Comptroller previews Workday go‑live, committee presses for a formal fund‑balance policy

Comptroller Bill Christiansen told the Finance and Personnel Committee the office is concentrating on implementing Workday — the city’s new human‑resources and financial management platform — while continuing audits, payroll and debt work. Members used the session to press for a formal fund‑balance policy after staff outlined how the tax stabilization fund can change from year to year.

Workday and operations: Christiansen described the Comptroller’s office as the city’s “central nervous system” for financial transactions and said Workday is scheduled to go live in June 2026. He told the committee system support, payroll and general accounting staff have taken on significant additional workload to configure the new system and create a permanent time‑tracking lead position to manage time‑entry templates and interface issues.

Why it matters: Workday replaces the city’s PeopleSoft‑based systems and will change time entry, payroll, HR self‑service and financial reporting. The comptroller’s office said the new platform should reduce manual work, improve resiliency and lower paper use once implemented.

Fund‑balance policy debate: Committee members pressed for a formal policy to define an appropriate reserve target and allowable withdrawals. Christiansen and the budget office described competing priorities: the tax stabilization fund balance stood at about $109.8 million at the end of 2024, but drawing on reserves to balance recurring operating needs is structurally risky. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) guideline of roughly two months of operating revenues (about 16.7%) was discussed; staff said that target would require a higher reserve and that a 2026 withdrawal of $32.3 million (the mayor’s proposal) would make meeting a 16.7% goal much harder.

Audit and transparency: The comptroller reported an active internal‑audit pipeline and said the city’s single audit identified no internal‑control weaknesses for the most recent federal programs tested. The comptroller’s office also highlighted open‑checkbook transparency tools and language‑access work such as translating popular financial reports into Spanish and Hmong.

What the committee asked for: Members asked the comptroller and budget office to return a set of policy options — e.g., phased targets, intermediate goals or delayed authorization dates — so council members can consider tradeoffs between reserve targets and program continuity. Christiansen said staff would present scenarios with numeric projections to aid deliberations.

Ending: The comptroller recommended continued caution about withdrawals and offered to run scenarios showing how different reserve targets would affect future budgets and borrowing sensitivity.