Confronted with evidence that he billed taxpayers twice for some of the nearly $15,000 he spent last year on meals and travel, Roanoke Councilman Alfred Dowe has resigned.

"I humbly offer my resignation from Roanoke City Council effective today," Dowe wrote in a letter to Mayor Nelson Harris, a copy of which Harris released this afternoon.

"It has been my extreme pleasure serving the community that I love and it is in that spirit, given the recent events, that I choose not to be a distraction to the progress of the city," the letter stated.

Dowe’s downfall began just two days ago, when it was revealed that he spent $14,604.03 of city funds for meals, travel and lodging last year. While Dowe insisted the expenses were related to city business, the fact that he accounted for nearly half of city council’s total spending prompted Harris to request an investigation by the municipal auditor.

Then, late Friday afternoon, documents obtained by The Roanoke Times added a new layer to the controversy.

Expense vouchers show that Dowe billed both the city and the state for the same costs associated with five trips he took to Richmond last year to attend meetings of the Department of Criminal Justice Services, a state agency for which he is a board member.

On three occasions, Dowe used his city-issued credit card to pay for an overnight stay at a Holiday Inn in Richmond — only to later submit the same hotel bill to the state in seeking travel reimbursement as a DCJS board member, the documents show.

Dowe also used his city credit card to pay for the rental cars he drove to Richmond — only to later submit mileage claims to the state as he would for using his personal car, according to the expense reports, which the newspaper requested under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.

The double billing occurred on five trips to Richmond, taken from between May and December.

Counting a sixth trip to Staunton for a board meeting there, Dowe received $1,393.61 in state reimbursement, the documents show. At the same time, he billed the city taxpayers $1,929.03 for attending DCJS meetings.

In an interview today, Harris said it was only after city officials learned of the information obtained by the newspaper that he called Dowe and asked him to come to his house Friday night for what turned out to be a 90-minute conversation at Harris' kitchen table.

"As the conversation unfolded, and I would have to say it was a painful conversation, I told him I felt like he needed to resign from council, and he agreed," Harris said.

Dowe, who did not return messages left for him Friday, wrote in the letter that "my foremost priority is the well-being of my family and that is the main reason why I am tendering my resignation at this time."