Josephine County finance director recommends cross‑training, ACFR support and restoring assistant director role

Josephine County’s finance director provided a brief update on Sept. 9 describing staffing, workload and near‑term budget calendar items.

Miss Nelson said the finance department is budgeted for eight full‑time positions but is operating with six filled FTEs, the lowest staffing level in a decade relative to the county’s current budget size. She recommended cross‑training and an internal promotion to restore the assistant finance director role rather than adding a new FTE. She also said the department is exploring outsourcing portions of the annual comprehensive financial report (ACFR) preparation to outside auditors or contractors to reduce peak workload during year‑end close.

Miss Nelson summarized annual finance duties — payroll, purchasing, accounts, grant reporting, the annual audit and the fee‑change process — and said supplemental budgets will be issued to departments at the end of the week, with a December supplemental and additional year‑end supplemental to follow. She told commissioners she would return with a justification memo and personnel request to promote from within for the assistant finance director position.

Next steps and oversight

Miss Nelson said she will bring back cost estimates for contracting ACFR preparation and a personnel request for an assistant finance director. Commissioners expressed support for cross‑training and internal promotion to ensure continuity.

Ending: Staff will return to the board with cost estimates and a personnel justification memo for consideration during the upcoming budget cycle.