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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-0618A Order Authorizing General Manager to approve certain ExpendituresOrder No. 2018-0618B GM Expenditure and Contracting Policy TROPHY CLUB MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1 ORDER NO. 2018-0618B AN ORDER AUTHORIZING THE GENERAL MANAGER TO APPROVE CERTAIN EXPENDITURES, SIGN DISBURSEMENTS AND ENTER INTO CONTRACTS ON BEHALF OF THE DISTRICT, AND CONTAINING OTHER MATTERS RELATING THERETO THE STATE OF TEXAS § COUNTIES OF DENTON AND TARRANT § WHEREAS, Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 (the "District") is duly created and existing municipal utility district created and operating under Chapters 49 and 54 of the Texas Water Code, as amended; WHEREAS, the Board of Directors is responsible for the management of District assets and funds; WHEREAS, the Board of Directors desires to institute adequate controls for the safekeeping of District funds yet allow for the timely payment of bills and conduct of District business by the General Manager; WHEREAS, Section 49.151 of the Texas Water Code provides that by Order, the board of directors of a water district may allow its general manager, or other employee of the water district, to sign disbursements; WHEREAS, Section 49.056 of the Texas Water Code provides that the board of directors of a water district may delegate to the general manager full authority to manage and operate the affairs of the district subject only to the orders of the board; and WHEREAS, in accordance with the foregoing statutory authority, the Board of Directors desires to authorize its General Manager to approve expenditures, sign certain disbursements and to enter into contracts for and on behalf of the District subject to certain controls for the safekeeping and protection of public funds. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT ORDERED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF TROPHY CLUB MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1 THAT: Section 1. The facts and recitations found in the preamble of this Order are hereby found and declared to be true and correct, and are incorporated by reference herein and expressly made part hereof, as if copied verbatim. Section 2. The Board of Directors hereby adopts the General Manager Purchasing and Contracting Policy in the form attached hereto as Exhibit "A". Section 3. The attached Policy shall take effect immediately upon adoption of this Order. Section 4. Upon adoption of this Order, the attached Policy supersedes and replaces for all purposes Resolution No. 2014-0715A Authorizing the General Manager to Approve Certain Expenditures, 1 of 7 TROPHY CLUB MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1 GENERAL MANAGER EXPENDITURE, DISBURSEMENT AND CONTRACTING POLICY I. STATUTORY AUTHORITY 1.01 Statutory Authority. This Policy has been adopted pursuant to the authority set forth in Sections 49.056 and 49.151 of the Texas Water Code, as amended. II. SCOPE 2.01 Scope. This Policy delegates to the General Manager limited authority to expend and disburse funds of the District and to enter into contractual obligations for and on behalf of the District. The Policy establishes limits on the General Manager's authority. For purposes of this Policy, a "disbursement" is the payment of a liability, debt, accounts payable, or other financial obligation of the District. An "expenditure" represents the approval of a liability, debt or other financial obligation of the District to be discharged by disbursement. III. INTERNAL CONTROLS 3.01 General. The General Manager shall establish, maintain and enforce an internal control structure designed to ensure all District assets and monies are protected from loss, theft, or misuse. The internal controls shall address, without limitation, the following concerns: i. control of collusion; ii. separation of disbursement authority from accounting and record keeping; iii. compliance with the District's Investment Policy; and iv. written confirmation of telephone transactions for investment and wire transfers of District funds. 3.02 Checkwriting Authority. The General Manager is hereby directed to ensure at all times that signature cards for all district depository accounts contain current information and only the names of those individuals authorized to conduct banking and investment transactions on behalf of the District. III. EXPENDITURE AND DISBURSEMENT AUTHORITY 4.01 Expenditure Authority. a. General Authority. Except as otherwise set forth herein, the General Manager may approve expenditures of District funds in an amount not to exceed $25,000. It is the intent of the Board of Directors that the General Manager's expenditure authorization shall be exercised Order No. 2018-0618B GM Expenditure and Contracting Policy Providing for the Disbursement of District Funds, and Containing Other Matters Relating to the Safekeeping of the District Funds. Section 5. The President and Secretary of the Board are hereby authorized and directed to execute this Resolution. After this Resolution is executed, an original Resolution shall be filed in the permanent records of the District. ADOPTED, ORDERERED PASSED ANAAPPROVED by the Board of Directors of Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 on this j !ay of , g.Q,Q , 2018. ATTEST: Stephen J. lynn, . retary/T asurer Secretary, Board o'rectors 1', fame Slaght, District Secretor( 2 of 7 c 1 Gregor) ilson, President Board of Directors Order No. 2018-0618B GM Expenditure and Contracting Policy TROPHY CLUB MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1 GENERAL MANAGER EXPENDITURE, DISBURSEMENT AND CONTRACTING POLICY I. STATUTORY AUTHORITY 1.01 Statutory Authority. This Policy has been adopted pursuant to the authority set forth in Sections 49.056 and 49.151 