Okaloosa County BOCC — May 4, 2013 — Compare version 5 with original — reading text

slip proving the item(s) were returned for credit or the cardholder shall reimburse the County within thirty (30) days by submitting a personal check for the full amount of the purchase. Checks shall be sent to the Finance Department with an explanation and account number. Failure to reimburse the County within the above time period shall be authorization for deduction of the full amount of the purchase from compensation paid by the County. 2. Failure to comply with the policies and procedures herein may result in: (a) Revocation of Purchasing Cards from individual cardholders for a time period to be determined by the Purchasing Card Administrator. (b) Disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. E. Emergency Use In the event of an emergency, as defined by the Emergency Purchase section of this Manual, the Board may waive the Purchasing Card requirements. Under such circumstances, the following rules shall apply: 1. Approval must be received from the County Administrator. 2. The individual $999.99/$2,500.00 limit per item/purchase is temporarily lifted. 3. The cardholder shall be limited only by their pre-established monthly limit. 9 F. Travel Purchasing Cards may be used for pre-approved travel expenses, which shall include: 1. Hotel/motel reservations and payments. 2. Flight reservations. 3. Flight travel payment. 4. Rental car use. Note: There is no transaction dollar limit on travel. However, all travel expenses/reservations must comply with the County Travel Policy and is subject to review and disciplinary action. Purchasing Cards may not be used for meals. G. Tourist Development Department (TDD) TDD staff may use Purchasing Cards for purchases of goods and services that are authorized by Florida Statutes and by the Operations and Procedures Manual of the Tourist Development Department for the purpose of tourism promotion. All such purchases will be reviewed by the Department Card Administrator for compliance with all other Purchasing Card policy requirements. NOTE: All travel (to include the above) over $100.00 must be approved by the County Administrator or designee prior to making arrangements. All travel vouchers will be audited to confirm travel was approved prior to purchasing card transaction date. Failure to adhere to pre- approval requirements will result in suspension of card privileges. H. RESTRICTION OF USE (LIMITS OF SUSPENSION) GUIDELINES The following shall be used as a guideline for all cardholders to identify the types of violations and resulting penalties. In addition, disciplinary action may be taken in accordance with guidelines set forth in the Human Resources Policy manual. Note: This is a guideline. Repeat violations by the same cardholder may result in greater restrictions and/or disciplinary action. The Purchasing Director shall have the authority to exempt from penalty, any situation where an employee can show they immediately corrected a mistake or has reasonable documentation proving a diligent effort is being made to correct a mistake made by the vendor or the employee. As used in this section, the term “suspension” shall mean suspension of Purchasing Card privileges. 1. FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH EXPENDITURE REPORT REQUIREMENTS (MISSING ITEMIZED DETAILED RECEIPTS/INVOICES, DELAYED SUBMISSION) 1st Offense Written Reminder 10  2nd Offense (within 12 months) 30 day Suspension 3rd Offense (within 12 months) 1 Year Suspension 2. EXCEEDING THE $999.99/$2,500.00 FOR SELECT EMPLOYEES SINGLE PURCHASE PRICE LIMIT OR (SPLITTING AN ORDER) 1ST Offense Written Reminder* 2nd Offense (within 12 months) 60 day Suspension 3rd Offense (within 12 months) 1 Year Suspension * If determined to be an intentional violation, Purchasing Director shall authorize a 30 day suspension. 3. UNINTENTIONAL USE OF A PURCHAING CARD TO PAY FOR A PERSONAL EXPENSE– CORRECTED WITHIN 2 WEEKS (CALENDAR WEEKS) AND BEFORE RECEIPTS ARE SUBMITTED TO FINANCE 1st Offense Written Reminder 2nd Offense (within 12 months) 30 day Suspension 3rd Offense (within 12 months) 1 Year Suspension Note: If the charge is not corrected within 2 weeks, the cardholder’s privileges will be suspended for 30 days. Repeat violations of this nature may result in action up to and including permanent suspension of Purchasing Card privileges. 4. INTENTIONAL USE OF A PURCHASING CARD TO PAY FOR A PERSONAL EXPENSE Permanent Revocation of Purchasing Card. Disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. 5. ALLOWING SALES TAX TO BE CHARGED (UNLESS VENDOR DOES NOT HONOR FLORIDA SALES TAX EXEMPTION) 1st Offense Written Reminder 2nd Offense (within 12 months) 30 day Suspension 3rd Offense (within 12 months) 60 day Suspension I. APPEAL PROCESS - An employee, or department representative on behalf of employee, may appeal any penalty by submitting a written appeal within 5 days of penalty imposition to the Purchasing Director with appropriate documentation. The Purchasing Director shall forward the appeal along with supporting documentation of the Purchasing Card infraction to the County Administrator who shall have the final authority to determine the appropriate action. J. ADDITIONAL TRAINING – The Purchasing Director may (at his/her discretion) require a County employee to attend a refresher Purchasing Card training session if the employee makes repeated errors/violations within a 12 month period. 