FINANCE DEPARTMENT
MISSION STATEMENT: To manage and to protect the City's financial
resources by applying generally accepted accounting and investment principles, to provide efficient reprographic and information systems services to internal users, to enforce the City's business license and purchasing ordinances as outlined in the West Covina Municipal Code.
The finance department is responsible for all financial affairs of
the City and the Community Development Commission (CDC). The goal
of the finance department is to maintain financial stability, to provide accurate and timely financial information and recommendations to the City's decision makers, and to protect the City's assets through the establishment of effective internal controls. The department also strives to provide valuable and responsive support services to the other City departments. The department consists of six divisions and a total of 21 full-time employees.
The administration division oversees all
aspects of the finance department and is
responsible for the City's debt management
and budget preparation.
The revenue services division manages cash
activity for the City and CDC, and is
responsible for the receipt, deposit, and
investment of funds. It also oversees the
business license operations, which is
responsible for ensuring that all businesses
maintain a current business license and pay
applicable taxes. The city treasurer is
elected by the community at large and
reviews monthly investment reports and
cash flows. The finance director has
responsibility for managing the day-to-day
investment operations. Surplus funds are
invested for maximum safety, liquidity, and
yield in compliance with the City's
investment policy and the California
Government Code.
The accounting division includes the
payroll, accounts payable, general
accounting, financial reporting, fixed assets,
and accounts receivable functions. This
division monitors various lease and loan
payments due to the City and the CDC;
maintains financial records; complies with
various federal, state, and local reporting
requirements; provides monthly budget
reports to all departments; and assists
employees with payroll issues including tax
withholdings, direct deposit, and deferred
compensation.
The purchasing division exists as a service
agency for other departments and divisions
of the City. Our customers are the
employees of the City of West Covina, and
in keeping with the City's core values,
customer service is of the utmost priority in
purchasing. The purchasing division is
responsible for maximizing cost
effectiveness and controlling purchases
through centralized purchasing, assists City
departments in vendor selection for
equipment and service purchases, and
assures that City purchasing policies are
followed.
The information systems division provides
programming and hardware maintenance for
the City's automated systems, supports
computer users in all departments, maintains
the citywide and local area networks, assists
departments in the selection of software
systems, and coordinates contract computer
services for web site management. The
division also coordinates training of City
staff on new computer equipment and
software, and develops office automation
standards.
The reprographics division has two full-time
employees that coordinate citywide shipping
and mailing, photocopying, printing,
binding, and desktop publishing services.
This division also provides the paper used in
all department copiers, printers, and other
related supplies such as envelopes,
letterhead, NCR forms, four-color
certificates, business cards, etc.
FINANCE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
FY 2005-2006 ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Managed the City's investment portfolio
by investing funds in accordance with
the adopted policy.
- Refunded the City's 2002 Civic Center
taxable bonds with tax-exempt bonds
that resulted in interest rate savings for
the City.
- Continued the on-going evaluation of
internal controls to maintain proper
segregation of duties while streamlining
department workflow.
- Revised all budget chargebacks to more
adequately address cost recovery.
- Worked with departments to revise
telephone cost allocations.
- Managed many of the contract
administration, grant monitoring, and
reporting duties taken on from other City
departments.
- Assisted departments with use of the
budget preparation and requisitioning
modules.
- Hired and trained two account clerks for
the business license and accounts
payable functions.
- Adjusted business license fees by
Consumer Price Index increase.
- Received Government Finance Officers
Association (GFOA) Distinguished
Budget Presentation Award.
- Consolidated and/or closed various
checking accounts resulting in a time
and bank fee savings.
- Cross-training efforts were continued
within the department, particularly in the
accounts payable function. Desk
procedures manuals are being developed
and will continue to be refined during
fiscal year 2006-2008.
- Prepared a Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report (CAFR) for the year
ended June 30, 2005 and submitted it to
the GFOA Certificate of Achievement
for Excellence in Financial Reporting
and the California Society of Municipal
Finance Officer's (CSMFO) Certificate
of Award for Outstanding Financial
Reporting programs. Received awards
for both submissions.
- Prepared financial reports required by
federal, state, and county agencies.
- Assisted the human resources
department with the successful
implementation of the human resources
and applicant tracking modules of the
Eden software.
- Developed a Purchasing Policy and
Procedures manual to be implemented
citywide.
- Developed purchasing specifications and
administered 13 formal bid openings.
