Richmond spokesperson had city-issued credit card suspended [Video]

Richmond city spokesperson Petula Burks’ city-issued purchasing card has been suspended for nearly a year after she failed to clear a backlog of charges and accidentally used the card to pay for a personal expense, documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Richmond Times-Dispatch show.

Burks, who directs the city’s Office of Strategic Communications, made 130 purchases worth a total of $277,151.99 between Jan. 5 and July 20, 2023, according to a transaction log for her purchasing card. The charges included over $71,000 on consulting and public relations services, roughly $50,000 on photo and video studios, more than $42,000 on restaurants and catering and around $1,600 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, where she represented the city at an International Council of Shopping Centers convention.

The city of Richmond allows approved officials to use city-issued credit cards to make certain business-related purchases. Burks’ purchasing card is among at least three cards to be suspended in the …