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Lake Stevens approves citywide purchasing card policy, authorizes mayor to sign US Bank agreement
Summary
Council approved a purchasing-card (P‑card) policy and authorized the mayor to sign associated agreements with US Bank. Staff said the program costs the city nothing, offers a reported rebate and tighter controls, and will be rolled out selectively; council asked for safeguards on transaction fees, periodic oversight and reporting.
The Lake Stevens City Council approved a purchasing-card policy and authorized the mayor to sign associated documents with US Bank to implement a citywide procurement-card (P‑card) program.
Matthew Heist, finance manager, described the US Bank program as having no additional cost to the city and providing a flat rebate for purchases (stated in the presentation as 11.35%). Heist said the program offers more robust oversight than the city’s current credit-card arrangements, allows staff to manage individual-card limits online and could speed payment processing. He also said the city could earn a rebate and potentially receive additional payment incentives if the city shortens payment cycles.
Council members asked several operational questions before the vote. Concerns included the potential for merchant transaction fees (which can reach up to about 3.5 percent at some vendors), how card transactions will appear in the city’s voucher/accounting system, whether more staff will be needed to administer a program that grows, and whether regular reporting to council could be added. Heist said staff would track implementation details and that the policy could be tweaked after rollout. He also said the program would be rolled out selectively and would not require all employees to hold cards.
After discussion, the council voted to adopt Policy 303 governing procurement cards and authorized the mayor to execute the associated agreements with US Bank. The council asked finance to monitor transaction fees, provide periodic updates on card usage and rebates, and consider including a routine check-in with council in the policy.
