Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Procurement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee seeks policy on vendor vetting for arrears and to revisit P-card fee rules
Summary
Members asked the finance committee to examine safeguards so vendors that owe the county (taxes, child support or other arrears) are not paid, requested legal review of procurement options, and agreed to revisit the county policy that currently prohibits paying merchant fees on government P-cards in some circumstances.
Committee members raised two policy items for follow-up: (1) how to vet and potentially block vendors with county arrears from receiving county payments or awards; and (2) whether the county's policy on paying merchant-processing fees for P-card transactions should be relaxed in limited cases.
A member said the county recently encountered a bidding situation where a vendor with outstanding county obligations had bid on work, and asked how the county can prevent paying such vendors. Legal and procurement staff noted that rejecting a low bid for non-responsiveness can be litigated and that any local policy would need legal review. "That's why I'm asking. I didn't know that happened this last time," a committee member said, and members agreed to move a vetting discussion to a future agenda with general-government and legal input.
On P-cards, the current policy prohibits paying merchant-processing fees on government cards. Tyler asked whether the committee would consider allowing limited acceptance of fees when doing so would reduce staff time and overall cost (for example when a small processing fee is cheaper than printing and mailing a check). Members agreed to review data and options and to revisit the policy rather than make immediate changes.
Why it matters: Procurement rules and payment policies affect vendor relationships, county risk exposure, and operational efficiency; the committee requested legal review and scheduled further policy discussion.