- Implemented the Voyager Fuel Card
program that was available through a
California state contract. The program
allows City vehicles to be fueled at most
retail gas stations throughout California
and was in response to the City
decommissioning its underground fuel
tanks.
- Reviewed listing of State Contracts and
instructed departments on how to
piggyback onto such contracts (i.e.
lamps and tires) resulting in a 20%
savings.
- Reviewed, updated, and issued new open
purchase orders and issued a list of them
to all City departments. A listing of all
existing contract services was also
developed.
- Successfully installed the e-mail spam
filtering device on the network and
upgraded the e-mail system to the latest
version.
- Setup e-mail for staff and student
computers at all day care centers.
- Selected a new Internet provider to
provide digital subscriber line (DSL)
services at the Senior Center and T1 at
the City Hall. This change resulted in
more consistent service and reduced the
cost of the service.
- Compliant with post office regulations,
reprographics replaced the outdated
postage meter with a digital one.
- Started printing certificates on a color
copier instead of a printing press. This
cost saving method also saved on hours
of production.
- Hired and trained two limited service
offset equipment operators.
FY 2006-2008 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Develop, recommend and implement
fiscal policies and procedures to
guaranty the financial integrity and
solvency of the City and its related
agencies.
- Continue to recommend budget
solutions to the City Council in an
effort to balance the City's budget.
- Work closely with City departments
to identify new revenue sources and
methods to reduce costs.
- Reevaluate the fees and charges for
City-provided services to ensure the
fees are reasonable and fully recover
the cost of providing those services.
- Monitor all current revenue sources
and perform audits of various
revenues to ensure the City is
receiving all the existing revenues it
is entitled to.
- Effectively manage the City's cash
and investment portfolio to
maximize revenues while adhering to
the primary goals of safety and
liquidity of the City's cash reserves.
- Develop financing plans for the
implementation of the City's new
public safety communications
system and the West Covina
Sportsplex project.
Provide outstanding customer service to
City departments to assist them in
performing their department operations.
- Provide timely and accurate financial
information to departments and
policy decision makers to enable
them to effectively monitor budgets
and make informed decisions
regarding financial matters.
- Coordinate customer support issues.
- Assist department users with specific
questions related to the City's
financial software system to increase
their ability to understand and use
the system.
- Present to City Manager a
Purchasing Policy and Procedures
manual that will be approved and
utilized citywide. The policies will
become a tool for promoting
efficiency and economy in City
operations while maintaining the
City's reputation for fairness and
integrity.
- Train City departments on the
effective use of the Purchasing
Policy & Procedures manual.
- Conduct quarterly Purchasing User's
Meetings to aid/instruct City staff on
purchasing methods, procedural
changes and problems encountered
in the Eden finance system.
Ensure that all financial reporting meets
professional standards and that generally
accepted accounting principles are
adhered to.
- Prepare a Comprehensive Annual
Financial Report and submit it to the
Government Finance Officers
Association and the California
Society of Municipal Finance
Officers awards programs.
Submission to these programs
ensures that the report is prepared to
the highest industry standards and
demonstrates to external
organizations that the City is
committed to disclosing financial
information in a professional and
fiscally responsible manner.
- Provide assistance to external
auditors in their task of confirming
that the City's accounting records are
maintained in a fiscally responsible
and professional manner, and that
grant funds were spent in accordance
with the governing regulations.
Continue to develop a professional and
well-trained staff in order to provide the
highest level of quality and cost-effective service.
- Consolidate fire department network
with the City Hall network for better
network management. Merge all
users from fire department and then
create new profiles.
- Eliminate old servers to save
maintenance cost.
- Implement a network attached
storage (NAS) system for better
backup and data disaster recovery.
Purchase and install equipment
and computer software.
Store data to NAS from other
network servers and then store
data to tapes.
Data can be restored from
network attached storage (NAS)
system quickly.
- Implement a solution for Public
Works department to use the permit
system remotely.
Subscribe to Verizon broadband
wireless Internet access.
Configure the rugged laptops to
connect to the permit system
using wireless Internet.
- Fine-tune the network to increase
speed and security.
Monitor the network traffic.
Replace network devices and
cables.
Change configurations if
necessary.
- Assist departments in meeting their
color printing deadlines by replacing
a four-copies- per-minute copier with
a 24-copies-per-minute one.
- Continue the use of state funded
ROP students, which provides the
City with no-cost manpower and
valuable work experience to the
students.
PERFORMANCE MEASURES
AUTHORIZED POSITIONS
ACTIVITY TREE
BUDGET SUMMARY
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