A recent audit found that more than $880,000 in purchases made by Roanoke city employees over a recent six-month period lack approved expense reports, a delay that city officials blame on staffing shortages and problems with new financial software.
The 946 charges, totaling $884,283, were made using city purchasing cards between December 2024 and June 2025. The program provides city credit cards for employees to use to pay for certain types of work-related expenses.
The expense reports aren’t missing, according to municipal auditor Drew Harmon; they were filed but still have not been signed off on by the employees’ immediate supervisors or the finance department. Nor did the audit identify any misappropriation or theft, he said…