Purchase Card Program

The purchase card (P-card) program allows a more efficient, cost-effective method of purchasing small dollar transactions as well as high volume, repetitive purchases, reducing processing costs Cardholders can use their P-cards for City-related allowable purchases with any vendor that accepts MasterCard The City directly pays all P-card balances monthly The program does not affect a Cardholder’s credit rating in any way

Cardholders are responsible for reading and following the JP Morgan Chase Cardholder Agreement (provided with the P-card) and the City’s purchasing policies and procedures (Purchasing Playbook) A Cardholder’s misuse of a P-card is subject to corrective action as outlined in the employee handbook, up to and including termination

P-card Administrator

The P-card Administrator (PA) has a direct relationship with JP Morgan Chase, the P-card processing bank, and administrates the City’s P-card program All P-card questions and issues go through the PA The PA processes all approved new P-card applications, approved limit changes, canceled P-cards, etc The PA audits reconciled P-card statements

JP Morgan Chase

The P-card program is serviced using a team approach with JP Morgan Chase Customer Service Center This center is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-316-6056 to assist Cardholders

Issuance of P-card

The PA distributes P-cards directly to Cardholders When a new P-card is issued, JP Morgan Chase sends it to the PA for distribution to the Cardholder The PA shall not release P-cards to Cardholders until each Cardholder has gone through P-card training and has signed the Cardholder agreement Initial training includes: • Purchasing Playbook • JP Morgan Chase website, including how to navigate to applicable information and the customer service number • Steps to complete if a P-card is lost or stolen • Single transaction and monthly limit change process • Steps to dispute a charge with JP Morgan Chase • Munis P-card statement reconciliation process • Cardholder Purchasing Card Agreement between the Cardholder and the City, which affirms the Cardholder has read and understands the City’s P-card policies and procedures, including general purchasing policies and procedures The Cardholder and the PA both sign the agreement at the end of the training session • Self-assessment for the purchasing and P-card training test successfully

The Cardholder calls the activation number provided with the card to activate the P-card before using it Upon receipt of the card, the Cardholder signs the back of the P-card and always keeps it in a secure place

Spending Limits

The PA assigns, through JP Morgan Chase, each Cardholder a monthly spending limit and a single transaction spending limit set by the Director and approved by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO). JP Morgan Chase does not allow a purchase outside the limits set The Cardholder or Purchasing Liaison (PL) may request a limit increase for single transactions or monthly spending limits through the Limit Change form, which is on the Finance intranet page All limit changes require Department Director approval Increases of $1,000 or more also require CFO approval

P-CARD PROGRAM Cardholder Responsibilities

Other than travel cards, the City issues P-cards in the Cardholder’s name Only the Cardholder shall make purchases with his/her P-card Cardholders are responsible for the security of their P-card and the transactions made with it

Cardholders shall use P-cards for City business only Cardholders shall not use P-cards for the following: • Personal expenses • Travel expenses related to a spouse • Alcoholic beverages or tobacco products • Capital assets or CIP projects • Travel upgrades For air fare, employees are to choose the most economical way to travel Travel upgrades for personal comfort, preference or convenience shall be at the traveler’s expense • Fuel purchases for the use of personal vehicle The use of a personal vehicle when traveling is reimbursed through mileage

Cardholders are responsible to obtain an itemized receipt/invoice for each transaction If a Cardholder has a missing receipt, he/she works with the vendor to obtain a duplicate receipt/invoice, pays the City for the missing receipt, or completes a P-card Exception Request (see P-card Exception Process under the Purchase Card Program section of the Playbook)

Upon request of the PA or Department Director or when City employment ceases, the Cardholder shall return the card to the PA immediately

Lost or Stolen Cards

If a P-card is lost or stolen, the Cardholder shall immediately contact JP Morgan Chase Customer Service After contacting JP Morgan Chase, the Cardholder notifies the PA and Director. Prompt action can reduce the City’s liability for fraudulent activity

