Audit of South Bay questions $306,377 spent under Alston

Palm Beach County Inspector Gen. Sheryl Steckler

Corey L. Alston, who is still listed as a member of the FAMU Foundation Board of Directors, is back in the news following the release of audit that flagged hundreds of thousands of expenditures that took place during his tenure as a city manager.

Palm Beach County Inspector General Sheryl Steckler released the first phase of an audit into the finances of South Bay, Florida from 2009 through 2012. Alston served as the city manager of the poverty-stricken, 5,000-person town during that period.

“We have, thus far, questioned $306,377 in expenditures, including $298,209 out of $1,198,303 (25%) of expenditures that we sampled, and $8,168 in fuel charges for a home to work City vehicle that we noted,” the audit stated.

A report by WPTV in West Palm Beach summarized some of biggest findings.

“Wasteful spending on the behalf of city employees included $122,268 to consultants outside of the approval of the commission, $17,306 for a bus that sitting in storage as scrap, $6,071 for lunches and parties, $887 in flowers to employees, and nearly $18,000 on an employee credit card who no longer worked for the city. Questionable costs added up to $306,377, all approved by Alston, according to [Director of Audit Dennis Schindel],” WPTV reported.

Alston defended himself by claiming: “No expense was made that wasn't budgeted or approved by the city commission.”

Alston stepped down as the city manager of South Bay on February 15 in the wake of a grand theft charge against him. He was in the middle of two year term as chairman of the FAMU Foundation, but is no longer serving in that position although he remains on the board.

Read the full audit report here.