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Wichita County to consolidate debit cards into p‑card program and update purchasing policy
Summary
County staff proposed consolidating departmental debit cards into a single p‑card framework with named, single‑user cards, tiered limits and an emergency debit card; commissioners asked staff to draft a formal p‑card policy and update the county purchasing policy, pending a likely state change to competitive‑purchase thresholds.
Wichita County Commissioners on May 9 discussed a countywide shift from multiple departmental debit cards to an expanded purchasing‑card (p‑card) program that would assign single‑user cards, establish tiered daily limits and keep a single emergency debit card for unusual purchases.
Mister Davis, the presenter, told the court the county currently has about 13 departmental debit cards plus a p‑card account with approximately 29 cards attached. He said the combined balances on the departmental debit cards total roughly $121,000 and the p‑card account shows an additional ~$25,000. Davis recommended eliminating most departmental debit cards, expanding the p‑card program for routine travel and supply purchases, assigning p‑cards to named users, and retaining one emergency debit card with a reduced balance (staff suggested lowering the emergency balance from $25,000 to $10,000–$15,000).
Under the plan described, each p‑card would be issued in an individual’s name and have receipt‑upload controls and bank statement reconciliation procedures. Davis said banks and card systems support tiered daily limits and merchant restrictions; the baseline daily tier cited in the discussion was $2,000, and commissioners discussed higher tiers for unusual cases such as large multi‑day hotel bookings for the district attorney’s office or group travel. “If we get a bank statement and there's a charge we don't know what it is, then we can say, ‘Hey, can you find out what card charged this?’” Davis said, describing reconciliation and receipt procedures.
Commissioners and staff also discussed integration with the county’s financial systems: the county’s AP staff uses tools to match bank statements to receipts today, and staff said a Tyler‑compatible module could import p‑card transactions to automate reconciliation and reduce manual entry. County staff also recommended drafting a short, local p‑card policy modeled on larger counties’ programs, rather than a very long manual, and presenting it for action at a future meeting.
Separately, staff said they will rewrite the county’s purchasing policy to remove ambiguity and to align thresholds and procedures with recent state developments. Several speakers noted that a pending legislative change appears likely to raise the state competitive‑procurement threshold from $50,000 to $100,000; commissioners asked staff to hold a final purchasing‑policy vote until the legislature’s action is official so county thresholds can reflect the new state rule if enacted.
The court directed staff to prepare a draft p‑card policy and updated purchasing policy for a future agenda, to identify who will receive single‑user p‑cards, and to recommend an emergency debit‑card balance. No formal vote was taken on policy language at the meeting.
