RICHMOND, Va. — An investigation by Richmond’s government watchdog agency cited the city’s top elections official, General Registrar Keith Balmer, and his department with 25 counts of waste, fraud, and abuse. According to a report completed by City Hall’s Inspector General James Osuna, Balmer and employees of his office violated dozens of city policies which Osuna found led to wasted taxpayer dollars totaling nearly $500,000.
In his role as general registrar, Balmer is responsible for managing all election activities in the City of Richmond.
He was appointed in 2021 by the Richmond Electoral Board, a governing body of three members who serve as his bosses.
Employees of the elections office are generally governed by Richmond City policies and procedures, and the department receives city funding for its operations.
Osuna opened the investigation after receiving a complaint of alleged misspending and nepotism within the elections office. A separate investigation by Richmond Human Resources found Balmer and his deputy registrar Jerry Richardson employed multiple family members within the department, a violation of city policies that aim to prevent nepotism.
Balmer responded that he would address the issues highlighted in the investigation and make necessary changes.
Osuna’s probe focused on the allegations of misuse of public funds.
Findings of fraud, waste, and abuse
Between January and May of this year, Balmer and his deputy registrar hired a company to provide security services totaling $200,144, according to the report. The hiring of the company did not go through the proper procurement process, and the City of Richmond already had a security contract in place that the elections office could have used.
The company provided personal security for Balmer and accompanied him at events outside the office, including a four-day, out-of-town conference, a marathon race, and a high school basketball tournament.
Balmer cited threats and safety concerns as the rationale for buying personal protection services; however, investigators found the threats were generalized, not against anyone specific, and were not reported to Richmond Police.
The investigation found the security company also bought alcohol for Balmer and employees during work hours and invoiced the city for those purchases.
At one point, the Office of Elections could not afford to pay the security company’s last three invoices due to depleted funds, so Balmer had to request for money from Richmond City Council, according to the report.
Investigators said Balmer did not have reasonable grounds for purchasing private security services, calling it a waste of government funds and abuse of authority.
In another instance, the report said the deputy registrar bought a gun with a procurement card (p-card) for a temp employee to act as an armed security guard. However, the temp agency was not licensed or insured to provided armed security services.
Investigators said the city’s security manager warned the deputy registrar not to buy a handgun, but she did it anyway.
The report said this was an unauthorized purchase and an abuse of authority. The city confiscated the gun after learning of its existence.
Another finding on the report revealed Balmer approved remodeling of their leased office building for carpet, flooring, wall, interior, bathroom, and electrical work totaling $229,969 between August and November 2023.
However, investigators found no bidding process was done, and the landlord’s project manager did not approve of the modifications.
The project was paid for over 21 purchase orders, none of which were over the threshold to require a bidding process. Investigators determined the work was structured that way to avoid the need for a bidding process, a violation of the policy that prohibits knowingly splitting purchases to circumvent procurement requirements.
When interviewed by investigators, Balmer and the deputy registrar did not know how much was spent on remodeling the building.
Osuna found an additional $16,293 was wasted on art for the space.
Between February and December of last year, the report said Balmer paid VCU students a total of $7,500 to paint murals at the office. He also used his p-card to buy 12 pieces of artwork from a local art center for $8,793.50
Investigators determined the proper procurement processes were not followed for any of these purchases.
According to the report, another $14,647 was wasted on high-end furniture including a sofa, desk, cabinets, table, shelving units, chairs, and a mirror for the office.
Investigators determined Balmer was provided with several lower-priced furniture options but chose the highest priced vendors.
Then in December 2021, the report said Balmer committed fraud for submitting inaccurate information about a meals purchase. Investigators found Balmer used his p-card to buy food for attendees at a regional meeting, including non-city employees.
Balmer was given a reimbursement check for $735 to pay for the non-city employees' meals, but he never cashed the check, according to the report. Investigators said he also inaccurately reported the number of attendees whose meals were purchased.
Additionally, Osuna’s report detailed violations of policies governing travel expenses. In one instance in February 2024, Balmer booked a hotel room in Arlington for $550 using his p-card.
Balmer reported he was there to attend conferences; however, investigators confirmed with organizers of the conferences that Balmer was not a registered attendee. The events were scheduled for multiple days, but Balmer only booked a room for one night, according to the report.
Investigators determined there was no legitimate business purpose for this travel and that Balmer wasted city funds for personal reasons.
Other findings in the report included:
- Employees drank alcohol during work hours
- Balmer used a government p-card to purchase room service alcohol at a resort
- Deputy registrar intentionally approved pay for employee who was not working
- Balmer approved a private security company for an unauthorized investigation into alleged election interference
- Balmer paid his wife for consultation services
- Balmer intentionally failed to submit vacation and sick leave taken
- Elections office paid for travel expenses for non-employees
- Elections office improperly paid for college tuition for employees
The purchases cited by the inspector general as violating policies totaled about $475,000 in taxpayer dollars.
Chair of the Richmond Electoral Board Starlet Stevens said she's been concerned about spending at the elections office since March of this year when she was made aware of alleged improprieties. Stevens said she began researching expenses and flagged the purchases of high-end furniture, meals, and alcohol and reported her concerns to the inspector general.
She said Osuna's investigation findings confirmed her suspicions.
"The citizens of the City of Richmond deserve better," Stevens told CBS 6. "I care how the money is being spent. I'm a taxpayer, and I don't like my money being misspent the way it is in that office."
In response to the probe, Stevens is planning a meeting for next week to discuss the report with board members, Osuna, and Balmer in a closed session.
At this point, she said it's premature to say exactly what specific actions the board will take as a body. However, without disclosing them, she said she's confident about what actions she would like to take as an individual board member.
The Richmond City Council, which oversees Osuna's office, released a statement saying the report "raises serious concerns."
The council called on the electoral board, as the body responsible for oversight and accountability of the elections office, to thoroughly review and respond to the findings.
"In doing so, the Board must take on their direct oversight responsibility of the Director of Elections/General Registrar in order to maintain trust in the electoral system," the statement read.
CBS 6 has reached out to Balmer and will update this story as it develops.
This is a developing story. Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
📲: CONNECT WITH US
Facebook|Instagram|X|Threads|TikTok
