Financial documents, obtained Thursday through a Government Records Access and Management Act request, show that David Lifferth charged a $143 computer hard drive to his city credit card - and then requested to be reimbursed.

The purchase occurred in September 2005 when the now-city councilman was mayor. Chris Hillman, then-city administrator, wrote that Lifferth should not have been reimbursed.

Lifferth, a self-proclaimed city watchdog, quickly repaid the money after Hillman's report and called the issue a "misunderstanding." City Attorney Gerry Kinghorn issued a legal statement clearing Lifferth of any wrongdoing.

Lifferth said he thought he would be billed for the purchase.

"That's the way most company credit cards are," he said Friday. "There was nothing inaccurate that happened, and I reconciled it as soon as possible."

But former Eagle Mountain City Councilman Brigham Morgan said on Friday that Lifferth needs to take accountability for his actions.

"I find it interesting that a man who claims to have vast experience in running his own business, and is a small-business owner, would claim he does not know how to use a corporate credit card," Morgan said.

"When this and other issues came to light, instead of standing up and stating the facts and clearing the air, he insisted on attacking others and denying that any of this happened."

But Lifferth said Morgan and others are after him for political reasons. He has posted his response, along with the city attorney's comments on his Web site, davidlifferth.com.

"I have consistently conducted my life and my professional and public actions with the highest degree of honesty and integrity," Lifferth said.

His issue came to light just months after a Gilbert & Stewart audit report showed the city was not following its own accounting policies and procedures.

The audit, dated Feb. 27, shows several problems: Personal purchases were made on the city's sales-tax-exempt number, reimbursements were not properly authorized and credit-card and phone charges were not reviewed or approved.

Eagle Mountain spokeswoman Linda Peterson said the new city administrator, John Hendrickson, held a meeting in March and told employees not to buy personal items with city cards or to make purchases on the cards and then file for reimbursement.

And, she said, Hendrickson sent a memo to department heads. It said that type of misuse "better not happen on my watch."

sgehrke@sltrib.com