City of Richmond to halt most city employees’ use of purchasing cards during program reset

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The City of Richmond will stop allowing most city employees' use of city purchasing cards, or p-cards, while the program is being reset, according to Mayor Danny Avula.

The reset was announced by the city in a press release in the morning on Wednesday, April 30.

According to the city, as of May 9, city purchasing cards will be reduced by over 80% -- from 320 to about 60 -- and the only allowable purchases will be those where "public health, safety and critical services would be disrupted if not allowed or where no other payment methods exist."

The reset will reportedly last at least 60 to 90 days, during which the city said its Department of Procurement Services (DPS) will redesign and then relaunch the purchasing card program.

The city said the following will be adhered to during the reset:

• The only allowable p-card purchases will be those where public health, safety, and critical services would be disrupted if not allowed or where no other payment option exists. 
• No travel-related purchases will be permitted on p-cards. City employees will follow the existing travel advance/reimbursement policy. 
• No Amazon purchases will be permitted on p-cards. 
• No food purchases will be permitted on p-cards (excepting mission-critical, citizen-supporting programs like summer food programs or after-school programs). 
• Department directors will no longer be issued p-cards, allowing directors to better focus on approval of purchases. 

On April 22, DPS reportedly contracted with NIGP, the Institute for Public Procurement, to independently assess the city's purchasing card program.

The organization specializes in public procurement best practices, and after its assessment, the city said it will be provided a set of recommended improvements to the program.

DPS will reportedly begin work immediately on:

• Revising purchasing card policies and procedures based on the recommendations of the NIGP assessment 
• Training staff on revised policies and procedures 
• Implementing a third-party, AI-supported auditing tool 
• Investigating additional revenue opportunities through the p-card programs rebate structure  
• Evaluating alternate p-card providers, and, if there are significant benefits, switching card providers 
• Updating related city policies like the ones regarding travel, discretionary spend, etc.

The reset period will reportedly end "only after DPS staff has implemented updated policies, trained staff, and, potentially, changed card providers," the city said.

The city said it will make the updated purchasing card policies public when they are finalized.

In December of last year, 8News found that city officials allowed Richmond's former general registrar, Keith Balmer, to spend city money on his purchasing card while he was under investigation for fraud. Balmer resigned from his position effective Dec. 31.