The Anne Arundel County Council reimbursed the county Thursday for a nearly $1,200 meal that included alcoholic beverages that council members charged last month on a county credit card.
Judy C. Holmes, the council's administrative officer and the card holder, said she paid the county cashier $1,169.66 — the total for a May 25 lunch attended by several council members and their staffs at an Annapolis restaurant, which was charged to a tax-exempt county credit card.
Dave Abrams, a spokesman for the county, confirmed the payment. The bill was paid with seven checks totaling $420; the remaining $749.66 was paid in cash.
The council raised eyebrows this week when the credit card charge was discovered for a meal purchased just hours after members passed a budget furloughing employees and cutting their salaries. Council members said they intended to repay the county and had charged the lunch to the credit card only to avoid the logistics of dividing the check some 30 ways.
Council members also said no alcohol was charged on the county credit card and that one councilman had paid for the alcohol on a separate check. But a copy of the receipt for the lunch at Mike's Crab House showed that about $150 in alcohol and beer was charged to the county card.