The responsibility to eliminate potential for fraud lies solely with the Handley Library Board. To this end, the Board has set up an internal control structure as described in these fiscal policies.
The library director and staff will prepare a budget based on priorities set by the Library Board, current year expenditures, and service requirements. The Library Board's Finance Committee shall review and recommend to the board its amendment or adoption.
Every third year the library director will select an accounting firm with the approval of the Finance Committee by a request for proposal process. The firm selected shall prepare monthly and annual financial reports for the Library Board. In similar fashion an accounting firm shall be selected to perform a yearly audit, which shall be submitted to the Library Board, the Virginia State Library and Archives, and the three jurisdictions.
The Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Treasurer, Administrative Assistant, and Director shall be signatories for the checking account. Two signatures are required for all checks. Generally the Administrative Assistant and the Director will sign checks; however, for amounts over $2,000, one signature must be that of a board member. The only exceptions to this requirement (at least one board signature for checks over the $2,000 limit) are payroll-connected checks such as those for direct deposit of payroll to a bank, federal and state tax payroll payments, and health insurance payments.
The director will receive the checking account bank statements unopened and will reconcile the check register to the bank statement on a monthly basis.
Purchases of items over $2,000 require a purchase order that must be signed by the director and the Chairman, Vice-Chairman, or Treasurer of the board. For vendors such as Baker & Taylor (book distributor), UMI (microforms subscription agent), or Ebsco, (periodical subscription agent), from whom the Library makes ongoing regular purchases, a blanket purchase order at the beginning of the fiscal year shall be completed. Purchases of furniture and equipment over $2,000 shall be reviewed by the Furnishings, Equipment & Committee. Likewise, any other large purchase that is out of the ordinary should be reviewed by the board or by the appropriate committee. Purchasing procedures shall follow the Virginia Public Procurement Act as outlined in the Handley Library Fiscal Procedures Guidelines.
The administrative assistant and her aide will document and handle the collection and deposit of cash from fines, fees, copier revenues, and other revenues as well as the maintenance of change funds at service desks. The director and the assistant shall be alert to changes in the pattern of cash amounts from various service points and will investigate if meter readings and receipts are not in agreement with cash. A receipt is required for reimbursement of petty cash.
Travel forms and a description of the meeting or program to be attended must be submitted in advance by the employee and approved by the department head and the director for travel expenses to be paid by the library. Receipts are required for train fare, airfare, lodging, and registration. Meals will be reimbursed up to a $25 per day maximum.
Donations made to the Handley Library Archives are deposited into an Archives account administered by the Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society. The archives librarian, with the oversight of the Joint Archives Committee, decides how these funds shall be spent. Gifts and donations to the Handley Library go into the library's general fund and are not used to increase the amount of spending in a particular line item unless the amount of the gift is proportionately much higher than the money allocated to that fund.
Approved by Handley Regional Library in 1993