Policy Text
Page 1 of 3 1/28 (REV 10/14)
Use of the County Procurement Card
The purpose of this General Order is to outline guidelines to b e used by authorized
personnel of this department for m aintaining accountability and control of the County
issued Government Procurement Card. I. Procurement Card
A. Program Description
The County Procurement Card is used like a credit card. It wil l not require
a Compass generated purchase docu ment for each transaction. Th e
procurement card is not restric ted to normal county vendors and can be
used at many businesses that do not accept county purchase docu ments.
More importantly, during emer gencies there will be more flexibi lity to
purchase needed materials. Thus , the procurement card will pro vide more
purchasing avenues and shor ten processing time. All county
purchasing policies and procedur es must be complied with at all
times. See County Purchasing Code 2.56.010 through 2.56.260
B. Reason Established
The Procurement Card program has been established to enable the
following:
1. Shorten the time required to process authorized purchases
2. Allow purchases at most area vendors 3. Emergency purchases are easier and quicker
C. Types of Purchases Allowed
1. Purchases of less than $1,000 that are normally completed on a
department purchase order (DPO) o r contract shipping order (CSO )
and some claims
2. Miscellaneous items not curr ently available through county f acilities
3. Items required in the field a fter hours or in the event of a n
emergency
4. Books, periodical publications and subscriptions 5. Items on established count y contracts, e.g. Staples
6. Maintenance, repair and oper ational types of equipment and
supplies
Page 2 of 3 1/28 (REV 10/14) 7. Items resulting from pr oduct fabrication, if taxable
D. Types of Purchases Not Allowed
1. Personal services (labor c osts) or services (in general)
2. Items available through count y facilities (excluding back-or dered
items)
3. Travel related expenses and lo dging (hotel, airline tickets, auto
rental)
4. Cash advances or cash refunds 5. Firearms and ammunition 6. Rental or lease of land or buildings 7. Rental or lease of equipmen t for more than 90 days and servi ce
agreements
8. Cigarettes, tobacco products or alcohol 9. Auto parts store purchases 10. Auto fuel, auto r epair or auto rental
E. Fiscal Unit Responsibilities
The Fiscal Unit will provide the following services: 1. The Unit Program Coordinator i s also designated as the Appoi nting
Authority and Departmen t Dispute Office contact with the follow ing
duties:
a. Approves cardholders to the pr ogram after approval by the
Chain of Command including t he Sheriff or Undersheriff
b. Creates the monthly purchas ing document in Compass for
users to complete
c. Resolves any disputed trans actions between cardholder,
vendors or the banking institution before involving the
contact at County Purchasing.
2. The Department Deputy Auditor- Controller is tasked with the
following duties: a. Perform final audit of monthly statement prior to payment
b. Monitor and maintain compli ance with all gu idelines and
county purchasing procedures
c. Reconcile monthly logs, itemi zed statements and original
receipts prior to vendor payment
F. Division/Unit/Bur eau Responsibilities
Division/Unit/Bureau personnel wi ll perform the following progr am
functions:
Page 3 of 3 1/28 (REV 10/14) 1. Division Commander is the Approving Official
a. Approves each transaction b. Reviews and approves monthl y statement rec onciliation
2. Division Budget Coordinator ( DBC) is the billing contact and will do
the following: a. Assure vendor invoices and m onthly statements are in
agreement
b. Assure the Approving Offici al and the Department Deputy
Auditor-Controller have appr oved monthly statement for
accuracy and procedures prior to payment
c. Submit monthly procurement card package to the
Department Deputy Auditor-Controller
d. Assure monthly purchasing document created by the Fiscal
Unit is updated as necessary inc luding asking for a sales tax
line if necessary
3. Division/Unit/Bureau car dholder will do t he following:
a. Make purchases as necessary insuring compliance with all
County purchasing pr ocedures and policies
b. Obtain approval for each purc hase prior to purchase from
the Approving Official
c. Keep detailed log on each purch ase during the billing cycle
(monthly) and original receipts
d. Verify and confirm all purc hases recorded on the monthly
statement
e. Is required to notify t heir DBC/designated division
representative of any pro curement card charges
f. Cannot participate in the COMPASS input transaction
process
Appendices: None
References: County Purchasing Codes 2.56.010 through 2.56.260