Oak Park council adopts expanded city credit-card policy with department limits

Oak Park City Council voted Jan. 6 to adopt an expanded credit card policy that will allow a small number of department-specific cards with strict spending limits and administrative controls.

City Manager Eric Tungate told the council the city currently maintains a single card but needs additional cards to conduct predominantly online purchasing. "We have one credit card," Tungate said, "and it's become prohibitive to our business operation not to have, you know, a handful of credit cards." He said the new policy, using Huntington Bank credit products, would "allow us to put very specific controls on purchasing" and assign cards to directors with preset limits.

Tungate emphasized the policy would not change the city's purchasing rules: directors would retain authorized thresholds for routine purchases and any expenditure above those thresholds would be brought back to council, he said. He also told councilors the change "has no budget implications beyond what is currently budgeted."

Council members asked how the policy would prevent improper purchases; Tungate described role-based limits, merchant controls and spending caps that would "assimilate our purchasing policy" and remain subject to additional restrictions if the council desired. After discussion, the council voted to adopt the resolution.

The policy is intended to streamline online procurement for departments such as public works while retaining documented approval paths and spending controls.