Credit Cards
The County Clerk maintains a corporate credit card account for Teton County with US Bank in Driggs.
This is the County’s only authorized credit card account. The appropriate Elected Official or Department
Head is responsible for retaining documentation about every charge made to their card. At the end of each
month they must download their monthly statement from the US Bank website and submit a claim in time
for approval during the Board’s first meeting of the month. The claim should include copies of all charges
listed on the statement. Submitting claims for payment without an attached monthly statement is not
recommended.
Any Elected Official may obtain a personalized credit card by making a request to the Clerk. Any
Department Head wishing to obtain a personalized card for himself, or for an employee, must first obtain
Board approval. Such approval requires a written memo explaining why the credit card is needed. The
memo must be signed by the responsible Elected Official or Department Head and submitted to the
County Clerk for presentation to the Board. The Clerk will determine the credit limit for each card,
provided that no card receives a limit greater than $5,000 without specific Board approval.
Credit cards are used to reduce purchasing costs for the county. However, the convenience they offer can
result in impulse purchases or abusive practices. Inappropriate or improper use of a county credit card
may result in losing the card and its privileges. Depending upon the severity of the improper use, the
employee may be subject to disciplinary action. It is the duty of the responsible Elected Official,
Department Head or appointed Board to approve all credit card usage and to insure that this policy is
followed.
A county credit card should be used only if there is no other alternative. A business charge account should
be established if recurring purchases are made with the same vendor.
The procedures listed below must be followed when using county credit cards:
Purchases of personal items, even with the intention of reimbursing the County, is strictly
prohibited (see Idaho Code 18-5701).
Payment of sales tax is to be avoided unless there is no other option available. (Counties are
exempt from hotel room sales taxes if the bill is paid with a county credit card or via a direct bill
account. A completed State Tax Commission lodging exemption form (ST-104-HM) is typically
required.)
Receipts and a monthly statement must accompany all claims and the purchases must be
charged to the appropriate budget line item.
A County credit card cannot be used to purchase gas for vehicles not owned by the County, not
even for a private vehicle being used for County business.
The County will not pay annual fees, late fees, interest payments, or carrying charges for credit
cards, unless such charges are caused by unusual, one-time circumstances. If any such charges
are incurred they must be paid by the responsible Elected Official or Department Head. Annual
fees for a gas-only card may be approved by the Board if requested.
If necessary, credit card statements may be processed as “demand” payments in order to prevent
late fees and interest charges. The prompt submittal of a claim after receipt of a monthly credit
card statement will generally result in a timely payment. Demand payments of credit card
statements should be a rare occurrence.
All applicable purchasing procedures must be followed.
Revision: 4
Date: 10/24/2016
Original Issue Date: 6/15/11
Number of Pages: 1
Approved: BOCC
TETON COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES
Credit Cards