out we don't have to wait that long after all: According to KHOU, folks associated with the New Caney Fire District had a good, old-fashioned spend-a-thon — on the public's dime.
Among the items charged to a NCFD credit card were $500 in dog food (though the fire department didn't have a dog), more than $1,500 in weight-loss powders and pills, nearly $300 worth of flowers, $413 for a DVD player and some movies, $637 for a surround-sound speaker system, $400 worth of photography equipment, a $500 Home Depot gift certificate, $900 worth of prescription drugs for a board member — and a $7 box of condoms, which must play a role in the firefighting process that we don't know about. "Arghh! That's ridiculous, you know? What can I say," former Assistant Fire Chief Lloyd Franklin told Channel 11. Arghh, indeed.
Over the course of a few years, hundreds of dollars in non-departmental purchases were being charged to the NCFD credit card every week — but it's hard to tell who is to blame because so many people, including firefighters, district board members and their wives, all had access to the card. What's clear, said fire district board member and interim district board president Guy Hancock, is that the board wasn't paying close enough attention: "I think there was a lot of trust out there that people were spending [the money] right," he said. "Were you looking?" KHOU asked Hancock. "I don't think we were," he replied. "I don't think we even thought there was a problem."
KHOU tried to catch up with Bob Yancey, the former president of the fire district board, who is now the target of a criminal investigation along with his wife, Debbie. Channel 11 did find Debbie, who used to keep the books for the district. "I did something wrong," she said. "God, do I regret it." We imagine Yancey's lawyer is going to have some words with her about that admission: He told KHOU that the allegations against the Yanceys were "frivolous."
Hancock said the district board is now trying to get to the bottom of the spending issue and has hired a new bookkeeper. "We are moving forward, and I have nothing to be ashamed of how we're operating today," he told KHOU.
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