Chapter 4.50
CASH HANDLING POLICY
Sections:
4.50.040 Cash handler training.
4.50.050 Responsibilities of cash box/drawer/bag custodian.
4.50.010 Purpose.
The district established a petty cash account within the maintenance fund with Resolution No. 1990-5-1, established cash drawers with Resolution No. 2005-1-2, and amended the amounts authorized to be held in the petty cash account and cash drawers in Resolution No. 2006-7-4.
The district operates five cash boxes: four cash boxes for accepting customer payments and one cash box for the district’s petty cash fund.
Pursuant to the State Auditor’s Office recommendation, this chapter states the district’s cash handling policy applicable to the district’s use of the petty cash account and other cash boxes. [Res. 2020-2-1 (Exh. A).]
4.50.020 Cash security.
(1) Video Surveillance. All cashiering stations shall be under 24/7 video surveillance. Surveillance video shall be reviewed on an unannounced intermittent basis by the operations manager.
(2) Vault. All cash shall be kept in the vault when not in use. The vault shall have restricted access and shall be locked at all times.
(3) Cash Boxes. Each cash box shall be assigned to a specific employee.
Each cash box shall have two individual keys. One key shall be issued to the cash box custodian and the second key (duplicate) shall be kept by the financial accounting manager. Cash boxes shall be stored in the locked/restricted access vault when not in use.
(4) Cash Drawers. Each cashier shall have a secured/locking cash drawer, with unique keys, for use during the business day. Employees shall transfer the cash box contents to the cash drawer prior to the district’s office opening and transfer the cash drawer funds to the cash box at the close of business.
(5) Cash Bags. Each cashier shall be assigned a locking cash bag for cash deposits, together with a deposit book. Each cash bag shall have two individual keys. One key shall be issued to the cash bag custodian and the second key (duplicate) shall be kept by the district’s financial institution. Cash bags shall be stored in the locked/restricted access vault when not in use.
(6) Audits. Cash boxes and cash drawers shall be audited by the financial accounting manager on an unannounced intermittent basis. [Res. 2020-2-1 (Exh. A).]
4.50.030 Deposit of funds.
(1) Cash Deposits. Cash deposits shall be made at a minimum of once per week. If the total cash to be deposited reaches $1,000, the deposit shall be immediate.
(2) Cash Deposit Transport. The general manager (GM) or operations manager (OM) shall transport cash deposits to the district’s financial institution for deposit as neither position handles cash transactions. In the event a deposit is immediate and/or the GM or OM is not available, the financial accounting manager is authorized to transport and make the deposit.
(3) Deposit Verification. Bank personnel shall staple the deposit receipt to the permanent (yellow) deposit slip assigned to each cash bag. The GM/OM shall verify that the bank deposit receipt matches the deposit slip total. Upon return to the district’s office, two staff members shall re-verify that the bank deposit receipt equals the district’s deposit amount.
(4) Check Deposits. Checks shall be deposited each business day using the secure remote deposit capture provided by the district’s financial institution. Checks received after the daily deposit and receipted into the following business day’s batch shall be stored in the cashier’s locked cash box/drawer until they are deposited. [Res. 2020-2-1 (Exh. A).]
4.50.040 Cash handler training.
(1) All district employees involved with handling, receiving, reconciling or depositing of money shall attend an appropriate training program as designed by the finance department. The finance department shall maintain training attendance records and issue certificates of completion for each training completed. Training sessions may be held in house or off site.
(2) All district employees involved with handling, receiving, reconciling or depositing of money shall review and acknowledge the current standard operating guidelines.
(3) Upon hire, new employees determined to have cash handling duties or responsibility shall complete cash handler training through the finance department, if available, or receive cash handler training from an experienced cash handler approved by the finance department.
(4) Temporary or seasonal employees should not work as cash handlers. However, there can be exceptions established by departmental policy. In the case of such exceptions, temporary or seasonal employees shall be knowledgeable about cash handling practices. The financial accounting manager may test temporary or seasonal cash handlers on their knowledge and/or require them to attend a formal cash handling class. [Res. 2020-2-1 (Exh. A).]
4.50.050 Responsibilities of cash box/drawer/bag custodian.
(1) All district employees involved with handling, receiving, reconciling or depositing district funds shall review and acknowledge the current Standard Operating Guidelines for Cash Handling.
(2) Cash boxes, drawers, and bags must be secured at all times. If the custodian leaves the location of the cash box, drawer or bag, the box, drawer or bag must be locked and the keys kept in a secure location.
(3) At the beginning of each shift, each employee shall verify that their cash box or drawer has the appropriate beginning operating balance. If there is a discrepancy, it shall be reported to the financial accounting manager immediately.
(4) Towards the end of each employee’s shift, the cash drawer must be balanced and deposit items prepared. Deposit items shall be stored in the cashier’s locking bank bag. The locking bank bag must be kept in the vault.
(5) During nonbusiness hours locked cash boxes must be kept in the vault. [Res. 2020-2-1 (Exh. A).]