Skip to content
Breadcrumbs

SPA Process User’s Guide –
Chapter 2 – General Policies

Agency Head, Property Manager and Employee Responsibilities

Policy

Agency Head Responsibilities

The responsibility for the custody and care of state agency property lies with the agency head. The agency head should ensure that the agency maintains adequate internal control procedures. At the request of an agency, the SAO can review and evaluate an agency’s internal control procedures.

Each agency head must designate a property manager and then complete the Notice of Agency Head and Designation of Property Manager form (73-286) to inform the Comptroller’s office of the designee. With Comptroller’s office approval, the agency head may designate more than one property manager. The agency head is still responsible for agency property and for ensuring that the property manager carries out the duties prescribed by Comptroller’s office rules.

The agency head must ensure that the procedures for accountability and safeguarding of the agency’s property are distributed. All agency procedures must comply with Comptroller’s office rules and requirements.

The agency head must provide the property manager or alternate property manager with copies of the rules, procedures and other appropriate documentation for managing the agency’s property as formulated by the Comptroller’s office. The agency head must ensure that each property manager or alternate property manager receives training in the rules, policies, procedures and system operation of the SPA system as administered by the Comptroller’s office.

To ensure continual care of property and to assign specific liability for property, a new agency head should have a physical inventory conducted on all personal property belonging to the state agency or institution of higher education.

When the property manager of an agency or institution of higher education is changed, a physical inventory is not required.

Property Manager Responsibilities

A state agency’s property manager is the custodian of all property in the possession of the agency and is responsible for maintaining the required records. Property managers have update capabilities for all SPA system information for their specific agency.

Alternate Property Manager Responsibilities

The agency head must designate alternate property managers, if any are needed. Responsibilities of a state agency’s alternate property managers are determined by the agency’s property manager.

Employee Responsibilities

It is each state employee’s responsibility to use property only for state purposes and to exercise reasonable care for its safekeeping.

A property manager may entrust property to a person only when the person provides a signed and dated receipt to the property manager. The receipt must include a detailed list of the property entrusted to the individual, along with a statement similar to this:

“I understand that I am under financial liability for loss or damage to this (these) item(s) if the loss or damage results from my negligence, intentional act or failure to exercise reasonable care to safeguard, maintain and service it (them).”

Signature______________________________________________ Date_______________________

When to Use Form (73-286)

  • When agency heads change:
    • The outgoing agency head completes the bottom portion of this form and delivers it to the incoming agency head. The outgoing agency head should attach any additional information relating to property belonging to the state agency.
    • The new agency head completes the top portion of this form when accepting responsibility for the agency’s state property and then designates a property manager.
  • If the property manager of an agency changes, the new property manager completes only the property manager section of the form.

How to Complete the Notice of Agency Head and Designation of Property Manager Form (73-286)

Action

  1. Write the name of the agency on the Name of Agency/Institution line. The agency name must be listed in the USAS Agency Profile (D02).
  2. Write the agency number on the Agency Number line.
  3. Write the name of the incoming agency or institution head on the Name of Incoming Agency/Institution Head line.
  4. Write the title of the agency or institution head on the Title line.
  5. Write the agency or institution address on the Street Address line.
  6. Write the city, state and ZIP code of the agency or institution on the City-State-Zip Code line.
  7. Write the agency or institution head’s phone and fax numbers, including area codes, on the Phone Number/Fax Number line.
  8. The agency/institution head must sign on the Agency/Institution Head or Designee line.
  9. Write the date the form is completed/signed on the Date line.
  10. Write the name of the property manager on the Name of Property Manager line.
  11. Write the title of the property manager on the Title line.
  12. Write the property manager’s phone and fax numbers, including area codes, on the Phone Number/Fax Number line.
  13. The agency or institution’s property manager must sign on the Property Manager line.
  14. Write the date the form is signed by the property manager on the Date line.
  15. Write the name of the alternate property manager, if any, on the Name of Alternate Property Manager line.
  16. Write the title of the alternate property manager on the Title line.
  17. Write the alternate property manager’s phone and fax numbers, including area codes, on the Phone Number/Fax Number line.
  18. The agency or institution’s alternate property manager, if any, must sign on the Alternate Property Manager line.
  19. Write the date the form is signed by the alternate property manager on the Date line.
  20. Write the name of the outgoing agency head on the Name of Outgoing Agency/Institution Head line.
  21. The outgoing agency head must sign on the Outgoing Agency/Institution Head line.
  22. The agency must submit a completed copy of Notice of Agency Head and Designation of Property Manager form (73-286) to:

    Comptroller of Public Accounts
    LBJ State Office Building
    SPA section
    111 E. 17th Street
    Austin, TX 78774

    AND

    State Auditor’s Office (SAO)
    Robert E. Johnson, Sr. Building
    1501 N. Congress Avenue
    Suite 4.224
    Austin, TX 78701

Form 73-286

For an interactive version of this form, please see the Property Accounting Forms page.