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COUNCIL POLICIES & PROCEDURES
SECTION - H
MISCELLANEOUS
SUBJECT:
Purchase & Credit Card
Number H-20
APPROVAL DATE:
March 12, 2008
AMENDED:
June 14, 2017
PURPOSE:
The goal of the Municipality's purchase/credit card policy shall be to
ensure both compliance with the Municipality's Purchasing By-
law/Policy and employee and Council responsibility and accountability.
POLICY:
EMPLOYEE/COUNCIL ELIGIBILITY
Cardholders must be members of Council and permanent full time employees of the
Municipality of the District of Guysborough, unless otherwise approved by the CAO. It shall be
at the discretion of the Director responsible for the department to recommend which full time
employees are eligible cardholders and all requests for staff credit cards must be approved by the
CAO. It shall be the responsibility of Council to approve Councillors as cardholders. Should a
Councillor be granted use of a credit card for a specific temporary purpose, the card shall be
returned to the Director of Finance immediately preceding specified use or travel.
PURCHASE / CREDIT CARD LIMITS
It shall be at the discretion of the Director responsible for the department to approve the
cardholder per transaction and/or monthly limits, provided that these limits do not exceed the
authority as granted to that employee within the Municipality's Purchasing Policy.
RANDOM AUDITS
Cardholders are subject to random audits of expenses and record keeping by the Department of
Finance. Any purchases made in contravention of either this Policy or the Purchasing Policy
shall be reported by the Director of Finance to the Department Director and the Chief
Administrative Officer. Discovery of violation(s) of this policy may result in loss of card
privileges or other disciplinary steps, as appropriate.
For all out of Municipal travel, a copy of the completed travel report for cross-reference to the
credit card monthly statement may be requested.
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TRANSACTIONS NOT PERMITTED
The following transactions are not permitted, and shall be considered to have been made in
contravention of this policy:
a) Splitting of total purchase cost, singly or between Cardholders to avoid transaction limits.
b) Personal purchases.
c) Non- Municipal use.
d) Cash advances, money orders, bank drafts etc.
e) Temporary help.
f) Maintenance contracts, long term agreements, rentals or leasing of equipment (with the
exception of short term vehicle rentals required for travel purposes for conference,
training or meetings).
CARDHOLDER RESPONSIBILITIES
Each cardholder shall recognize and accept the following responsibilities upon receipt of a
Municipality of the District of Guysborough purchase/credit card:
a) Use the Corporate purchase/credit card in accordance with this Policy and the
Municipality's Purchasing Policy.
b) Ensure purchases are made in accordance with their signing authority, area of
responsibility and departmental budget.
c) Ensure proper coding of expenditures.
d) Notify the Finance Department and their Director if there are problems with the
credit card, the card is lost or stolen or any other situation that would require
notification to the Finance Department and Director.
e) Notify the Financial Institution immediately if their card is lost or stolen.
f) Log any item in dispute with the Financial Institution as soon as possible.
g) 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 review and sign
the statement for approval of expenses.
h) For all out of town travel, attach a copy of the completed Travel report for cross-
reference to the credit card monthly statement.
i) Cardholders are NOT to make direct payment on their account for personal
purchases made in error, payment is to be provided to Accounts Payable. If there
are repeated instances of personal purchases made in error, card use shall be
reviewed and may result in loss of card privileges.
DIRECTOR RESPONSIBILITY
Each Director shall recognize and accept the following responsibilities upon approving issuance
of a Municipality of the District of Guysborough purchase/credit card within their department:
a) Provide a written or electronic request, authorizing the Director of Finance to obtain
a charge 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.
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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 Finance Department, and 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 Co-ordinator to
monitor and control the use of all corporate credit cards for their Department.
g) Advise the Director of Finance 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 Director of Finance as
required on any items chosen for random audit testing.
