Secretary of State's Policy Regarding Fees
Effective March 1, 2013, the Secretary of State’s Office will no longer waive fees for the Notary Application fee for State Agencies. The $30 fee is an allowable fee to pay from University accounts.
Toner Scam
A department has received a call from someone named Robert Adams, claiming to be from Allied Business or the like. They claimed there was an order and needed the model number. He said a "memo" had been sent and they would be by to drop off the order. The department uses Koch Brothers for toner, so they knew it was a scam. Please be aware of these scams!
The Purchasing Department will be closing active blanket orders for copier maintenance and leases effective September 1, 2009.
The University of Iowa Purchasing Department is requiring departments to put low-dollar copier lease and maintenance payments on their departmental Procurement Card. This does not include equipment purchases. Copier lease and maintenance payments are allowed to be processed on a confirming order. This procedure change is due to Internal Audit comments regarding appropriate blanket order usage. Contracts will still need to be signed by the Director of Purchasing.
This will benefit departments by allowing you to:
- control on a monthly basis what MFK is charged
- reviewing charges as they come through
- verifying the correct cost per copy rates as stated in the contract.
Copier vendors have been notified to send the appropriate invoices to each individual department. Payment may be called into the vendor or set up to be charged monthly. You may discuss this with your copier lease/maintenance vendor to find which option best suits your department’s needs.
Please contact Dani Weber at danielle-f-weber@uiowa.edu if you have questions or need additional information.
Flood 2008
Important information regarding the University of Iowa Purchasing, Accounts Payable, and Travel Departments. Email for flood related questions: flood2008@uiowa.edu
Information regarding flood related costs
- Charging and Documenting Flood Related Costs
- Flood 2008 Justification Form
- Flood Related Costs
- Furniture Contact List
- How does our department get permission to examine our area, furnishings and equipment to see about damages?
- We have some items that may be salvageable, but we’ll need to spend some money right away to save them from further damage. Is this an insurable expense?
- What kind of insurance is available to help with flood losses?
- What is the process for filing a claim for flood losses?
- How do we document specific losses for our claim?
- How is our damaged/lost property valued for the insurance claim?
- What valuation is insurance likely to pay?
- If our equipment and furnishings are damaged, can we just throw it out and file a claim for new replacements?
- We had to purchase supplies to make it through the flood period. Can we file for an insurance claim for these supplies?
- We can’t get at some stuff in flooded buildings that we need urgently. How can we go about obtaining replacements very soon?
- What if we want to upgrade furnishings and equipment damaged in the flood? Will insurance cover that?
- Are my personal items covered by University insurance?
- What are guidelines to charge labor to the flood accounts?
1. How does our department get permission to examine our area, furnishings and equipment to see about damages?Department staff will have the opportunity to inspect damaged property. The Provost’s Office is coordinating this. Equipment needs to be evaluated to determine if repair or replacement is needed. The Risk Management and Purchasing departments will work to assist you; please be patient with us, as we are trying to help many people at once.
2. We have some items that may be salvageable, but we’ll need to spend some money right away to save them from further damage. Is this an insurable expense?
If you can prevent further expensive damage by spending a little extra money now—buying a tarp to protect equipment left outside from rain/sun, or freeze-drying valuable books to avoid mold damage, for instance—it is both common sense and likely an insurance-reimbursable expense to do so. Start plans to do it right away, and contact Risk Management as soon as possible to confirm the preservation expense is insured.
3. What kind of insurance is available to help with flood losses?
The University of Iowa is insured for the flood for property loss and business interruption with FM Global. The University also has flood insurance through the National Flood Insurance program. The amounts of insurance are limited based upon the building and location. FEMA and the State of Iowa may also provide financial support beyond that available from commercial insurance.
4. What is the process for filing a claim for flood losses?
The Risk Management department will be working with the insurance carrier and will assist departments in identifying and submitting expenses associated with the flood. The first step is a careful assembling of a detailed and complete inventory list of your lost property and damages. Disaster restoration vendors are authorized to assist in the inventory process. Risk Management will be including your department’s inventory information in the overall insurance claim.
5. How do we document specific losses for our claim?
All losses must be documented, with detail about the lost or damaged equipment, amount of supplies damaged, and/or any building repairs needed. Inventory records, purchase receipts, or other proofs of costs incurred are helpful. Photographs or video of the facility pre-flood would be helpful, too, if you have them. Photographers will be allowed in the buildings to record equipment that cannot be salvaged. The department should assist with this recording process. The photos will be used to help determine replacement cost.
6. How is our damaged/lost property valued for the insurance claim?
Insurance coverage is meant to help restore the University to the same financial condition as prior to the event (the flood). The University will be able to file a claim for “replacement value” for the damaged equipment or buildings. Damaged contents will be inventoried by the disaster restoration vendors and the insurance company will determine any salvage value.
