A letter from the city manager to council members about Treasurer Ron Williams’ spending took the place recently of a report requested by Councilman Charles Parr.

The letter was in response to handwritten letters from “A Chuckatuck Taxpayer” that were sent to local media, constitutional officers and City Council members. The letters accused the treasurer of spending too much on travel and training and using taxpayer money to conduct the annual United Way Golf Tournament, which Williams hosts.

City Manager Selena Cuffee-Glenn said the city has no record of public money being spent to support the golf tournament. She also said she met with Williams to discuss the travel and training expenses, which totaled about $12,847 for Williams and 15 employees last year.

“It is my finding that while such expenses may be considered questionable, the Treasurer was within his authority to expend funds appropriated to him by Council for such purposes,” Cuffee-Glenn wrote in a Nov. 15 letter.

At the Nov. 3 council meeting, Parr requested a report to be delivered at the Nov. 17 meeting. The issue was not raised at that meeting, apparently because Cuffee-Glenn’s letter was sent two days before.

Every travel and training expense must be submitted by Williams to be approved by an employee in the finance department. Many of the line-item expenses in the account are mileage reimbursements for employees who drive their personal cars to the satellite office in North Suffolk or to perform tax collection duties, Williams said.

However, larger items include $1,325 for Williams to attend the Treasurers’ Association of Virginia treasurers’ conference, as well as $2,241 for five employees to attend a Williamsburg conference in June that included overnight stays.

Cuffee-Glenn’s letter addressed a number of questions raised by the anonymous letter-writer, including what training and travel are mandated by the state and how the taxpayers benefit.

“According to the Commonwealth and the Treasurer’s Association of Virginia, there is no mandated training for the Treasurer’s staff,” she wrote. “However, continuing education is promoted by the Treasurer’s Association for its members, new officers and deputy staff.”

Cuffee-Glenn said in her letter that there are benefits from the extra training.

“Both the employee and the taxpayer derive the benefit as city personnel resources are enhanced with knowledgeable staff to address circumstances as they arise.”

The city manager’s letter also addressed mileage reimbursement. All city employees are paid at the Internal Revenue Service rate of 50 cents a mile. Williams alone tallied about $3,708 in mileage charges for his personal vehicle last year.