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BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Port Angeles as follows:
Section 1. The City Council hereby approves and adopts the policies and procedures
establishing rules for the use of credit cards by City employees attached hereto as Exhibit A and
incorporated herein by reference.
Section 2. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon its passage and
approval by law.
PASSED by the City Council of the City of Port Angeles at a regular meeting of said
Council held on the
ATTEST:
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ssa Hurd, City Clerk
APPR,QVED AS TO FORM:
William E. Bloor, City Attorney
RESOLUTION NO. 07
A RESOLUTION of the City Council of the City of Port. Angeles,
Washington, establishing city credit cards policies and procedures.
18th d o f March
G:I LEGALtORDINANCE0& RESOLUTIONSIRESOLUTIONS.201018 - Credit Card Policy Resolution 03 08 -10 wpd
MAYOR
CITY OF PORT ANGELES
CORPORATE PURCHASING CARD
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
PURPOSE:
The purpose of the City’s purchase/credit card policy is to ensure compliance with all
appropriate government purchasing rules, regulations, and guidelines and to require and ensure
accountability by the cardholder.
POLICY:
EMPLOYEE/COUNCIL ELIGIBILITY
In conjunction with the Port Angeles Municipal Code (PAMC), Section 3.05.130, purchasing
cards will be distributed to only those City officials and regular full-time employees with job
responsibilities that would be facilitated by use of a purchasing card and the card use would be
beneficial to the City. This includes City Council, City Manager, Department Heads, Division
Managers and other officials and regular, full-time employees as approved by the City Manager.
Each Department Head may make recommendations as to which full-time employees under
his/her supervision may be issued a purchasing card.
PURCHASE/CREDIT CARD LIMITS
Per PAMC, the Finance Department shall set credit limits on each card issued, however the
credit limit shall not exceed $2,500 without written approval of the City Manager. It shall be at
the discretion of the Finance Director to approve the per transaction limit, provided that the limit
is consistent with the City’s Purchasing Policy.
RANDOM AUDITS
Cardholders are subject to random audits of expenses and record keeping by the Finance
Department. Any purchases made that do not comply with either this Policy or the Purchasing
Policy shall be reported to the Finance Director, the Department Head and the City Manager.
Discovery of violation(s) of this policy may result in loss of card privileges and/or other
disciplinary steps, as appropriate. For all out of town travel, a copy of the completed Travel
report for cross-reference to the credit card monthly statement is necessary.
TRANSACTIONS NOT PERMITTED
The following transactions are not permitted, and shall be considered a violation of this policy:
a) Splitting of total purchase cost, singly or between Cardholders to avoid transaction limits.
b) Personal purchases.
c) Non job related use.
d) Cash advances, money orders, bank drafts etc.
e) Hiring of temporary employees (i.e., Express Personnel, etc.).
f) Specific merchant category exclusions (i.e., alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, etc.)
g) Purchases involving maintenance contracts, long term agreements, rentals or leasing of
except
equipment, for short term vehicle rentals required for travel purposes for
conference, training or meetings or Public Works equipment rentals.
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CARDHOLDER RESPONSIBILITIES
Each cardholder shall recognize and accept the following responsibilities upon receipt of a City
of Port Angeles purchase/credit card:
a) The cardholder may not allow the card to be used by any other individual without the
written authorization of the Finance Director.
b) Use the Corporate purchase/credit card in accordance with this Policy and the City’s
Purchasing Policy.
c) Ensure purchases are made in accordance with their signing authority, area of
responsibility and departmental budget.
d) Ensure proper coding of expenditures.
e) Notify the Finance Department and its Director if there are problems with the credit card,
if the card is lost or stolen, or if any other situation occurs that would require notification
to the Finance Department and Director. If the card is lost or stolen, you are required to
immediately contact: 1) the banking institution directly, 2) the Finance Director, and 3)
your Department Head.
f) Log any item in dispute with the Financial Institution as soon as possible.
g) The credit card shall not impact the cardholder’s personal credit references. This is a
City liability card, not a personal liability card. However, the cardholder does have the
responsibility to use the card in an appropriate manner, and shall not knowingly post or
otherwise make publicly available credit card data that could potentially result in fraud or
unauthorized charges.
h) Retain accurate records including transaction records and the accompanying detailed
receipts at their workplace, and have available for audit at any time. After the Cardholder
reconciles the statement, the Cardholder will attach the receipts, sign the statement and, if
applicable, bring it forward to have their Director or Supervisor review and sign the
statement for approval of expenses.
NOT
i) Cardholders are to make direct payment on their account for personal purchases
made in error; payment is to be provided to Accounts Payable.
