How did former District 6 City Rep. Claudia Rodriguez spend $7,555.48 of taxpayer money in one day?
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — Questions still remain how former District 6 City Representative Claudia Rodriguez spent $7,555.48 in one day using taxpayer money in October 2022.
Rodriguez made eight transactions using a taxpayer-funded purchasing card on the same day the city representative hosted a city-sponsored Halloween event, but there is no indication those purchases were made for the event.
Records obtained by ABC-7 through an open records request show Rodriguez made seven purchases at the same Walmart store and one other purchase at Target on October 13, 2022. Five of the seven purchases at Walmart were within $6 of $1,000, but none of them exceeded that amount.
According to the city P-card policy, split purchases should not be made to avoid exceeding the single transaction threshold. The P-cards have single transaction limits that vary based on what is set for the individual. While it’s not clear what Rep. Hernandez’s purchase limit was at the time, a city source tells ABC-7 they can range from $1,500 to $9,000 per single transaction and $3,000 to $9,000 per month for city representatives. The source says those limits are approved by Chief Financial Officer Robert Cortinas and the city’s Managing Director Nicole Cote.
The policy states the P-card program is intended to simplify “small dollar purchases.”
The same day Rep. Rodriguez made those purchases, she hosted a Monster Mash Halloween costume giveaway event at Marty Robbins Recreational Center. The event was promoted by the city in a news release two days prior on October 11, 2022.
The news release states partners helped pay for the event through donations, including Technimark, ZTEX Construction, Marathon Petroleum Corporation, El Paso Electric and the Aguilar Family Foundation.
It was announced during an October 25, 2022 city council meeting that the city accepted a $4,000 donation for the event from ZTEX Construction.
The news release also indicates: "In addition, a portion of the costumes were purchased at Party City who provided a significant discount."
Rodriguez shared a post from ZTEX Construction about the event on her government official Facebook page on October 13, 2022 stating: “Thank you ZTEXConstruction Inc. for your kind donation! With your help we were able to bring lots of big smiles and free Halloween costumes to over 1,000 children in our community! Thank you again for your continued support, it’s greatly appreciated."
Nowhere in the records obtained by ABC-7 does it show Rep. Hernandez using her P-card at a Party City location.
Additionally, the representative only spent $124.27 on her P-card the rest of the month of October 2022.
ABC-7 reached out to the former representative for comment on her transactions. She did not initially respond on Tuesday, but ABC-7 is working to secure an interview with her.
ABC-7 has an outstanding request for itemized receipts of the P-cards through and open records request as of May 12, 2023, but those receipts have not been provided.