7. What valuation is insurance likely to pay?
Insurance will first owe the cost for repairs, if repairs are possible. If an item cannot be repaired, and the item is to be replaced, the insurance carrier will owe for the replacement either for the same item or one of “like kind and quality” to the item lost—equipment that is the most functionally equivalent to that damaged or destroyed. If an item was damaged or lost but will not be replaced, the insurance carrier will owe the Actual Cash Value basis (depreciated value) of the damaged item.
8. If our equipment and furnishings are damaged, can we just throw it out and file a claim for new replacements?
Not if you want to file a claim for the property. Equipment must be repaired, rather than replaced, if the cost to do so is lower. The insurance company determines if equipment can be repaired, so don’t throw things away if you will be making a claim for it until an insurance company representative has had a chance to examine it. Equipment that is being replaced because it cannot be repaired must be inventoried and then approved before it is discarded. (The insurance company also has the option to take damaged property as salvage, in exchange for payment of replacement cost.)
9. We had to purchase supplies to make it through the flood period. Can we file for an insurance claim for these supplies?
Supplies that are purchased because you don’t have access to your building/area are not a reimbursable expense. They would become part of your ongoing stock. On the other hand, if supplies were damaged by the flood, an insurance claim should be requested. Documentation regarding the replaced inventory will be requested, so save your receipts!
10. We can’t get at some stuff in flooded buildings that we need urgently. How can we go about obtaining replacements very soon?
If supplies cannot be accessed in buildings affected by the flood and are needed for the summer session, replacement supplies should be ordered right away. The Purchasing Department will assist you. Save your receipts for possible insurance claims!
11. What if we want to upgrade furnishings and equipment damaged in the flood? Will insurance cover that?
The purpose of insurance is to put the University in the same financial position as before the event occurred. If the department or the university wants to upgrade in any way (called “betterment” in insurance terms), the cost will be borne by the department or the university. That is, if an item can be repaired, the insurance carrier will owe for the repair, or for an equivalent replacement if no repairs are possible. If however, the University decides to “upgrade” by replacing a damaged item with a newer or nicer item, the expense associated with the “upgrade” will be the responsibility of the University or the department.
12. Are my personal items covered by University insurance?
The University’s insurance policy does not cover personal items lost in the flood. Claims for personal items lost in the flood should be submitted to your personal homeowner’s or renter’s insurance carrier.
13. What are guidelines to charge labor to the flood accounts?
- Merit chargeable employees (who charge out time to customers via timekeeping system) – may charge flood accounts for flood preventative/protective measures and recovery/repair/replacement measures (such as ordering equipment and supplies damaged by the flood).
- Merit non-chargeable employees (who do not charge out time to customers via timekeeping system) – retain any documentation used to track time spent on relevant flood related activities. Additional information will be sent from HR on this topic.
- P&S/Faculty/Other employees – retain any documentation used to track time spent on relevant flood related activities. Additional information will be sent from HR on this topic
Hy-Vee Charge Cards
It has been brought to Purchasing and Accounts Payable’s attention that Hy-Vee has sent out letters informing you of a change in their direct bill program. Hy-Vee offered a new charge card for departments to use for in-store purchases.
The University is not supportive of this program and has asked Hy-Vee to discontinue the issuance of these charge cards. Instead, Hy-Vee will be accepting procurement cards as the preferred method of charging for food orders.
If you have already been issued a Hy-Vee card, the account will be closed by Hy-Vee. You should cut the card up and dispose of it properly.
If you have any questions concerning this process, please contact Debby Zumbach. ↑top
Office Supply Solicitations
From time to time various office supply vendors in our area attempt to market their products to campus end users by offering promotional discounts or other incentives that are in direct competition with the OfficeMax contract we currently have in place through General Stores. Office Depot has offered a discount card in the past and we have recently become aware of a possible email solicitation from Staples marketing a “Convenience Card” that can be used at their local store. If you receive this email please do not apply for this card. Firstly, the billing process they are proposing would have all cards on campus billed to one Corporate Account. Since the University has multiple sources of funding and multiple end users, this would not work for us. Secondly, we cannot support or promote a marketing effort that competes with our already established contract.
A recent incident occurred when Patterson Office Supplies located in Illinois solicited a $25 Mastercard as a promotion to ordering supplies. Please be aware that accepting this is in violation with the Iowa Gift Law. For more information see: Gift Law
If you have questions regarding pricing for any office supply item, please contact the OffficeMax representative at General Stores @ 4-3908. Many items, even those not shown in the catalog, can be obtained through OfficeMax at considerable savings.
Material Transfer Agreements
All Material Transfer Agreements that involve purchases need to be routed to the Division of Sponsored Programs. They must review them before they are sent to Purchasing for signature approval. Please see their website for more info: DSP