11 J. PURCHASING CARD SYSTEM COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS 1. May I use the card for personal purchases and then reimburse the County? NO. If you do, you will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. 2. What is my limit? The single per transaction dollar limit shall not exceed $999.99/$2,500.00 unless authorized otherwise. The monthly limit varies by cardholder. 3. Cash advances are strictly PROHIBITED. 4. What if I use the card and it is denied? Three things can cause this. a. You are above your limit. b. Your charges from the previous billing period have not been paid. c. The Vendor's Merchant Category Code is blocked from your card. 5. How will I receive my bill? The Department Coordinator will print the monthly statement using “WORKS” (credit card online program) and distribute to cardholders as necessary. 6. When are all invoices due in the Finance Department for payment? The 15th of every month, or the first business day following the 15th should it fall on a weekend or holiday. 7. What if I’m on vacation or out sick? Leave your Expenditure Report and your receipts with your Department Coordinator for processing during your absence. 8. Why do I have to keep a Monthly Expenditure Report? This report will document the items you have purchased in the event of any inquiry. It will also be helpful in the event of a lost receipt or disputed charge. 9. Can I use this card to make purchases over the phone? YES, provided the vendor has the item in stock and ready for delivery. You cannot use the card to order items that will be backordered. 10. Can someone else use my card? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Use by anyone other than the cardholder is PROHIBITED. 12 K. FOLLOW-UP PROCEDURES 1. The function of the Purchasing Department is to supply materials and/or supplies to fulfill requisitioning department requirements. This function is not complete until satisfactory delivery of such items has been confirmed. With assistance from the Purchasing Department, aggressive follow-up shall be made by the initiating department utilizing the following procedures: a. The Purchasing Department’s copy of the Purchase Order shall be placed in chronological order according to the purchase order number. All correspondence shall be documented on the Purchase Order. b. On specified date of delivery, the receiving department shall ascertain if complete delivery has been made. If not, the Supply Coordinator shall write or call the vendor and request specific reasons why delivery was not made as promised. Such communication shall be “logged” on the Department’s copy of the Purchase Order. A new, realistic delivery date shall then be determined if the vendor has a bona fide reason for delay of delivery. If not, the order is subject to cancellation. c. If the initiating Department cannot resolve the problem, the Supply Coordinator shall notify the Purchasing Department (Buyer). The Purchasing Department shall make every effort to assist the initiating Department to fulfill the order. d. Continued broken promises, partial deliveries and/or poor service may result in the Purchasing Director evaluating such performance to determine if action to remove the vendor from the bid and quotation list is warranted. e. All follow-up action shall be documented in detail. L. PURCHASING SPECIFICATIONS 1. Specifications: An accurate description of materials or services to be purchased. a. As quality and service are as important as price, the Purchasing Department must be furnished with specifications that will fulfill, but not exceed, the requirements for which the materials and/or services are intended. b. In considering and developing specifications, be mindful that expenditures derived from public source and administered by public bodies cannot be expected to provide for “deluxe” or luxurious levels of quality. It is, therefore, necessary to follow a general policy toward the purchasing of good, standard grades of merchandise that represents an optimum relationship between quality and price, at all times consistent with providing a satisfactory level of service. c. Bids and quotations must be based upon adequate specifications. A lengthy specification composed or designed solely for the purpose of eliminating competition other than those able to supply a particular brand name commodity shall be prohibited. Actual brand name or common description should be used only when no other of its kind would be equally satisfactory. Specifications should be detailed so as to afford a basis for full and fair competitive bidding upon a 13  common standard, and shall be free from