KINGWOOD — While Preston County Schools begins using P-Cards for the first time, Preston County government has used them for years.
P-Card is short for purchasing card. They work like credit cards, but users get a cash back. Discounts are also given on some purchases.
The P-Card program is administered by the State Auditor’s Office. In 2008, the Local Government Purchasing Card Program was created.
According to the auditor’s website, in fiscal year 2016, “the State Purchasing Card Program processed in excess of 641,000 transactions totaling approximately $427 million.”
“We were probably one of the first counties to sign on, and there were a couple reasons for it,” Preston County Administrator Kathy Mace said Friday. “One is that you regulate use of the card, you regulate where and what they can use it for, and you have the ability to increase limits and block the card.”
The Preston County Board of Education voted last month to begin using the cards and is developing a policy on their use.
Some banks may also offer a cash back option, but Mace said the advantage to the auditor’s card is that, through the auditor’s website, credit limits can be raised and lowered on cards, and reports on how the cards are used are readily available. There is also good technical support, she said.
The rebate varies from 1.25 to 1.6 percent. Preston County bookkeeper Mary Rodeheaver said in FY 2017, the county got $6,946 back. In FY 2016, it was $6,528, and in FY 2015, $9,000. Mace said that money is designated to buy copy paper for all county offices.
“The reason we do that is that’s the fairest way to spread the savings out,” Mace said. “Traditionally, your biggest users of the P-Card are your biggest users of paper.”
Preston County has about 70 P-Cards. That includes one that is used by the bookkeeping office to pay bills. Mace likes that the county can control its liability on the cards. So, for example, a card may have a $100 limit. If the card holder is sent to a training session, the limit can be temporarily raised by Mace going into the website.
“There are some cards that are very active,” Mace said. An example is the sheriff’s department cards, which are used for fuel and auto supplies.
Each year reports are run on the actual spending on each card. A representative of the auditor also comes to the county each year and discusses the limits on each card.
The county policy includes a, “very strict policy on receipts.” Mace said. The policy includes consequences for failure to provide itemized receipts.
Each employee who receives a P-Card receives a Power Point presentation, explaining the policy, as well as a copy of the policy, and must sign confirmation he or she was informed of the policy.
“Have we suspended cards? Yes we have,” Mace said. “Usually it’s taken care of. But receipts must be supplied.”
The county has never had an allegation of misuse of a card.
The policy also includes an event documentation form. For example, if an office hosts a meeting and buys coffee and water, attendees sign in, and receipts are provided for the purchase.
The biggest problem with the cards, Mace said, is most chain restaurants refuse to take tax off, and that creates some headaches. And like all credit cards, they can be hacked. But Mace said she has nothing but “great things” to say about users.
“Our folks take this very, very seriously,” she said.
The county pays the entire balance on the cards monthly. Two administrators review every purchase on every card billed. The bookkeeper also reviews them.
There are some things the cards cannot be used for. An example is grants. The county litter control officer’s fuel is paid for through a grant. The county isn’t allowed to earn interest on grants, so it can’t pay for the fuel with a P-Card and be reimbursed.