DEPARTMENT HEAD RESPONSIBILITY
Each Department Head shall recognize and accept the following responsibilities upon approving
issuance of a City of Port Angeles purchase/credit card within their department:
a) Provide a written or electronic request, authorizing the Finance Director to obtain a credit
card, within the prescribed limits, for an employee.
b) In consultation with the Human Resources Manager, exercise discipline in cases where a
Cardholder violates the provisions of this Policy.
c) Immediately advise the Finance Department in those cases where abuse or irregularities
are known or suspected.
d) Report a lost or stolen credit card to the financial institution, and notify the Finance
Department, as well as document the incident. Initiate a request for a replacement card.
e) Review and reconcile the amounts expensed under the purchase/credit card to the
appropriate account and identify any unusual transactions.
f) Be responsible for, or appoint staff member(s) to act as the Card Coordinator to monitor
and control the use of all corporate credit cards for their Department.
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g) Advise the Finance Director when an employee is terminated or no longer requires a
purchase/credit card.
h) Ensure all purchases are made in accordance with available departmental budget and
individuals are operating within authority.
i) Follow up with the appropriate employee and respond to the Finance Director as required
on any items chosen for random audit testing.
INTERNAL AUDIT RESPONSIBILITY
The Finance Director shall:
a) Act immediately upon receipt of advice that abuse or irregularities are known or
suspected.
b) Maintain records of all Cardholders.
c) Where required, follow up on the notification to the Financial Institution of transaction
errors/disputed charges, as well as outstanding items on a periodic basis.
d) Ensure all card statements are reconciled by the appropriate employee, signed off and
submitted on a timely basis.
e) Perform audits to detect possible violations. The audit selection criteria would include,
but not be limited to, meals over the total per diem allowance, air fare, splitting of
purchases, miscellaneous/unusual/unique transactions, and random samples.
f) Follow up with Directors as appropriate to investigate unusual transactions.
g) Cancel a card when the Cardholder is terminated from employment or a Councilmember
term ends.
h) Follow up with the Financial Institution on lost/stolen cards to confirm the card is
cancelled.
RECONCILIATION AND PAYMENT
The purchase/credit card carries corporate, not individual liability. Invoices will be paid by the
Accounts Payable Department. Employees/Councilmembers will not be allowed to pay the
monthly statement using their own funds.
It is required that all receipts for goods and services purchased be retained. If goods/services are
purchased via phone, mail or online, the cardholder must ask the vendor to include the receipt
with the goods when the product is shipped. This receipt is the only original documentation
not exempt
specifying whether or not tax has been paid against the purchase. As the City is
from paying sales tax, this information is necessary to ensure that use tax is applied and paid
through Accounts Payable.
Process of reconciliation:
a) Each cardholder will receive a statement identifying each transaction made against that
card during the billing cycle. Statements will be received by the Finance Department and
distributed to cardholders immediately upon receipt. Statements must be reconciled by
the cardholder against receipts for accuracy.
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b) Forward your reconciled statement to the Finance Department for processing. All
statements must be reconciled and returned to the Finance Department no later than 5
working days prior to the due date of payment on your statement. Failure of the
cardholder to reconcile and return their statement within the allotted time causing the
payment to be submitted late may result in the termination of card privileges.
c) All receipts will be maintained / stored by the Finance Department for audit purposes.
d) Although payment of the invoice will be made by Accounts Payable, activity may be
audited at any time.
DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED
All records shall be maintained at the Cardholder’s work location until such time as they are
reconciled and attached to the monthly card statement, and submitted for review as a complete
package. Records must include complete copies of purchase information, receipts, and
transaction verification slips. At no time shall the City approve payment of credit card invoices
without adequate documentation.
DISPUTED CHARGES, RETURNS AND ASSISTANCE
In the event of disputed charges, the cardholder should adhere to the following procedure:
a) If there are questions regarding charges on the account, the cardholder should contact the
appropriate financial institution directly.
b) In the event there are returns, the Cardholder must check to ensure credit notices are
issued by the vendor, and attach the credit slip to the statement when reconciled.
c) If a credit slip was not obtained, attach other documentation explaining the return.
d) If credit does not appear by the second subsequent statement, the Cardholder must
contact the financial institution directly. The Cardholder must also advise the Finance
Department if there is a dispute.
e) The Cardholder must ensure that all required steps to register a dispute are followed. Any
charge to be disputed must be identified within 30 days of the statement date.
f) The cardholder is responsible for the transactions identified on the statement. If an audit
is conducted on a cardholder’s account, receipts must be produced and/or other proof that
the transaction occurred. If an error is discovered, the cardholder is responsible to show
that the error or dispute resolution process has been invoked.
LOST OR STOLEN CARDS
The card assigned is the property of the City of Port Angeles and should be secured as a personal
credit card would be. If the card is lost or stolen, or if the number becomes the knowledge of
someone else, the card holder must 1) notify the financial institution directly, 2) notify the
Finance Director and 3) notify the respective Department Director immediately. Once a card is
reported lost or stolen, the card will no longer be accepted at any vendor. Prompt action in these
circumstances can reduce the City’s liability for fraudulent charges.
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