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Swain County reviews purchasing policy updates; changes include PO threshold and vendor-selection clarifications
Summary
County staff presented proposed revisions to the purchasing policy covering purchase order thresholds, vendor selection, vehicle maintenance reporting, fuel-card assignment, credit card custody, and meal/receipt rules; commissioners were asked to review the draft before a future vote.
Swain County staff outlined proposed updates to the county purchasing policy on July 1, 2025, highlighting changes to purchase-order thresholds, vendor-selection procedures, vehicle repair reporting, fuel-card controls, and documentation requirements for county purchases.
Under the draft revisions, any purchase, travel or training expenditure over $300—the county’s purchase-order threshold in the draft—must have an open purchase order. The policy also formalizes a vendor-selection section distinguishing formal and informal bidding procedures and clarifies vendor selection rules. County finance will compare orders and may override department purchases if a lower-price, comparable option is available.
The draft adds a requirement that county vehicle fuel cards (WEX cards) remain assigned to and stored in the specific vehicle to which the card is issued; cards would not be transferable between vehicles except via finance office procedures. Staff explained that employees assigned to a vehicle receive personal PINs and must enter mileage when fueling, which produces itemized fuel reports. Purchase cards and county credit cards are to be held in the finance office and used only by finance staff unless special permission is granted; meal purchases for staff meetings require prior approval and a sign-in sheet and agenda to document attendees. Itemized receipts will be required for purchases to be reimbursed; nonemployee meals are not reimbursable.
The draft also formalizes a process for vehicle repairs and maintenance: the county mechanic should be notified of repairs so the mechanic can evaluate whether an in-house repair is possible before an outside vendor is used. After-hours or holiday emergency purchases must be reported and preaudited by finance the next working day and signed off by the finance director or county manager. Service contracts will require pre-audit by the finance director, and in many instances review by the county attorney before the county manager signs.
Staff said the draft revisions were already being followed in practice in many respects and that the document’s purpose is to put those procedures formally into policy. The board did not vote on the revisions at the work session and staff asked commissioners to review the highlighted changes prior to a future regular-session vote.
