Fuel Key / Credit Card Purchase Policy

PURPOSE

To establish those procedures under which Department Heads will control the use of Credit Cards / Fuel Keys assigned to and utilized by Town employees for purchasing fuel for Town-owed vehicles and equipment only.

These procedures are intended to accomplish the following:  To ensure appropriate internal controls are established within each Department for the tracking of Town vehicles fuel consumption.

Department Heads:

Review the monthly statement and transmittal form, submitted with receipts, prior to the end of the payment cycle.  Review procedures include the following:

•       Ensure that all purchases are an appropriate budgetary use of Town funds.

•       Confirm receipts and written explanations, where receipts are not available.

•       Review the attached receipts for completeness.  The receipts and written explanations must provide detailed evidence of date, time, Card or Key holder and amount of purchase.

•       Verify that no single purchase over $250.00 was made using the Credit Card / Fuel Key.

•       Sign any written explanations of "Lost Receipts".

•       Ensure that the credit card is not used to make personal purchases.

•       Ensure that a purchase has not been "split" to avoid the single purchase dollar limit ($ 250.00).

Contact the Town Administrator immediately if any Credit Card or Fuel Key has been lost or stolen.

Use of the Credit Card / Fuel Key for personal purchases is strictly prohibited

DOCUMENTATION, RECONCILIATION, AND PAYMENT PROCEDURES

It is important to the success of the Credit Card / Fuel Key Policy that Card and Key holders adhere to the following procedures.  Failure to keep adequate receipts or frequent abuse of these provisions may result in revocation of Credit Card / Fuel Key holder's privileges and other disciplinary action, including Termination of Employment.

All Authorized Users shall receive a copy of this Policy and shall sign and return the attached Administrative Regulation Agreement to Accept Town of Fremont Credit Card / Fuel Key Access Privilege.

1.  Documentation - Any time a purchase is made using the Town Credit Card / Fuel Key, the holder is to obtain a customer copy of the charge slip, which will become the accountable document.   All carbons, if any, should be destroyed.  The invoice slips should be submitted to the Selectmen’s Office on a weekly basis for comparison to the bi-weekly statements to ensure timely payments.

2.  Missing Documentation - If the Credit Card /Fuel Key holder does not have a receipt or documentation to submit with the statement, a reconciliation statement that includes a description of the item, date of purchase, merchant's name, and an explanation for the missing support documents must be submitted. Frequent instances of missing documentation will cause a Credit Card or Fuel Key holder's privilege to be revoked.

3.  Payment & Invoice Procedures - Purchases made by employees will be paid by the Town once the Cardholder certification and approving official verification has been completed.  All Credit Card statements will be received by the Board of Selectmen’s Office for reconciliation; copies of statements will be provided at such time as the Statement is received by the billing office.  Any missing invoice or purchasing record will need to follow instructions on line 2 above (Missing Documentation).  It is the Card / Key User's responsibility to submit the documentation in a timely manner.  If the documentation is not submitted in a timely manner; the Department who is using the Card / Keys will be responsible for interest or late charges added for that item purchased from their Department's expense lines.

APPROVAL

The designated approving official for each Department, because of their knowledge of the job responsibilities of the Credit Card / Fuel Key holders, will review each transaction on the statement.  At a minimum, the items, vendor and account number will be reviewed to determine if the purchase was made for Official Town Use and in accordance with these Policies and Procedures.

If for any reason the designated approving official questions the purchases, it is their responsibility to resolve the issue with the Credit Card / Fuel Key holder. If it cannot be determined that the purchase was necessary, for Official Town Use, and in accordance with policies and procedures, the Department Head will notify the Board of Selectmen to determine what disciplinary action will be taken.

Flagrant abuse of the Credit Card / Fuel Key Program could result in termination of employment. 

AUDITS

Random audits will be conducted for both Credit Card and Fuel Key activity and receipt retention as well as statement review by the office of the Board of Selectmen. The Town’s independent auditing firm also reviews the detailed activity annually.

AUTHORITY

These policies are adopted by the Board of Selectmen in accordance with RSA 31:39.
 

Adopted:  29 October 2009       Board of Selectmen

                                Donald W Gates Jr, Brett A Hunter, Greta St Germain

Reviewed and Readopted:  10 January 2013                Board of Selectmen

                                Annmarie Scribner, Brett A Hunter, Greta St Germain

Reviewed and Readopted:  19 February 2015               Board of Selectmen

                                Brett A Hunter, Leon F Holmes Sr, Gene Cordes