Blog: The Coincidence

For those readers trying to keep abreast on the mileage reimbursement escapades of Commissioner Robin Frazier, I fear I have a hazy report for you at this time.

Where we last left off, Commissioner Frazier had been bilking the county treasury of hundreds of dollars per month for the use of her personal vehicle instead of using a County pool vehicle that is available to all the Commissioners and employees for official use. Frazier has opted to use her own vehicle to travel to church based functions, Boy Scout events, picnics, parades, the MD General Assembly, and even personal speaking engagements at political clubs and organizations and then bill the County treasury for hefty mileage payments.

I will continue to routinely ask the County Attorney for copies of the Commissioner’s expense reimbursement reports; however, my most recent request for Frazier’s was answered with a letter stating that no new reports were available for the period of January 1, 2012 through May 4, 2012 because she has not submitted any additional requests for reimbursements through that period.

That would indicate that Frazier has either stopped her excessive demands on the County Comptroller for reimbursements or that she is sitting on filing new reports in hope this will all blow over.

Or that another Commissioner has stepped in to save her hide by submitting mileage reimbursement requests for himself and then signing the checks over to Frazier. Interestingly enough, Commissioner Richard Rothschild had his Special Assistant Kathy Fuller submitted numerous mileage reimbursement reports and claims for parking fees on April 17, 2012 for $579.90 for numerous trips he made with Commissioner Frazier to Annapolis during the first fiscal quarter of 2012.

There is an interesting similarity between the expense reports both Rothschild and Frazier have filed – they fail to complete the required odometer readings portion of the reports. Although the Commissioners have recently had their Media Hack, Roberta Windham, announce that laws and policies governing county employees do not apply to the Commissioners themselves, I assure readers that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) does not distinguish between the two and expects all individuals collecting mileage reimbursements to indicate their beginning and ending odometer readings. Too bad the Commissioner appointed County Comptroller, Rob Burk, hasn’t the wherewithal to demand that the Commissioners follow the rules governing all county employees when it comes to taking his political bosses to task.

So what’s the big deal about the missing odometer readings? Well those odometer reading are the “fingerprints” on those demands for payments from the county coffers. Each individual’s car odometer reading indicates an accurate measure of the miles driven by the Commissioners when they turn in reports with the expectation of being paid for the miles they claim to have driven. No odometer reading equals no fingerprints.

I do suspect that Rothschild has decided to turn in mileage reimbursement reports with the intention of signing the County check over to Frazier, who has repeatedly shown both a lack of concern for ethics and a desperate need for money. Even if that is not so, how can Rothschild reconcile the use of his personal vehicle for jaunts to Annapolis when a perfectly nice County pool vehicle is available for his use 24 hours a day, seven days a week?