Policing the use of city credit cards has always been a pain for the City of Hamilton.

Officials are probing allegations that a parks manager used a city procurement card to rack up thousands of dollars in home improvement purchases, including patio furniture.

City spokesperson Mike Kirkopoulos said the investigation continued Friday and no discipline had been meted out.

Hamilton police have not been contacted, but public works committee chair Sam Merulla said he is "actively calling for them to be involved" if the city probe suggests taxpayers are out of pocket.

Merulla acknowledged the city - including council - has learned hard lessons about credit card rules in the past. "We've made changes before and we're constantly reviewing (procurement) policies to ensure we stay on top of these things."

In 2003, nine council members repaid amounts ranging from a few dollars to more than $2,000 for credit card personal purchases such as concerts, vacation travel and restaurant meals following a Spectator examination of spending records.

Councillors no longer use city credit cards, but more than 400 staffers - primarily managers and supervisors - had access to procurement cards as of a 2013 audit report.

The city further tightened the rules after a review of former city manager Bob Robertson's credit card records showed $2,800 in purchases deemed inappropriate. The money was later recovered.

Kirkopoulos said another audit of procurement card use is planned this year, but it's unclear if that process helped uncover the latest allegations of credit card misuse.

The last audit report on procurement cards posted online shows the city took steps between 2009 and 2013 to shrink the number of employees eligible to use credit cards, from 526 to 434. The report noted many eligible employees rarely used the cards.

Those 434 employees spent about $1.53 million combined in 2012. That sample audit, which looked in depth at 23 card records, found no evidence of misappropriation of funds.

Audit reports between 2010 and 2012 did suggest improvements in how often senior staffers look over procurement records and in how regularly "non-compliant" purchases are reported.

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They also recommended reminding staff, again, about the ban on personal purchases.

- City probes credit card misuse in beleaguered public works department