Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Finance Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Harney County moves to formalize donation policy; department heads may accept cash gifts up to $5,000
Summary
County council recommended designating employees authorized to accept donations and limiting departmental cash acceptance to $5,000 with the treasurer handling larger gifts; the court asked the treasurer to create an acceptance letter and agreed to return a revised draft next session.
Harney County Court members discussed proposed countywide donation‑acceptance policy language on April 15 and signaled support for a procedure that designates authorized employees and directs larger gifts to the treasurer.
County council had recommended the policy specify which employees may accept donations (example: department heads) and suggested limiting departmental acceptance authority to donations of $5,000 or less in cash, with any donations above that threshold to be received through the treasurer’s office and formally documented. Several commissioners said they were comfortable with department heads accepting routine donations but supported formal channels for larger gifts; the treasurer said she would provide a standard written acknowledgement letter to donors and recommended the treasurer’s office receive donations above the agreed threshold.
The court discussed recognition and publicity for large donors, concerns about departmental autonomy, and safeguards to protect donors and county staff (for example, routing large checks through the treasurer to avoid ad hoc handling). The court instructed staff to send the suggested language back to county council and incorporate the treasurer’s recommended wording; staff said the revised resolution should be ready for the next county court meeting.
Next steps: county council will include language designating authorized employees and the $5,000/treasurer threshold in the draft resolution; treasurer will prepare a receipt/acceptance letter form for use when donations are received.
