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Council presses staff for credit-card and travel policy fixes after multiple declined cards
Summary
Council members described repeated problems with city-issued credit cards declining during travel and inconsistent receipt processing; staff said auto-debit and other process improvements are being implemented and said policy drafts on cards and travel will return to a work session in September.
Council members used the Aug. 18 meeting to press for faster fixes to recurring problems with city-issued credit cards and travel reimbursements after several council members reported declined cards while traveling on city business.
Council member Atkins described a personal incident in which she paid more than $1,700 out of pocket to cover lodging because a city-issued card was declined while traveling to a conference. Council members said they have also received late notices and discovered interest charges tied to processing delays. The clerk’s office and finance staff explained that the city’s credit-card statement cycle and mail processes caused timing gaps; the clerk said she ordinarily requests digital statements from the bank two days after the billing cycle closes and sometimes receives them in two to three business days.
Staff said they have implemented an "auto-debit" safety feature the clerk can enable so the credit-card balance will be collected automatically at the end of the month if a manual payment is delayed. Staff also said finance can cut payment checks outside the regular check run if an urgent payment is needed. Council members pressed staff to consider a different vendor, more modern expense-management tools such as Concur, or a bank portal that would automatically notify cardholders to upload receipts.
Council members also said the city’s credit-line structure — where a pool of credit is allocated across multiple cards — had created declined transactions when the group limit approached capacity even though an individual cardholder might have available balance. Staff said the city recently increased the overall credit limit to reduce that risk and will continue to monitor.
Council asked that staff return with a travel policy and a revised credit-card policy at the Sept. 8 work session. Staff said finance and legal are finalizing drafts and would present recommended policy language and operational fixes, including digital receipt submission, automated notifications to cardholders and an approach to reconcile immediate travel needs with internal controls.
