WV Press Release Sharing
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia State Auditor JB McCuskey has recognized the Lincoln County Schools Treasurer for his P-Card program.
During during Tuesday night’s Lincoln County School Board meeting, McCuskey presented Austin Lucas with the Leona Ketz Award for his use of the Local Government Purchasing Card (P-Card). Lucas was chosen for his outstanding improvement in using the P-Card to earn a greater rebate for the Lincoln County School System and its students.
“The P-Card is a great resource for local governments and school boards, Austin has recognized that and is leading the charge to get his county the best rebate possible,” Auditor McCuskey said. “This is free money, that school boards get simply by putting their purchases on the P-Card. I know his efforts will go a long way to help the county provide students and parents with resources that they would otherwise have to go without.”
Lucas became CFO and Treasurer in August 2020. In that time, he has made it a priority to put county school purchases on the P-Card, earning the county cash back. The county has received nearly $80,000 in cash back rebates since Lucas began administering the purchasing card program for the school system.
“I’ve made it a goal since I started in this position to increase our P-Card volume. Our staff has done a great job of keeping volumes flat to increasing during years significantly impacted by COVID-19. We are currently on pace to increase our spending on the card by 10-15% from the prior fiscal year. We encourage our vendors to take card payments, not only for the rebate, but because it decreases their days sales outstanding, which in turn, improves cash flow for those businesses. I commend the work the Auditor’s office did on the contract renewal; rebate rates increased yet again. The rebates received from the program will be used on initiatives in the county to benefit our students,” Lucas said.
The P-Card is a credit card used by state and local governments and agencies. Similar to a personal or business credit card rewards program, users receive rebates from the bank that issues the card. It can be used on everything from small purchases, such as office supplies, to large purchases such as copy machines or building materials.
The P-Card also offers a more efficient method of streamlining the payment process and helps to fight fraud and abuse because P-Card transactions are tracked, and fraudulent use can be identified quickly.
The Award is named after its first recipient, Leona Ketz. Ketz was recognized last school year for earning McDowell County Schools $200,000 in rebates.