of the Texas Water Code, as amended. II. SCOPE 2.01 Scope. This Policy delegates to the General Manager limited authority to expend and disburse funds of the District and to enter into contractual obligations for and on behalf of the District. The Policy establishes limits on the General Manager's authority. For purposes of this Policy, a "disbursement" is the payment of a liability, debt, accounts payable, or other financial obligation of the District. An "expenditure" represents the approval of a liability, debt or other financial obligation of the District to be discharged by disbursement. III. INTERNAL CONTROLS 3.01 General. The General Manager shall establish, maintain and enforce an internal control structure designed to ensure all District assets and monies are protected from loss, theft, or misuse. The internal controls shall address, without limitation, the following concerns: i. control of collusion; ii. separation of disbursement authority from accounting and record keeping; iii. compliance with the District's Investment Policy; and iv. written confirmation of telephone transactions for investment and wire transfers of District funds. 3.02 Checkwriting Authority. The General Manager is hereby directed to ensure at all times that signature cards for all district depository accounts contain current information and only the names of those individuals authorized to conduct banking and investment transactions on behalf of the District. III. EXPENDITURE AND DISBURSEMENT AUTHORITY 4.01 Expenditure Authority. a. General Authority. Except as otherwise set forth herein, the General Manager may approve expenditures of District funds in an amount not to exceed $25,000. It is the intent of the Board of Directors that the General Manager's expenditure authorization shall be exercised 3 of 7 Order No. 2018-0618B GM Expenditure and Contracting Policy only for transactions and obligations that do not exceed $25,000 in their entirety, regardless of the number of individual components thereof. b. Limitations on Expenditure Authority. i. The General Manager may only approve expenditures for expenses that are included within the District's then current fiscal year budget; ii. The General Manager may not approve an expenditure that exceeds the total budgeted expense for the budget category in each "Cost Center" of the District, as identified in the District's then current fiscal year budget; iii. The General Manager may not break down any proposed expenditure into components for the purpose of avoiding limitations on his or her expenditure authority. iv. All expenditures approved by the General Manager shall be included in the disbursement or other financial reports presented to the Board of Directors at its next regular meeting. v. The General Manager shall not exercise his or her expenditure authority so as to avoid or circumvent public, committee or Board participation in expenditures or projects that may be of particular interest. 4.02 Routine Operational Expenses. The General Manager may approve expenditures regardless of amount for payment of routine operational expenses such as payment of electricity bills, purchased water payments to the City of Fort Worth, for payment of solid waste collection services, meter replacements and bond payments provided the proposed expenditure is within, and does not exceed, the District's then current fiscal year budget. 4.03 Compliance with Applicable Laws and Purchasing Procedures. In exercising his or her expenditure authority, the General Manager shall comply with all applicable procurement laws of the State of Texas and the District's Purchasing Procedures, as amended by the Board of Directors from time to time. 4.04 Express Authority. The General Manager may approve expenditures of District funds in accordance with any specific authorization approved by the Board of Directors of the District. 4.05 Emergency Expenditures. The General Manager may approve expenditures of District funds in any amount as may be necessary to respond to emergency conditions that potentially threaten the health, safety or welfare of District customers, residents, or employees and for which immediate corrective action is necessary. All such emergency expenditures shall be reported to the Board of Directors at its next regularly scheduled meeting or emergency meeting, whichever is first. 4.06 Prudence and Fiscal Responsibility. The General Manager shall exercise his or her expenditure authority in a prudent and fiscally responsible manner, and consistent with all applicable policies and Orders adopted by the Board of Directors of the District. The General Manager shall bring to the Board of Directors for discussion and action any expenditures of significant public interest that do not relate to projects, goods or services previously approved by the Board of Directors. 4 of 7 Order No. 2018-0618B GM Expenditure and Contracting Policy 4.07 Disbursement Authority. Except as otherwise approved by the Board of Directors, all disbursements of District funds shall require the signature of either (i) two directors, or (ii) the General Manager and one director. 