200-40 Petty Cash

Question 1

Petty cash funds are for the purpose of _______ or ________and may be used to purchase any item or service approved by the Mayor or an ordinance of the City of Houston, or not prohibited by this General Order or any other procedure.

Answer 1

providing ready cash for incidental or emergency expenditures

Question 2

Petty cash funds shall not be used to _____ the department’s existing accounts payable, purchasing, or reimbursement systems.

Answer 2

bypass

Question 3

Petty cash shall not be used for any purchase prohibited by the approving authority or for any of the following reasons:

Answer 3

Cashing personal checks.

Loans to employees or others.

Personal expenditures (e.g., plants, office decorations).

Payroll advances to employees.

Reimbursement of state sales tax. This does not apply to hotel and rental car taxes.

Making change for transactions involving cash sales or when cash is received.

Items purchased on a routine, repetitive basis by the requesting party unless authorized by the approving authority.

Food or beverages of any kind. (Exception: Police and SWAT emergency callups with proper documentation)

Entertainment of any kind.

Employee travel or wages. The only exceptions are:

1. Emergency travel advances for police officers.
2. Local parking fees.
3. Mileage reimbursement for occasional use of private vehicle. Employees whose job assignments routinely require use of a private vehicle shall maintain a Travel-Related Log and request mileage reimbursement by filing a Travel Expenses Summary Report & Log form (see General Order 200-17, Travel Authorization and Reimbursement Procedures).
   k. Other inappropriate usage as established by the approving authority.

Question 4

________ shall obtain written approval from the Chief of Police before establishing petty cash funds or increasing existing funds.

Answer 4

Division commanders

Question 5

Read

Answer 5

Section 4

Question 6

All petty cash purchases shall be supported by an original receipt, unless an exception is noted in this General Order or in A.P. No. 5-3. The following are exceptions or regulations to the original receipt policy:

Answer 6

For coin telephone expense reimbursement, employees shall state on the PC-7 form the name, city, and telephone number of the person called and the business-related purpose of the call.

For coin parking meter or unattended parking expense reimbursement, employees shall state on the PC-7 the address of the location visited and the approximate location of the meter or unattended parking lot used.

For mileage expense reimbursement, employees shall attach to the PC-7 a copy of the mileage log showing the actual mileage.

If the original receipt is lost, the employee shall obtain a duplicate from the vendor and explain the reason for the loss in writing to the requests authority. The duplicate receipt and a photocopy of the explanation letter shall accompany documents forwarded to B&F.

Question 7

Read

Answer 7

the rest of this General Order