INTERNAL AUDITOR RESPONSIBILITY
The Director of Finance 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, notify the Financial Institution of transaction errors/disputed charges
and follow up on outstanding items on a periodic basis.
d) Ensure all card statements are reconciled by the appropriate employee, signed off and
submitted on a regular 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 Councillor's
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/Councillors will not be required 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
purchase via phone, mail or online, ask the vendor to include the receipt with the goods when the
product is shipped. This receipt is the only original documentation specifying whether or not tax
has been paid against the purchase.
Process of reconciliation:
1. 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
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distributed to cardholders immediately upon receipt. Statement must be reconciled by
you, against your receipts for accuracy.
2. 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 your card privileges.
3. All receipts will be maintained/stored by the Finance Department for audit purposes.
4. Although payment of the invoice will be made by Accounts Payable, your activity may
be audited at any time.
DOCUMENTATION REQUIRED
All records shall be maintained at the Cardholders work location until such time as they are
reconciled and attached to the monthly card statement, and submitted to the Internal Auditor for
review. Records must be complete copies of purchase information including receipts as well as
transaction verification slip.
DISPUTED CHARGES, RETURNS AND ASSISTANCE
In the event of disputed charges or a Cardholder has any questions, the Cardholder should
contact the appropriate financial institution directly. 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. If a credit slip was not
obtained, attach other documentation explaining the return. 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. The Cardholder
must ensure that all required steps to register a dispute are followed.
Any charge you wish to dispute must be identified within 30 days of the statement date. 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 Municipality of the District of Guysborough and should be
secured as a personal credit card would be. If the card is lost or has been stolen, or if the account
number becomes the knowledge of someone else, notify the Department of Finance and the
Financial Institution's customer service centre 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 Municipality's liability for fraudulent charges.
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DISCIPLINARY ACTION
A cardholder who makes an intentional unauthorized purchase in an inappropriate manner (as
deemed by the Director of Finance) abuses credit card privileges will be subject to revocation of
the credit card and disciplinary action including restitution to the Municipality of the District of
Guysborough, possible card cancellation, possible termination of employment or criminal
prosecution.
If for any reason, disallowed charges are not repaid by the cardholder before the credit card
billing is due and payable, MODG shall have a prior lien against and a right to withhold any and
all funds payable or to become payable to the official or employee up to an amount of the
disallowed charges and interest at the same rate as charged by the issuing credit card company.
_______________________________
_____________________________
Warden Vernon Pitts
Chief Administrative Officer
Barry Carroll
_______________________________
Date
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MUNICIPALITY OF THE DISTRICT OF GUYSBOROUGH
CORPORATE PURCHASING CARD AGREEMENT
Enclosed is your new Purchasing Card. Although this card is issued in your name, it is the
property of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough and must be used in accordance
with the Municipality's policies, procedures and guidelines.
By signing this Agreement you acknowledge that you have received the card indicated above
and agree to comply with the following terms and conditions:
I.
This card is provided to you based upon your need to purchase business-related goods
and services in the course of employment with the Municipality. This card may be
revoked at any time based on a change of assignment or location.
II.
This card is for business-related purchases only. Any use of this card for purchases of a
personal nature is strictly prohibited.
III.
You are the only person entitled to use this card and you are responsible for all charges
made against it.
IV.
Any unauthorized use of this card will be considered an improper use of government
funds and will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action.
V.
This card must be used in accordance with all municipal policies, procedures and
guidelines respecting government purchasing and the use of cards as such policies,
procedures and guidelines may from time to time be issued and amended.
VI.
Employee cards must be returned to your Director or the Director of Finance immediately
upon request and, in the event, upon your resignation, retirement or dismissal. Councillor
cards must be returned to the Director of Finance immediately upon the end of your term
as Councillor. Once a card has been returned no further use of this card will be
authorized.
As the holder of this card, you are responsible for its protection and safekeeping. If this card
is lost or stolen you are required to advise immediately, during working hours to contact your
Director of the Finance Department.
_____________________________ _______________________
Signature of Cardholder Date
DEPARTMENT
CREDIT CARD NUMBER
NAME OF EMPLOYEE
COUNCILLOR