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Bethlehem finance committee presses administration to tighten accounts-payable process, expand electronic payments
Summary
City finance staff described a multi-step invoice workflow and pledged a new standardized receiving slip, expanded ACH use and a living accounts-payable process document to reduce invoice errors and late charges.
The Bethlehem City Council Finance Committee on Thursday held a detailed discussion of city accounts-payable procedures after committee members raised concerns about invoices arriving late or missing information and occasional late fees. Chair Grace Krampsey Smith said the topic was brought to the committee after multiple meetings with administration and the controller’s office.
Officials explained why invoices can stall, outlined near-term fixes and described longer-term steps to move more payments to automated clearing house (ACH) transfers. Joe Vlasic, head of financial services, told the committee the city processes “nearly 21,000 payment transactions” a year and that financial-services staff now run multiple check runs weekly and are pursuing high-volume ACH conversions such as utility payments.
The discussion matters because timing and clarity in invoice processing affect vendors’ cash flow and the city’s ability to avoid discretionary late charges. Committee members said vendors and downtown merchants had pressed the council to reduce payment delays.
Vlasic described…
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