4.08 Electronic Transfers: a. General. Except as set forth below, the electronic transfer of District funds is prohibited: b. Transfer Between District Accounts. District funds may be transferred between District accounts only upon prior authorization of the General Manager or the Board of Directors. c. Payroll. The General Manager may approve the direct deposit of payroll, including payment of director fees, by electronic transfers of District funds. d. Authorized Investments. The General Manager may approve the electronic transfer of District funds for authorized investments, as identified in the District's Investment Policy, and only upon prior approval of an Investment Officer of the District. All Investment Officers of the District shall be given prior notice of the proposed transfer of the District funds for investment purposes and the transfer of such funds shall require the written authorization of the General Manager. e. Debt Service Payments. The General Manager may authorize electronic transfer of District funds from the District's debt service fund(s) for principal and interest payments on outstanding District bonds directly to the paying agent's account. f. Governmental Transfers. The General Manager may authorize electronic transfer of funds for payment of payroll taxes and other payments to government entities that are required to be transmitted electronically. g. Reporting. A report identifying all electronic fund transfers shall be prepared and furnished to the Board of Directors not less than monthly. 4.09 Credit Accounts: The General Manager is authorized to open credit accounts and establish credit relationships on behalf of the District for proper governmental expenditures of the District in accordance with the following terms and limitations: i. All purchases with District credit cards shall be made in accordance with the terms of this Order and the District's Purchasing Procedures. ii. District accounts may not be used for personal or non -District purposes. iii. In consultation with the Finance Manager, the General Manager is authorized to issue District credit cards to individual employees. Each employee's credit card must be subject to credit limits. Credit limits for staff may only be increased upon prior authorization of the General Manager in consultation with the Finance Manager. iv. Use of credit cards and credit accounts are subject to the same limitations as other expenditures, including that they be exercised only for proper purposes of the District and for expenses identified within, and in amounts not in excess of, the expense line item for the employee's department set forth in the then current fiscal year budget. 5 of 7 Order No. 2018-0618B GM Expenditure and Contracting Policy v. Credit card and credit account transactions should be limited to purchases with vendors that will not direct bill the District, and for which it is not practicable to provide payment by check. The original receipts shall be furnished to the District as evidence of the purpose of each payment made by credit card. 4.10. Delegation of Expenditure Authority: The General Manager may delegate expenditure authority granted under this Order in writing to individual staff persons ("Authorized Personnel"). The delegated authority is subject to the same terms, conditions and limitations set forth in this Policy that are applicable to the General Manager. The General Manager may not delegate or approve any expenditure by Authorized Personnel that would exceed the General Manager's expenditure authority. In all cases, the General Manager shall remain responsible for overseeing and ensuring that Authorized Personnel exercise any delegated expenditure authority properly, prudently, and in accordance with the terms and limitations of this Order. V. CONTRACT AUTHORITY 5.01. Contract Authority: The General Manager is hereby authorized to enter into contracts on behalf of the District subject to the limitations set forth in this Article V. 5.02 Limitations on Contract Authority. Except as otherwise approved by the Board of Directors, the authority of the General Manager to enter into contracts on behalf of the District is subject to the following limitations: a. The payment under the contract shall be subject to the same limitations set forth in this Policy that govern the expenditure of funds by the General Manager, including without limitation that the total payment under a contract (including all goods or services contemplated under the contract) may not exceed the budgeted line item expense for the budgeted expense category to which the contract relates, and all contract expenditures must relate to an expenditure included within the District's then current fiscal year budget; b. The contract term shall not exceed the District's then current fiscal year. c. Contracts for professional services shall be approved in advance by the Board of Directors. Professional Services includes those services rendered for or on behalf of the District as defined in the Texas Government Code (architectural services, accounting services, engineering services, surveying services, and legal services, etc). d. Contracts for temporary labor (specifically excluding professional services) may be approved by the General Manager provided they are for $25,000 or less and consistent with the District's fiscal year budget. e. A transaction or project shall not be broken down into component contracts for purposes of avoiding the expenditure limitations established by this Order. 5.03 Procurement Requirements. In exercising any contracting authority, the General Manager shall comply with all applicable laws. Without limitation, the General Manager must comply with the procurement requirements set forth in Section 49.273 of the Texas Water Code with respect to any contract for construction and repair and renovation of District facilities and for the purchase of equipment, materials, 6 of 7 Order No. 2018-0618B GM Expenditure and Contracting Policy machinery, and all things that constitute or will constitute the plant, works, facilities, or improvements of the District. VL MISCELLANEOUS 6.01 Finance Manager Review and Reporting: The District's Finance Manager shall monitor the exercise of purchasing and expenditure authority, contracting authority, and use of District credit cards authorized by this Order. All irregularities, exceedances of authority, lack of internal controls, and risks to District funds that are not promptly corrected shall be reported by the Finance Manager to the Board of Directors immediately. 7 of 7