City council member Ian O’Hara uses his City of Gulfport credit card for bars and restaurants: The Gabber

By Patrick Heinzen, The Gabber

Gulfport Vice Mayor and Ward IV Council member Ian O’Hara spent more than $5,000 on his City credit card since March at restaurants, bars, taxis, and laundry. The Gulfport City Council members all have City-issued credit cards for City-related expenses. Between Mar. 6 and Sept. 3, O’Hara spent $8,458.70. Subtracting his City-related expenses, O’Hara spent $5,738.80.

Many of these expenses come from local restaurants and bars. Across six months, there are 118 charges. O’Hara declined to comment on the charges. “I’ll be asking Council tonight [Oct. 1] whether they want to take action,” said Henderson, adding that if the council doesn’t address this, “It makes us look complicit.”

Total Charges

• City business (two hotels for conferences and a Florida League of Cities registration): $2,809.90
• Pia’s Trattoria: $870.09
• Drunken Taco: $793.45
• O’Maddy’s: $659.39
• The Wine House: $524.64
• North End Tap House: $476.69
• Corner Cafe: $310.45
• Hurricane Eddie’s: $267.78
• Neptune Grill: $252.35
• LALA: $193.30
• Beau & Mo’s: $164.78
• Stellas: $132.34
• Taxi Rides: $126.95
• Gulfport Brewery: $113.46
• Salt Rock Grill: $99.15
• Dead Bob’s: $95.33
• GiGi’s Italian: 83.62
• Deb’s Laundry: $79
• Texas Roadhouse: $74.74
• Ruby’s Elixir: $60.76
• The Tiki: $45.30
• Toucan’s Grill: $41.03
• Cracker Barrel: $40.08
• Sumitra: $39.12
• Salthouse Social: $32.57
• Floridian Social Club: $28.89
• Zipperz: $28.73
• Dog Bar: $27.48
• Alphabet Soup: $23.53
• Gulfport Beach Bazaar: $19.73
• Pasadena Produce and Deli: $19.22
• Comfort Cafe: $14.85

All City of Gulfport employees who get a City-issued credit or purchasing card are supposed to sign a City of Gulfport cardholder agreement. O’Hara declined to comment on whether or not he signed the agreement. The Gabber Newspaper reached out to Gulfport City Clerk Theresa Carrico to confirm O’Hara signed and returned his agreement, but did not receive an answer by press time.

The agreement reads, “I acknowledge that use of this card for any purpose other than City of Gulfport approved business expenses are prohibited and will be grounds for termination.”

Ian O’Hara’s Credit Card: Florida Statutes

Florida Statute 112.501 lays out details for suspension or removal of municipal board members. Section 2 of the statute states, “By resolution specifying facts sufficient to advise a municipal board member as to the basis for his or her suspension or removal and after reasonable notice to the municipal board member and an opportunity for the member to be heard, a governing body of the municipality may: Suspend or remove from office any municipal board member for malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, incompetence, or permanent inability to perform his or her official duties.”

Gulfport City Manager Jim O’Reilly commented on the usage of City credit cards.

“The Mayor and City Council’s purchasing card use is not pre-approved or disapproved by City staff. In regards to the Mayor and City Council, staff can only advise and counsel on their use.”

“We haven’t been asked to look into it,” Gulfport Police Chief Rob Vincent told The Gabber Newspaper. “It would have to more than cross the threshold of it being unauthorized.”

The mayor also said he would ask the Council if they wanted to look into allegations made against council member April Thanos (Ward I).

Charges Per Month

• Mar. 6 to Apr. 3: 10 charges, $574.88
• Apr. 8 to May. 3: 10 charges, $287.72
• May 9 to June 3: 15 charges, $1,915.28
• June 10 to July 2: 35 charges, $2,122.14
• July 5 to Aug. 1: 33 charges, $1,882.50
• Aug. 9 to Sept. 3: 15 charges, $1,766.20

This article originally appeared in The Gabber