Most jurisdictions limit purchasing authority to specific people and specific limits. While administrative rules addressing financial issues may work fine in the 40-hour/daylight-only workweek, it may not serve the organization well in an off-hour emergency. Stories abound of responders forced to purchase supplies with personal credit cards because official fiscal support was not available.

Each organization should:

• Determine who, at what level in the organization, has what amount of purchasing authority.
• Ensure that appropriate financial controls are observed at all levels.
• Ensure that appropriate training and refresher training on jurisdiction purchasing and documentation procedures is completed.