§ 3.08.120. Procurement cards.

The Procurement Card Program was developed to allow designated full-time regular employees the capability to purchase, within predefined spending limits, certain types of items directly from the merchant thus reducing the cost associated with low-value purchasing activity. The purpose of this policy is to identify the conditions in which employees will be issued a Procurement Card and the rules for its use.

A.

Objectives.

(1)

Reduce procurement and payment processing costs for low dollar expenditures.

(2)

Enhance internal control and accountability by better identifying specific employees making minor supply purchases on behalf of the District, and improving the accuracy of account distributions between accounts and projects.

(3)

Have better visibility of items that are being purchased on a regular basis that may be advantageous to the District to keep in inventory.

B.

General.

(1)

Authorization to use this Card is restricted to the CARDHOLDER ONLY and MAY NOT BE USED FOR PERSONAL PURCHASES. Employees will not use District Procurement Cards for personal expenses even if the intent is to reimburse the District later.

(2)

Procurement Cards must not be used for purchases when the cardholder has a personal interest in the merchant or knowledge that a purchase would create a conflict of interest.

(3)

Before receiving a Procurement Card, employees will sign a "Cardholder Agreement" and receive a copy of the "Policies and Procedures" setting forth their obligations under this program. Employees will be required to re-sign the "Cardholder Agreement" on an annual basis.

(4)

The Procurement Card is a supplement to the procurement process. As with other procurement methods the following conditions must be met when using the Procurement Card:

a)

The Procurement Card should be used whenever possible in lieu of petty cash and low dollar supplies from point of sale vendors not otherwise covered under other procurement processes.

b)

Purchases must not be split to circumvent transaction limits or the Purchasing Policy.

c)

Each single purchase may be comprised of multiple items, but the total including tax and freight cannot exceed the single purchase dollar limit on the Procurement Card.

d)

Every purchase using the Procurement Card must adhere to all provisions of the Purchasing Policy.

C.

Role Definitions.

• Cardholder: The cardholder is the District employee whose name appears on the Procurement Card.

• Approver: The Approver is the person who is responsible for reviewing the charges for a group of cardholders to ensure that purchases are appropriate and allowed.

• Purchasing Agent: The Purchasing Agent provides overall administration and oversight of the procurement card program.

D.

Responsibilities.

• Cardholders: Safeguard the Procurement Card. Provide receipts for all transactions and coding of the transactions. Lost receipts must be documented using the Lost Receipt Form explaining that the receipt was lost, what was purchased, and the reason for the purchase. The Lost Receipt Form must be signed by the cardholder and the cardholder's immediate supervisor and included as backup to the cardholder's monthly purchasing card statement.

• Approvers: Review transactions of cardholders for adherence to policies and procedures. Ensure that all transactions are properly coded and all disputed charges are correctly reported.

The Cardholder and Approver are required to review and approve the individual cardholder transactions and submit to Accounts Payable within the established time frame specified by the Purchasing Agent. This is critical to allow Accounts Payable to make payment within specified time limits.

E.

Audits - Finance staff will review all procurement card transactions to verify:

• Receipts are present.

• That cardholders and their supervisors have signed the monthly statements.

• No personal purchases were made.

• Account coding is correct.

F.

Restrictions. Cardholders may not use the procurement card to make personal purchases. Other restricted purchases include but are not limited to: alcoholic beverages, gambling, bail, tobacco products, illegal activities, etc.

G.

Misuse. Cardholders who violate this procurement card policy are subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.

H.

Returns. All receipts for returns must be submitted as backup to the statement on which the return transaction appears.

I.

Disputes and Fraudulent Charges. Cardholders must monitor all transactions for validity and must report any disputed or fraudulent charges to the issuing bank as well as their supervisor and/or a Purchasing Agent as soon as possible. The cardholder may also be required to complete and sign a bank document stating that the transaction was fraudulent.

J.

Lost or Stolen Cards. Cardholders must report lost or stolen cards to the issuing bank as well as their supervisor and/or a Purchasing Agent as soon as possible. Replacement cards will be requested by the Purchasing Agent.

K.

Separation of Employment. Upon Separation from employment with the District, cardholders must turn in their procurement cards and any receipts to a Purchasing Agent or the Human Resources Department no later than their last day of service.

L.

Revocation of Card Privileges. The GM/CEO, AGMs, Directors or Managers have absolute discretion to suspend or revoke a cardholder's privileges at any time and for any reason.

( Res. No. 2015-11-6, § 1, 11-24-2015 ; Res. No. 2017-10-2 , 10-24-2017; Res. No. 2018-7-2 , § 1(Exh. A), 7-24-2018)