Disputed Charges

Should a problem arise with a purchased item, service or charge, the Cardholder attempts to first resolve the issue directly with the vendor Review of future statements is vital to ensure the account is properly credited for returns, credits, and disputed charges

If a Cardholder is unable to resolve a disputed item directly with the vendor, the Cardholder calls JP Morgan Chase or goes through the website and officially disputes the charge. JP Morgan Chase places the charge in a “State of Dispute” and the account may be given a provisional credit until receipt of adequate documentation from the vendor If the documentation appears to be in order, JP Morgan Chase re-posts the transaction to the account and considers the dispute closed If the charge is suspected to be fraudulent, JP Morgan Chase immediately freezes the card, continues the provisional credit, and investigates the charge JP Morgan Chase issues a new card to the Cardholder, if appropriate If JP Morgan Chase determines the charge is legitimate, they post the charge to the new account If JP Morgan Chase determines the charge is not legitimate, they make the provisional credit permanent JP Morgan Chase will not honor or assist the City with a disputed charge that is not reported within 60 days and the City is responsible for the charge

P-card Statement Reconciliation

The Department Director or designee assigns who is responsible for the completion of the P-card reconciliation process In some departments, the individual P-card Cardholder (PH) is responsible, while other departments have it consolidated to one Purchasing Liaison (PL) The Department Director also assigns the P-card Statement Approver

On a monthly basis, the PA downloads the P-card statement transactions for the entire City from the JP Morgan Chase website and uploads them to the Munis Purchase Card program by the 8th of each month If a PH has at least one transaction in the uploaded file, Munis sends a notification that the P-card statement is available for reconciliation to the Munis notification user assigned in the Purchase Card program.

The assigned PH/PL reconciles and releases the P-card statements to the Statement Approver no later than the 15th of the month (See Appendix - Munis) The Statement Approver is to approve/reject the statement by the 20th of the month (See Appendix - Munis)

P-card Exception Process

All Cardholders are required to follow all policies and procedures in the Purchasing Playbook When there is an exception, the Cardholder must resolve it, or obtain approval from both the Department Director and Assistant City Manager (ACM) through the P-card Exception Request form

To request an exception, the Cardholder/Purchase Liaison (PH/PL) must complete and submit the P-card Exception Request form through Laserfiche, which the link is on the Finance intranet page. Laserfiche sends it through a workflow to the Department Director. If the Department Director approves the exception, the Laserfiche workflow forwards the request to an ACM. If the ACM approves the exception, Laserfiche sends a copy of the approved P-card Exception Request form to the PH/PL, PA, and archives to Laserfiche. The PH/PL attaches the APPROVED form to the transaction in Munis

If the exception is denied by either the Department Director or the ACM, the Laserfiche workflow returns it to the PH/ PL with a reason why The PL communicates the resolution and any action required to the PH The PH/PL resolves the issue immediately and attaches any documentation to the transaction showing the resolution

P-card Statement Audits

After the Statement Approver approves the P-card statement, the Munis workflow sends a notification to the PA that the statement is ready for the PA’s review The PA audits each statement for the following: • Receipt is readable, itemized, agrees to the statement amount, and has no sales tax, except for travel • No Capital Asset, CIP, travel upgrades, or fuel for personal vehicle purchases • No split transactions to bypass the single transaction limit or bidding requirements • Documentation of how the bidding requirements were met, if applicable • The vendor is correct • The correct object code was selected (for example, office supplies are charged to office supplies, not uniforms) • The purchase follows all State purchasing laws and City purchasing policies and procedures

If the PA determines all transactions follow the City’s policies and procedures, the PA approves and converts the statement to invoices and Accounts Payable processes the invoices through the Accounts Payable program If the PA determines there is an issue with a transaction, the PA rejects the statement with an explanation of outstanding issues, which returns the statement to the PH/PL to correct

Once the PH/PL corrects the outstanding issues, they release the statement again for approval The Statement Approver reviews and approves the statement again If all statement issues are corrected or there is an APPROVED P-card Exception Request form attached, the PA approves and converts the statement to invoices and Accounts Payable processes