DAYTONA BEACH
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 1, NO. 7
BUCS HOST PLAYOFF PAGE 6B
FREE ON NEWSSTANDS | THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2025
Halifax Health opens new ER
‘This is unprecedented’ Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, Jewish Federation help 3,500 families with SNAP food drive. PAGE 8A
The freestanding emergency room is hospital’s first in Daytona Beach. PAGE 6A INSIDE TRADER JOE’S!
The long-awaited grocer will open at the Tomoka Town Center on Friday, Nov. 14 PAGE 3B
VETERANS DAY
Ormond Memorial Art Museum honors local veterans with annual tribute. PAGE 3A
FEEDING THE NEED
Volusia gives over 1,800 boxes of food to residents, including distribution at Hope Place. PAGE 8A
Hundreds of cars came through on Nov. 8 to drop off groceries. Photo by Sierra Williams
ROAD RESURFACING
Daytona Beach to review use of city-issued credit cards
FDOT plans to resurface nearly 4 miles of Nova Road in Ormond and Holly Hill. PAGE 4A
INDEX
Business..................... PAGE 3B Calendar..................... PAGE 2B Cops Corner................PAGE 2A Crossword.................. PAGE 9B Letters.......................PAGE 10A Public Notices............ PAGE 4C Sports......................... PAGE 6B Real Estate................. PAGE 4B
FREE
ON NEWSSTANDS.
$52 / Y E A R
ON YOUR DRIVEWAY. Three ways to support your local journalism: 1) scan the code, 2) call 386-447-9723, or 3) visit observerlocalnews.com/ subscribe.
‘P-cards’ are supposed to be used for city business by employees. Commissioner Cantu said she found charges at department stores. SIERRA WILLIAMS STAFF WRITER
Daytona Beach’s internal auditor will be reviewing purchases made on city credit cards after a commissioner brought forward concerns of excessive and unauthorized spending. At the end of the Daytona Beach Commission’s Nov. 5 meeting, Zone 4 Commissioner Stacy Cantu said she was reviewing the city’s contract with marina management company F3 Marina and noticed odd charges to city P-cards. P-cards are city-issued credit cards, but, Cantu said, the charges included shopping trips, cell phone bills and other purchases.
“I started looking up the policies and I’ve checked the contract,” Cantu said. “Nowhere in this contract that we approved states that the contractor’s employees get credit cards.” Typically, cities will reimburse contractors for expenses. But Cantu said her records showed purchases of hundreds of dollars for meals, grocery stores and online purchases. And not just contractors — an employee card had a charge for three people to go golfing, Cantu said. Cantu said she saw instances in which P-cards were charged tens of thousands of dollars in a year, and alleged that receipts were missing from the charges as well. In her personal opinion, she said, it almost looks like some of the charges were meant to avoid bringing items through to the commission. “I think we need some oversight on these P-cards,” Cantu said. That will be where City Auditor Abinet Belachew comes in. The commission asked Belachew to step in and review both the city’s P-card policy, how the funds are
used and if they are being used for personal expenses. Belachew said his auditing process will “look at everything,” from who receives the cards, and how they are used. It will start with whether the city has a proper policy in place. “Say for instance if the city has a policy contradictory to the prudent use of public resource,” he said, “my recommendation will include [that] the city manager needs to update the policy and the procedure.” In the meantime, Cantu asked for the consent from the commission to halt the P-Cards for the F3 Marina contractors in particular, but City Manager Deric Feature said they had already been paused. Feature said he did not want to get into the discussion until after Belachew had a chance to review the charges. As far as the alleged golf tournament charges, though, he said, there are city-sponsored events where the city purchases space for certain city employees to attend. “There are numerous events that
people go through for the city that we sponsor a table or we sponsor a golf tournament,” he said. “I just want us to be clear because when we put things out in the open, there has to be some context to it.” Zone 5 Commissioner Dannette Henry agreed that the context is important. Just recently, she said, she and some staff were at a city event and that the P-card was likely used to make purchases for that event. “You may think and it could sound like, oh, this person is just keep swiping and swiping and swiping,” Henry said. “But context matters.” Cantu said she agreed — especially when charges are made at department stores and shoe stores. When Belachew asked the commission if they wanted to make this the priority over other projects, Mayor Derrick Henry said he felt it was important, but so is Belachew’s other work. “I don’t believe that our building is burning down,” Mayor Henry said.
Honoring Life's Journey with Grace Cremation & Traditional Funeral Services
We Are Here for You When You Need Us Most! If you experience a sudden loss, our caring team is here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help guide you through every step. We understand how difficult this time can be and we’re dedicated to providing compassionate, affordable, and local care for your family.
Serving Flagler and Volusia County families with grace and compassion. NINA GUIGLOTTO NINA GUIGLOTTO
Chief Executive Chief Executive Officer Officer
nina@ lotusfuneral .com nina@lotusfuneral.com
386-217-0875 386-217-0875
LOTUS FUNERAL LOTUS FUNERAL SERVICES SERVICES
460 Pa Palm lm C Coast oast Pa Parkway rkway SW SW, SSte. te 3 3, Pa Palm lm C Coast, oast FL ,
.
,
,
www.lotusfuneralservices.com www.lotusfuneralservices.com