Janet Porter, regional treasury officer for Ameris Bank, presented a treasury-services package to the Palatka commission offering a restructuring of city accounts to a net-interest checking composite, fraud-prevention tools and a purchasing-card program.

Porter told commissioners the bank recommends adding a remote deposit scanner, ACH positive pay (to allow the city to review and authorize ACH debits), and check positive pay (to match outgoing check files and flag exceptions). She said those services would be provided with an earnings-credit-rate structure that would offset fees and allow the city to earn additional interest on larger aggregate balances. Porter said the bank’s example pro forma—based on approximately $24 million in balances—showed additional earnings credit and a material monthly net benefit compared with the city’s current account structure.

On card programs, Porter proposed a purchasing card (P‑card) to create timing benefits between when purchases are charged and when cash leaves city accounts; she said the monthly rebate from card activity and the earnings-credit structure together would offset merchant fees and provide a liquidity benefit. She summarized the timing advantage: the city would make purchases earlier in a month but pay the card balance later, improving short-term cash flow. Porter also proposed monthly credits tied to card volume and described a monthly rebate as part of the card program.

Porter also emphasized fraud prevention: “We would alert you every time an electronic debit is being presented for you all to determine whether or not it's valid,” she said of ACH positive pay; she described the bank’s morning exception reporting and online flow for resolving questionable debits.

Commissioners asked about merchant fees and whether rebates would offset card costs; Porter said the card rebate would be an additional credit in the monthly account statement to help offset merchant fees. Commissioners signaled interest in proposals that increase earnings and protect accounts but did not adopt services during the workshop; staff asked for follow-up materials and implementation details.

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Bank staff said they would provide a detailed proposal with estimated credits, sample account structures and service-level details for commissioners and finance staff to review before any contract or account changes are implemented.