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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.b. Finance Department City Council Presentation � « n� V 2 P.O. BOX 510 (✓ZL� � 2875-145TH ST. W. osernoun� ROSEMOUNT MINNESOTA 55068 612-423-441 1 FINANCE DEPARTMENT �� � '"�,� CI,TY COUNCIL PRESENTATION February 20, 1990 I. Overview of Department A. Operation/Functions 1. Annual and Ongoing Budget Process 2. Fund Accounting 3. Payroll 4. Investments � 5. Deputy Registrar B. Personnel 1. Finance Personnel 2. Deputy Registrar Personnel II. 1990 and Beyond A. Current Special Projects 1. Conversion to Civic System Computer Programs 2. Investigate and Implement "Program Budgeting" B. Next 12 Months 1. Special Needs la. Fixed Assets Implementation lb. 2. Staffing 2a. Finance Director's Staffing Posture 2b. FINANCE DEPARTMENT CITY COUNCIL PRESENTATION I. Overview of Department A. Operation/Functions 1. The Finance Department is charged with compiling the annual budget as it is generated through discussion and investigation by each Department, within the Department, with other Departments and the Administrator. Maintaining accountability and integrity in the Computer Financial System, providing each Department with accurate information, to preclude the need for each Department to create a separate Fund Accounting System to track their Budgets. 2. Fund Accounting is made up of several distinct and separate processes. As mandated by State Statute, we operate our Fund Accounting system under the "Generally Accepted Fund Accounting Rules" (GAFAR). The "Revenue" side of our Fund Accounting System is a massive job in itself as we generated 3,263 receipts during 1989, with each receipt containing as few as one fund breakdown to receipts witfi as many as forty fund breakdowns. Tracking all of these receipts and the various breakdowns on each receipt is a job for a sophisticated computer system with time proven software. The "Accounts Payable" side of our Fund Accounting System is another massive and complex job. Again I offer data indicating that we generated 3,097 account payable checks in 1989. These checks also contain from one to forty plus fund breakdowns similar to the receipts. We feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to upgrade our system hardware in 1989, giving us the latest technology and some of the newest software packages available. 3. The most important and the most noted responsibility in the Finance Department is the maintenance and operation of the "Payroll System". I consider this the most important responsibility as it gets into the area of personnel and must be done with the utmost accuracy and consistency. To fully understand this, consider the impact and importanee of preparing 26 payrolls per year that provided pay checks to 47 full time staff and 90 part time staff, generating a total of 1,602 pay checks, in 1989. The payroll system not only generates the pay check, it also does the accounting and history keeping to allow for the total automation of the payroll system, from generating and printing the checks to generating the accounts payable for all of the employee and employer contributions that must be sent to the proper parties, ie, Federal tax withholding, State tax withholding, etc. , and at year end produces the W2's as required. FINANCE DEPARTMENT-Page two 4. A side line issue for the Finance Department is "Investments". The City is not mandated to invest its funds to earn interest to offset the levy required to operate, but is mandated to deposit its funds immediately upon receipt in a designated depository that will provide the utmost security of the funds. We therefore keep all city funds in an interest bearing checking account or in various term "Certificates of Deposit". During 1989 we averaged $12,500,000 in our investment port folio at any given time, with those investments generating $870,248 in interest income for tMe various City Funds. 5. Most Finance Department issues and responsibilities are mandated. We enjoy maintaining a Service for the Community by providing the "Deputy Registrar" location here at city hall . The Deputy Registrar at this writing is the Finance Director, but could be anyone who the city decides to designate for that responsibility. It seems to best fit into the Finance Department just by the very nature of the work generated by the service. The term Deputy Registrar means that we are representing someone else, and that someone else is the State Commissioner of Public Safety, Mr. Paul Tschida, who is the State Registrar. In this capacity we have generated 6,993 transactions for residents needing the services of a Deputy Registrar in the licensing or transferring of ownership on cars, trucks, trailers and miscellaneous others including bicycles. Through these efforts we have collected and remitted to the State Treasurer $601,728.95 in 1989. For our efforts we have generated income for the city in the amount of $22,488.00 in 1989. A Deputy Registrar also serves as an agent for the DNR in that we handle similar needs for boat, snowmobile and all terrain vehicle owners, completely separate from Motor Vehicle. We processed 280 applications in 1989, remitting to the State DNR $3,437.00 and $140.00 to the City General Fund. B. Personnel 1. The Finance Department staff consists of the Finance Director, Deputy Finance Director and Finance/Deputy Registrar Assistant. The Finance Director is responsible for the total operation of both the Finance Department and the Deputy Registrar location at this time. The Deputy Finance Director is, with the supervision of the Finance Director, responsible for the day to day operations of the finance department, assisted by the Finance/Deputy Registrar Assistant. 2. The Deputy Registrar Staff consists of the Finance Director, • the Finance/Deputy Registrar Assistant and the Assistant Deputy Registrar. The Finance Director is responsible for the total operation of the Deputy Registrar location at this time. The Finance/Deputy Registrar Assistant, under the supervision of the Finance Director, is responsible for the day to day operation of the Deputy Registrar location, assisted by the Assistant Deputy Registrar in the daily work tasks of the department. Inasmuch as the Deputy Registrar location personnel requirements are varied by the demand for services, � FINANCE DEPARTMENT-Page three this position can and does assist all other departments with the work load of the various departments. II. 1990 and Beyond A. Current Special Projects 1. As noted earlier in this report, the Finance Department has enjoyed upgrading the Computer System Hardware and Software. Upgrading of this magnitude creates work tasks that seem to have no end. Several people have been involved in the conversion process as we parted company with the software house previously utilized, which caused us to forfeit the ability to convert our files through computer software programs, leaving us with the task of physically converting all of the old system records into the new system. Thanks to a dedicated staff and a couple of part time individuals, this process was completed without even a minor disruption of the ' day to day operation of the department. 2. Discussion has been held with the administrator regarding the ' possible investigation of "Program Budgeting". The general consensus reached in these discussions are that in 1990 we parallel the current budgeting method with the Zero Based Program Budgeting to allow migration to this system should we find it a better tool for use in budget preparation. B. Next 12 Months 1. A major requirement of GAFAR is maintaining a Fixed Asset Accounting system. This is a process that inventories all city assets, placing a value on each item and maintains that inventory for the purpose of funding the replacement of the item. This is a major and much desired project but it has been put off repeatedly over the years due to the magnitude of the project and its assumed personnel needs. We have had within the last two computer systems a program for such a process but did not find the time to install the system. We have this same feature in the new system and when the finance department is confident that the new financial system is working as it should, we will investigate the process contained within the new software and propose a process to accomplish the Fixed Assets Accounting System. 2. Staffing 2a. As Finance Director, I envision that very soon, the department will be reaching a comfort level with the new computer system to allow expanding our horizons within the department. At this writing I do not believe that additional help is needed or warranted in this department. Should other departments find a need to expand to a point that they create added activities in accounts payable, fund accounting and payroll , we would then be faced with adding staff.