I came across a great article on South Florida’s Sun-Sentinel about how cities are spending enormous amounts of money on credit cards in order to receive cash back rebates from the credit card companies.
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Here are some excerpts from this article.
Broward County expects to earn $50,000 in cash rebates this year by charging $10 million to $12 million on government-issued credit cards known as purchasing cards. “It’s a great program and we just keep expanding it in ways we never thought of before,” said county Purchasing Director Glenn Cummings.
Port St. Lucie is paying for a $24 million turnpike interchange and bridge on credit, getting $125,000 in cash-back awards, officials said. Davie bought $330,000 worth of defibrillators for the fire department on credit, earning a $1,650 cash award, said Herb Hyman, Davie’s procurement manager. However, Hyman couldn’t convince a company to take plastic for a $400,000 fire truck, which would have netted the town about $2,000.
I like the extra thought put into saving money, but the rewards can be a place for employees stealing if not properly tracked. Also if it costs more to earn this way, then it isn’t a good plan either. If in the long run this makes the cities earn more than it is the way to go.
