Committee approves inventory policy update, sets capital threshold at $500

The Audit and Finance Committee on May 14 approved revisions to Alpine County’s inventory policy that clarify departmental responsibilities and set a $500 capitalization threshold for items to be recorded as county inventory.

Staff presented the changes and said they updated the responsible office from auditor‑recorder to auditor‑controller, removed a department‑by‑department listing in favor of a requirement that all departments participate, and established a $500 dollar threshold for inventory listing. "We have also established an amount for inventory, and we have set that amount at $500," the staff presenter said.

Committee members asked about tracking methods and whether the county could implement barcode scanning to reduce transcription errors. The public‑works yard and roads departments use a separate CAMS (cost account management system) for parts and materials; those items often fall below the $500 threshold and are managed separately. Staff confirmed asset tags with barcodes are in use but noted fully digitizing scanning would add implementation costs and likely need software to integrate barcode reads with the county spreadsheet.

On a voice vote, the committee approved the revisions as presented. S2 moved to approve and S3 seconded.

The committee also asked staff to correct typographical and numbering errors in the packet before final publication and to confirm whether contractor vehicles and policies are handled by contract language.