Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Finance Operations topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Finance and treasury detail personnel changes, BS&A migration issues and resolved credit-card backlog
Summary
Finance Director Crystal Thomas and staff told council that the finance and treasury budgets reflect personnel reclassifications and an added administrative specialist for income-tax workflow; they said a credit-card reconciliation backlog has been addressed and W-2 corrections were required after vendor setup errors during BS&A implementation.
Crystal Thomas, finance director and acting city treasurer, told the Committee of the Whole on May 5 that finance and treasury proposed budgets are largely status quo but include personnel changes and an additional administrative specialist for income-tax operations.
Thomas said personnel increases are related to reclassifications and operational needs and explained that a former controller who retired will continue in a limited contractor role to assist with year-end close and audit preparation. On the city's new financial platform, Thomas acknowledged implementation issues with BS&A and said more training could have helped, but that fixes were applied: “Since this time, the task has been reassigned. Now there is no backlog. Reconciliations are done monthly,” she said, addressing an earlier question about credit-card statement reconciliations being three-to-five months behind.
Why it matters: Councilors asked why credit-card reconciliations lagged and the steps taken to resolve them. Thomas said the backlog resulted from an extended absence of the staff member who performed the reconciliations and that the task has been reassigned. The department also reported W-2 corrections were necessary because retirement deduction codes were set up incorrectly by the vendor during the BS&A rollout; consultants confirmed corrected W-2s would not prevent employees from filing tax returns.
Other points: Finance said three employees left the department in the past year (one retirement); treasury said three employees left for other city positions. Thomas said hybrid-work rates vary: about 60% of finance staff work hybrid, 0% in treasury, and roughly 50% in income tax. Vendors noted include Manor (external audit firm, last bid 2019) and MGT Impact Solutions (cost allocation plan). Thomas said treasury uses outside vendors Kent Communication and Extend Your Reach for mailing and forms.
Ending: The finance and treasury presentations were informational; councilors requested further detail on historical reconciliation timing and staffing percentages, which staff said they would provide.
