Sheriff Anthony Russell told the Hampton County Council on Nov. 3 that deputies have been forced to use personal credit cards while conducting official county business, sometimes waiting weeks for reimbursement, and asked the county to allow a dedicated sheriff's-office credit card to streamline emergency purchases.

"We've been having a lot of delays in the county credit card," Russell said, adding that deputies sometimes use personal cards and "it's causing issues" when they wait two to three weeks to be reimbursed. He said recent increases in inmate transports and out-of-county deployments make access to a payment method urgent in some cases.

County Administrator Terrell Youmans and finance staff responded that the county reduced the number of active credit cards and are revising policies to increase oversight. Finance staff said the county closed six cards down to three, that cards will be kept in the treasurer's custody, and that requests to use a card should be submitted in advance so purchases match budgeted funds.

"We are moving towards folks not carrying around credit cards," Youmans said, describing a new approval workflow tied to the travel policy. Finance staff said the county set a control that would decline charges above the monthly card limit unless staff temporarily authorizes the bank to lift the limit.

Russell said he sometimes needs higher limits for short periods and requested a credit limit of about $5,000 for the sheriff's office. Finance staff said the county had set a typical per-card monthly usage cap at $2,500 as part of oversight implemented after forensic-audit findings around card misuse in other jurisdictions.

Finance officials and the sheriff also described practical problems: some vendors will not accept purchase orders or extend credit when the county cannot produce immediate payment, and emergency services occasionally face after-hours needs (towing, long incidents requiring feeding mutual-aid crews) that make on-the-spot payment necessary. A finance representative said the county will work with the sheriff's office to resolve specific shortfalls in the process.

Russell said he would apply for a card himself and offered to provide a list of vendors that will not accept a PO. Council members acknowledged historical problems with payment processing and requested that the sheriff, finance and administration meet to work out an approach that allows necessary operational flexibility while preserving controls.

The meeting record shows no change to the county's controls was approved at this meeting; finance staff said policy edits were near completion and that staff planned training on updated travel and credit-card procedures.