Tamarac reimbursed $594 dinner bill paid by lobbyist, inspector general says

Tamarac officials have paid back the $594 dinner tab initially footed by a lobbyist, the Broward Office of the Inspector General said Thursday.

The agency’s Aug. 15 investigation found some members of Tamarac’s City Commission had received “gifts” when they attended a dinner on March 29, 2023 in Washington, D.C., when the city’s federal lobbyist paid the bill.

The dinner’s receipt showed two credit card payments for the three-hour dinner at Table 301, including entrees such as salmon, a cowboy ribeye and lamb, salads, desserts of sundaes and creme brulee, and drinks including Moscato.

Although investigators initially wrote in their report that “no one had reimbursed either the lobbyist or her Firm for any of the $594.46 that she paid for the meal” because “the City Manager communicated that the City had not received anything from the Firm, that is, the City had not received sufficient documentation to pay the firm’s February 23, 2024, invoice for the dinner.”

The OIG interviewed the city manager about the Washington trip, including about the two dinners, on Dec. 14, 2023 and again in February.

They requested records of contracts, billing, invoices, requests for reimbursement, and payments to and from the lobbying firm and the lobbyist in January.

An update Thursday showed the city submitted documentation last week that showed the city reimbursed the lobbying firm for the dinner in April.

But investigators still said their point is unwavering: “The new information does not negate either the OIG’s determination that the March 29, 2023, dinner constituted gifts or the reminder to Broward County’s elected officials that they should always be mindful of the source of gifts and other things of value that they receive,” officials said in a prepared statement.

The ethics watchdog didn’t find misconduct and declined to recommend charges. It said everyone had testified that the city manager used his city credit card to pay for group meals when dining with them, and he had also been at the dinner, “and given that our investigation did not uncover any facts showing that the commission members knew that the City Manager did not pay, we did not conclusively determine that they knew that the City’s Federal Lobbyist paid for dinner on March 29, 2023.”

The inspector general noted how Broward’s elected officials should be mindful of the ethics code, which prohibits accepting any gift with a value that exceeds $5 from a lobbyist, vendor, or contractor.

“The OIG reminds all of Broward’s elected officials that the Ethics Code states it is their responsibility to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, that there are gift prohibitions within the Ethics Code, and that officials should be vigilant in ensuring they hold themselves to the highest ethical standards,” investigators wrote.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com . Follow on X, formerly Twitter, @LisaHuriash