(a) As used in this Section:
(1) "Credit card account" means any line of credit made available to the City by a financial institution or other entity, documented by a physical card and a unique account number, allowing the possessor of the card to purchase goods or services on credit or to engage in other financial transactions using the account information. For the purposes of this Section, "Credit card accounts" includes merchant cards and fleet cards.
(2) "Merchant card" means a credit card that can be used only at a designated merchant.
(3) "Fleet card" means a credit card that can be used to purchase only one type of service or commodity (e.g., gasoline).
(4) "Open account" means any arrangement with a vendor, including an online vendor, under which the vendor will fill orders from City employees without verifying the employee's purchasing authority or the existence of an applicable purchase order.
(b) Credit card accounts, under which the City bears liability for purchases, will be established only in the name of the City and will be used only for authorized City purchases and only in conformance with this Section. New credit card accounts will be authorized only on written approval of the Mayor and the Finance Director. The Finance Director shall process the issuance, reissuance and cancellation of credit card accounts.
(c) The Mayor will from time to time specify in writing those employees or positions that are authorized to have custody of City credit cards ("card custodians"), and the Mayor shall promptly revise the list of card custodians when personnel changes occur. A current roster of card custodians and the credit cards they are permitted to possess will be kept in the Finance Director's office at all times. Card custodians will be responsible for the security of the credit card(s) issued to them and will immediately notify the Finance Director in the event a card is lost or stolen. A card custodian who separates from City employment shall immediately return possession of all credit cards to the Finance Director. Separation payments may be withheld until credit cards are returned.
(d) Credit card and open account purchases may be made only in conformance with a valid, previously approved purchase order. Any employee making a purchase in violation of this requirement will be subject to disciplinary action.
(e) No persons other than the card custodians will execute credit card purchases, except that card custodians may transfer possession of credit cards to authorized employees to make off-site purchases from retail merchants, or to pay for travel expenses when out of town on official business. The card custodian will retake possession of the card immediately thereafter. Receipts for credit card and open account purchases will be supplied to the Finance Department no later than the business day next following the purchase or, if the employee is out of town, the next business day in which the employee is at his or her City office or workplace. Whenever possible, the receipts supplied to support the purchase shall include documentation from the vendor showing the vendor's name, items purchased, date, location and price; not merely the credit card transaction receipt.
(f) To the extent the City possesses credit card accounts that earn affinity "points" or other rewards, such rewards will remain the property of the City. Products, services or money obtained through redemption of any such rewards are the property of the City. Redemption of points or rewards will be made only on written request of a department head with approval of the Finance Director and the Mayor.
(g) No checks shall be written against a credit card account and no cash advances shall be authorized. If blank checks are received from a card issuer, they will be immediately submitted to the Finance Director for destruction.
(h) The requirements of Section 133.05 apply to all credit card and open account purchases. No credit card issued in the name of the City shall have a credit limit in excess of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000).
(i) The Financial Assistant will, quarterly, review the number of credit cards and accounts issued, the number of active cards and accounts issued, the cards' and accounts' expiration dates, and the cards' and accounts' credit limits. The Financial Assistant will provide a report of each such review to the Mayor, Finance Director, and the Clerk of Council. (Ord. 2022-55. Passed 3-28-22.)