Finance Department Directors Quarterly Report to City Council

Finance Department ACTIVITIES AND ENDEAVORS

Meet The Finance Department Finance Director Karin Callan

Accounting Manager Ashley Taylor

Accountant Michelle Collings

Sr. Accounting Specialist Meredith Newton

Financial Analyst Shane Byrd

Accounting Specialist Sue Raajan

Temporary Financial Analyst Robert Clark

Payroll Specialist Mandy Pope

Accounting Specialist Robin Common

The City of Douglasville’s Finance Department is comprised of 9 staff members that specialize in a variety of areas in Finance and Accounting, including but not limited to: payroll, purchasing, reconciliations, business licensing, financial reporting and long-term financial planning.

An Overview Of This Presentation Completed Goals/ Projects 2019  Received GFOA CAFR Award for Audited Year End 6/30/2018  Implemented GAPS System  Evaluated Feasibility in Billing for In-Sourcing Residential Sanitation Billing  Improve Purchasing and Procurement Policies and Procedures  Established Other Post Employment Benefits Trust  Utilized BS&A Software Capabilities with Business Licenses  Improved Communications with Business Licensee’s

In-Process Goals/ Projects

2019

 GFOA Distinguished Budget Award (Submitted in September of 2019)  GFOA CAFR Award for Audited Year End 6/30/19  Establish Fleet and Facilities Maintenance Policies  Establish a TAD (Tax Allocation District) Fund  Develop an Inventory Management Policy  Determine Project Financing for Town Green

Completed

GFOA CAFR Award  Awarded to Public Entities for Outstanding Reporting of Financial Activities  Promotes Transparency and Public Engagement  Encourages Local Governments to go beyond state requirements

Evaluation of Residential Sanitation Billing PROS  “Hands on” Control of Financial Operations  Quicker Response to Service Changes  No Longer Billed $1.60/Per Bill by WSA

CONS  Potential Increase in Delinquent Balances Due to Not Having Water Service to Leverage  Increase Postage/Printing Costs  Increase in Staffing and Software Costs

Evaluation of Residential Sanitation Billing EVALUATION PROCESS  Sent a 7 Question Questionnaire to 32 Municipalities and Received a Response from 16  Several Meetings Held b/w Finance and Public Services  Determined to be Unfeasible, Not in the City’s Best Interest  Contract Renewal w/WSA Will Not Increase the Price Per Bill

Purchasing and Procurement Procedures  Central Point of Contact for Procurement:

Michelle Collings

 Purchasing/Procurement Training to be Held:

October 2019

 Since 2018, Total RFB, RFP, RFQ Solicitations:

30

 Continued Updates to Procurement Procedures, Solicit Feedback and Utilize Available Resources to Effectively Procure Goods and Services  Finance Oversees Procurement Process to Ensure Fairness to all Vendors

Other Post Employment Benefits Trust  Prefunds OPEB Obligations ( Retiree Health Insurance )  Trust Set Up Through Georgia Municipal Association  Annual Appropriations will Grow Through Compounding Interest  Appropriation of $105,000 in Current Year Budget

G.A.P.S. System Georgia Applicant Processing Service WHAT IS THE PURPOSE?  To Provide Electronic Processing of Alcohol Applicant Background Checks in a Non-Criminal Justice Environment

WHY DID WE DO IT?  Law Enforcement Agencies are no Longer Allowed to Perform These on Behalf of Non-Criminal Justice Agencies Per GBI Ruling

Connecting With Licensee’s BUSINESS EMAILS  1,778 Out of 2,106 Email Captured  84% of Active Businesses

What will we be able to accomplish with emails?

 Additional Source of Communication with Businesses  Less Foot Traffic and Postage Fees (Licenses are Emailed Versus Mailed for Those Renewing Online)  Faster Renewal Process  Immediate Delivery of Important Information

In-Process

Provide Training on Quarterly Basis Training/Q&A Sessions Allow for New and Existing Employees to Familiarize Themselves with the ERP Software in Addition to Purchasing, Travel, Payroll, Budget and PCard Policies and Procedures.

Past Trainings:      

9/21/2018 – P-Card 10/31/2018 – P-Card 11/16/2018 – P-Card and Travel/Training Roundtable 2/15/2019 – General Q&A and Budget Demo in BS&A 2/26/2019 – Budget Demo in BS&A 8/28/2019 – Purchasing and RFP’s

Future Training Sessions to be Held:  November 2019  February 2020  May 2020

GFOA CAFR Award For Audited Year 6/30/19 WHY IS IT VALUABLE? 

Awarded to Public Entities for Outstanding Reporting of Financial Activities

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Promotes Transparency and Public Engagement

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Assists in Long-Term Financial Planning and Evaluation of Financial Position

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Encourages Government to go Above the State Minimum Requirements

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Reports Submitted to the CAFR Program are Reviewed by Selected Members of the GFOA Professional Staff and the GFOA Special Review Committee (SRC)

GFOA Distinguished Budget Award WHAT IS IT?  Awarded to Public Entities for Outstanding Reporting of Annual/Biennial Budgets  Program Established in 1984 to Assist Local Governments Create

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?  It Makes Budget Palatable to the Average Person  It is a Short and Long-Term Organization Planning Tool  Allows For Collection of KPI Data and

Comprehensive Budgets That

Tracking of Departmental and

Follow Established Best Practices

Organizational Goal Progress

GFOA Distinguished Budget Award BUDGET YEAR 2019-20  First Submission Attempt September 2019  Response to be Received in January 2020  Feedback From Judges will be Reviewed and Considered for the Fiscal Year 2020-21 Submission

BUDGET YEAR 2020-21  Meeting w/Departments Beginning in Late October 2019  Performance Measures and Goals From FY2019-20 to be Reviewed and Statuses Updated  Document Draft to be Outlined and Previous Submission’s Feedback Integrated in January 2019

Fleet Maintenance and Facilities Policy  Joint Project w/Public Services  Establish Guidelines on Fleet Rotation That is Fiscally Feasible  Project Fleet Needs Through Analysis of Vehicle Age and Mileage  FASTER Software Go-Live: November 2019

Tax Allocation District  To Begin the TAD a Baseline Needs to be Determined and Monitored  Working w/County Tax Commissioner to Determine Parcels  A New TAD Fund to be Created

You Are Here

Evaluation of Property Tax Billing

Evaluation And Research to Continue Through The End of The Calendar Year 2019

Budget Impact Being Researched to Compare Against Cost of Douglas County to Continue Billing Property Taxes on Behalf of The City

Advantages

Disadvantages

Developing Inventory Policy  Joint Effort b/w Finance, Human Resources and Legal  All Items Under the $ 5,000 Capitalization Threshold  Ex: Computers, Cellphones, Cameras, Repair/Service Parts

Project Financing / Amphitheater  Best Use of Available Funding Sources  Public / Private Partnerships  Bond Issuance

Questions & Comments