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River Heights adopts Caselle approvals process for invoices; council approves check run
Summary
The council received training on an online approval workflow in the city’s Caselle financial system and approved the bills presented for payment. Council members will use department-level approvals and the recorder will remain the final approver; the council agreed to two monthly approval dates.
The River Heights City Council on Jan. 21 received a demonstration of the city’s Caselle accounts‑payable approval workflow and approved the check run for invoices currently in the system.
Treasurer Michelle Jensen led a live demonstration of the Caselle dashboard, showing how invoices appear for department reviewers, how attachments are accessed, and how elected officials can approve or modify general‑ledger coding before submitting approvals. Jensen showed that departmental routing is layered: for example, water and sewer invoices route to the public works director, then to the mayor, and finally to the recorder for final approval. The recorder, Sheila Lind, was identified in the demonstration as the final approver in the workflow.
Jensen said the system is already part of the city’s software package and requires changes to city code to formalize the new approval process. She proposed a schedule for payment approval windows and the council discussed setting two monthly approval dates; the council agreed to aim for a regular approval schedule (proposed: the fifth and the twentieth of each month) and to set calendar reminders so council members could review invoices in advance.
Council members asked how they would be notified of pending approvals; Jensen said Caselle can send email and text notifications and she can configure calendar reminders. She cautioned council members not to place invoices “on hold” in the system without coordinating with staff because that status can make items difficult to find later.
For the meeting’s immediate business, the council approved tonight’s bill list, including three retainage/draw payments to Raymond Construction for Stewart Hill Park. A council member moved and another seconded the motion to pay the bills as presented; the motion passed on an affirmative vote. Staff said they will post a payment‑approval batch report to a shared OneDrive folder before future payment dates so council members can review the full run even though the approvals will be made through Caselle rather than at the council table.
The council also confirmed that purchase orders and items requiring policy approval (for example, contract awards and large POs) will still come before council as agenda items; the Caselle workflow applies to routine invoices that fall within approved budgets.
No change to the council’s authority over purchase orders or procurement awards was made tonight; Jensen and staff will return with proposed city‑code language to formalize the approvals workflow.
