City reaping rewards of credit card program
For the city of Colorado Springs, the words “Charge it!” are a good thing.
Last year, the city earned more than $154,000 under a rebate program that allows nearly one in three city employees to use government-issued VISA credit cards to make authorized purchases.
The Purchasing Card program, started about 15 years ago, is consortium of the city, Colorado Springs Utilities, Memorial Health System, El Paso County and the city of Manitou Springs.
“The more we use it, the more volume we purchase on the card, the higher our rebate percentage becomes,” Curt DeCapite, the city’s procurement services manager, said Tuesday.
The city of Colorado Springs has earned about $605,000 through its so-called P-card purchases since 2001, money that went into the general fund, which pays for day-to-day operations.
Colorado Springs expects to collect more than $100,000 in 2010. Because spending is down because of budget cutbacks, officials don’t expect to exceed last year’s amount, which was the most ever, DeCapite said.
A review of May credit card statements for three departments – the City Attorney’s Office, the City Manager’s Office and Engineering – showed that records are in order and employees are turning in receipts as required. There was only one exception regarding receipts, for a purchase of $24.56 at Home Depot.
The documents also showed that employees use their credit cards for legitimate purposes, although some workers purchased a few discretionary items, including paper plates, napkins and plastic forks for worker lunchrooms and boxes of Kleenex.
“It’s not necessarily a necessity for a business office to have those things. It’s a convenience (for) the office staff,” said city spokesman John Leavitt, adding that such items are not purchased regularly and that some managers don’t allow it.
Interim City Auditor Denny Nester said city workers are supposed to indicate on their paperwork why they’re buying items like paper plates and plastic forks.
“So that we can avoid questions,” Nester said Wednesday. “We want to promote transparency so that everyone knows why and where the citizens’ money is being spent.”
Nester said the City Auditor’s Office, which routinely audits all major systems of the city, reviewed the P-card program in 2004 and that another audit is underway.
“We didn’t see any major problems (in 2004). There were a few missing receipts and little things like that,” he said.
Nester said his office encourages departments to use the P-card.
“It is a more economical way of paying for items (than purchase orders), especially for small purchases,” he said.
DeCapite also said there are multiple layers of oversight and restrictions on the cards. For example, the cards have transaction limits and won’t work at a liquor store, he said.
The controls on the cards are “very strict,” Leavitt said.
“It would be very difficult for a city employee to use a city card for personal purchases and not be caught doing it,” he said. “It’s almost like you sign your life away when you agree to accept the card.”
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