Stuart Carroll

Purchasing director trying to trim credit cards

Amount requiring purchase order also under county review

By BOB HIGH
Staff Writer

Second in a series

Stuart Carroll, Columbus County’s purchasing director for nearly three years, is now reviewing the number of employees who have a credit card for purchasing any item under $500 without prior approval of the administration.

“We’ve already had one meeting, and some department heads have already agreed to trim three credit cards from the system. I suspect we’ll cut the number of purchasing cards (72) down about eight to 12,” Carroll said Wednesday.

Commissioners directed County Manager Jim Varner to see about putting some stronger controls on county credit cards after a story in The News Reporter last week pointing out more than $3,000 in late fees and interest charges had been paid by the county since July 1, 2005.

Carroll said he doesn’t see what purchases are made by the various employees who normally have a $500 credit limit, because everyday purchases require only the approval of the worker’s department head.

“We can save money if they (department heads) allow me to be more involved in what’s being purchased,” Carroll declared.
‘Should be looking’

“Our financial situation in this county says we should be looking at what’s being bought, even the small items, and if they lowered the purchase order requirement from $500 and above, then we’d get a better idea of what’s going on,” the county native added.

“There’s also been some discussion about lowering the requirement for a purchase order, but nothing has been decided,” Carroll said.
Carroll said former manager Billy Joe Farmer asked him to install the credit-card system for purchasing by various departments.

The program was originally designed for Carroll to collect credit card statements each month and pay the amount without waiting for supporting receipts.

Each employee was to submit receipts within five days, but this was ruled out.

Each employee whose name is on a card gets his or her monthly credit card bill unopened after being forwarded from the county administration building.

Promptly returned

Then, it’s up to that employee and their department head to make sure the supporting receipts are promptly returned to the finance office to be paid before late fees and/or interest charges accrue.

“This slowed the process, and is probably the reason some of the fees were charged,” the 45-year-old Carroll observed.

“Now, there are many checks. I don’t see the statements, even with the supporting receipts,” he noted. “There’s no excuse for late fees, as far as I’m concerned.”

Most of the purchases appear to be for cleaning supplies, particularly in the Department of Aging and Emergency Services, plus there are at least 12 gallons of bleach purchased each month for use by Animal Control to clean pens.
“Sometimes buying without contracts for small items is cheaper than doing the paperwork,” Varner said in an earlier interview.

Not aware

Varner said he wasn’t aware of a large volume of cleaning supplies being purchased, and didn’t know the purchasing director wasn’t being used for such purchases.

“If he has not had any involvement in this, then we shouldn’t be doing it,” the county manager pointed out.

“We need to at least attempt to find a price cheaper than retail, even if they’re buying most items at Wal-Mart, according to what you’re telling me,” Varner said.

A resident of Lake Waccamaw, Carroll said it was “standard across the state” for items under the value of $5,000 to not be put on a fixed-asset property list.

“Each department head is supposed to be keeping a property list for everything which falls into that category, regardless of price. That includes chairs, microwave ovens, computers, coffeemakers, sewing machines, desks and other equipment,” the purchasing director pointed out.

Carroll is a 1980 graduate of Hallsboro High School and spent four years working for Lowe’s in Southport before joining the county staff.