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County reconciles months-long credit-card discrepancies after finance staff changes
Summary
Interim Administrator Lauren Cypher told the board that underpayments, overpayments, duplicate payments and missing documentation on a county credit card dating to February required several days of reconciliation; the account freeze has been lifted and Finance documented charges for the Late, Late Claims report.
Interim Administrator Lauren Cypher reported the Finance Department spent several days reconciling four to five months of credit-card activity after problems surfaced following the departure of the former finance director.
Cypher said the freeze on the account “was a result of the last four months starting in February and now into the fifth month where underpayments, overpayments, duplicate payments, credits not applied and incorrect balances paid when statements were received.” She told the Board that staff tracked down receipts and invoices for every transaction and that payments were documented in accordance with the County’s Credit Use Policy #7.12; the hold on the account was then lifted and the late fees were itemized in the claims packet provided to the Board that afternoon.
Commissioners raised concerns about the operational impact on department heads and employees, and Cypher said Administration and Finance will implement mechanisms to prevent a recurrence. She also said the Finance Department included the reconciled charges in the Late, Late Claims and Accounts submitted to the Board for approval that evening.
