Clarification of guidelines for municipal credit cards used by civil servants and elected officials

With the new management system, it is necessary to review the guidelines for credit card use. The turnover of card users is already higher due to political leadership. The guidelines must be clear and unambiguous. It must also be known who issues the credit cards and provides instructions on their use.

There are currently guidelines for credit card use dating from 2012. (Use of municipal Eurocard cards, guidelines dated 16 August 2017, Chief Financial Officer Markku Vehmas)
Chief Executive Harri Lipasti issued further guidelines on alcoholic beverages and serving on 13 January 2020.
(Use of municipal funds and credit cards for serving alcohol at municipal events and receptions, 13 January 2020, Harri Lipasti)

The guidelines need to be clarified. What, for example, does “reasonable” or “normal and reasonable” mean?

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that everything concerns the use of municipal residents’ tax money. Therefore, the guidelines must be unambiguously clear so that there is no room for interpretation.

With regard to the approval of invoices, it must be clarified in the new political management system that a situation should not arise where one party approves the other’s invoice and vice versa.

Detailed instructions and the list of approved persons must be brought to the attention of the authorised persons.

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