The Town of Gorham has always had one credit card in the name of the former Town Manager that was provided to department heads and other employees on an as-needed basis. In meetings with staff, Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak realized this made it difficult for staff to make needed purchases in a timely fashion.

“All the communities that I have worked in have a procurement/credit card system. It is typically a standard way of conducting business and is often required for some purchasing,” said Paraschak.

Finance Director Sharon Laflamme reviewed the options available to the Town and talked with other municipalities about what systems they use for credit card purchases. Laflamme recommended J.P. Morgan to provide the Town’s credit cards and Paraschak accepted the proposal.

More than one person in each department may now have a credit card depending on the specific needs of the department. There will be no charge to the Town and if the Town hits certain dollar amounts each year, there will be a cash rebate. Staff will still be required to follow purchasing amounts per the budget and will be encouraged to buy locally if possible and economical.

Providing physical credit cards to department heads should significantly cut down on the amount of time needed to process these purchases as well as the expense of reimbursing municipal employees who have typically used their personal credit cards for work related purchases.

“I am not worried about misuse,” said Paraschak. “The Town operating policies will cover the use of cards and we hold our staff to a high standard when it comes to the use of public funds and would expect them to continue to meet that standard with a modified procurement system.”