Lake County seeks single financial policy document, tighter p-card and receipt rules

Lake County finance staff told the Board of County Commissioners on March 5 they plan to consolidate the county’s financial policies into a single document and to tighten procedures around p-cards, receipts and small procurements.

Candace (finance staff) and Tim Bergman said the county’s current set of policies is fragmented and that separating immutable policy from changeable procedures would let staff update operational steps without redoing policy. Tim told commissioners he favors a model used by Eagle County that keeps policy stable while linking to a procedure manual that can be updated as processes (for example, travel reimbursements or vendor invoicing) change.

Finance staff proposed stricter enforcement of receipt and documentation rules, saying the county’s accounts payable and p-card audits showed many purchases lacked receipts. “If there’s no receipt, there’s no reimbursement,” a finance staff member said, adding that repeated failures to provide receipts could lead to temporarily pausing a p-card. Commissioners and department heads discussed options to reduce p-card liability, such as assigning p-cards to specific departmental cardholders and requiring department-level review before purchases reach finance.

Officials discussed practical adjustments tailored by department: the library, which places many book orders, moved to invoicing with a single login to reduce p-card handling, while emergency services and the sheriff’s office may need immediate access to funds for operational reasons. Staff suggested limiting the number of p-cards where possible, assigning departmental reviewers, and requiring proof of attendance for travel reimbursements to justify conference or training expenses.

Several commissioners and participants raised staffing and technology considerations. Staff proposed exploring a policy-management platform (names mentioned included PowerDMS and Lexipol) to distribute updates and log acknowledgments. Finance said moving p-cards away from the county’s current bank (Wells Fargo) is a second-quarter goal because of perceived fees. The commissioners asked that the draft policy explicitly address how it applies to elected officials, noting some elected officeholders operate autonomously but still must follow county controls for spending.

Finance said it will meet with each department head to craft procedures appropriate to departmental workflows, then return revised policies reflecting Lake County’s operations and staff capacity. The board did not vote on any changes during the work session; staff said they would bring a Lake County–specific draft back for review.

Ending: Finance staff will draft a consolidated Lake County financial policy with linked procedures, pursue bank and p-card changes as capacity allows, and present the revised policy to the commissioners for review.