[Adopted 2-13-1990 (Title 2, Ch. 2.07, of the 1986 Code); amended in its entirety
FCB 6-30-2009]
A.
There is established within the Department of Administration and
Finance a position of Finance Director. Under the appointment and
direction of the Chief Administrative and Financial Officer, the Finance
Director shall be responsible for budgetary and financial matters
of the City of Springfield.
B.
The Finance Director shall be appointed by the Chief Administrative
and Financial Officer, with approval of the Mayor, for a term not
to exceed three years. Before entering upon the duties of the office,
the person shall be sworn to faithfully discharge the duties thereof.
A.
The person appointed Finance Director shall be a graduate of an accredited
college or university with a degree in business administration or
accounting or especially suited by education, training and experience
to perform the duties of the office.
B.
The Finance Director shall comply with the residency requirements
of the City.
A.
The powers and duties of the Finance Director shall be such as are
designated from time to time by the Chief Administrative and Financial
Officer. The Finance Director shall have all the powers, rights, and
duties that the Chief Administrative and Financial Officer shall determine
are necessary for the proper functioning and general effectiveness
as well as for the general supervision and control of the departments,
divisions, boards, agencies, commissions and officers, consistent
with the powers and duties assigned to him/her by the Chief Administrative
and Financial Officer.
B.
The Finance Director shall not at any time assume the duties of the
Comptroller, City Collector/Treasurer, or the Director of Internal
Audit, nor shall he/she or the Comptroller or the City Collector/Treasurer
hold any elective office or engage in any other business or occupation.
C.
The Finance Director shall, from time to time, further review and
re-evaluate the financial activities of the City, and from time to
time recommend to the Chief Administrative and Financial Officer such
additional consolidations or transfers of financial activities as
are appropriate to promote the fiscal stability of the City; provided,
however, that no consolidations or transfers of financial activities
or professional positions of the Office of the Director of Internal
Audit shall become effective unless and until approved by the Mayor
and the City Council.
D.
To the extent that personnel performing financial activities as defined
herein devote all or a substantial portion of their employment activities
to matters related primarily to a particular department, board, commission,
agency or other unit of City government, and such personnel are not
paid from, or their employment expenses not charged to, the appropriation
of such department, board, commission, agency or other unit of City
government, the Finance Director, at the direction of the Chief Administrative
and Financial Officer, is authorized and shall devise a reasonable
"charge-back" system so as to provide for the recovery from the appropriation
of such department, board, commission, agency or other unit of City
government the full employment expenses of the aforementioned personnel.
E.
The Finance Director shall annually conduct and release to the public
a report on the amount and affordability of debt issued by the City,
using established and generally accepted benchmarks as a basis for
comparison.
F.
Except as otherwise provided for in Massachusetts General Law, all
fees, fines and other revenue shall be collected by the Office of
the City Collector. The Finance Director may permit individual departments
to collect fees, fines and other revenue if, in his/her written determination,
said department has established proper policies, procedures and controls
and that said controls are followed at all times provided. All receipts
collected by any department shall be forwarded to the City Collector
on a daily basis or on another schedule as may be approved in writing
by the Finance Director.
G.
The Finance Director shall develop, document and publish a system
of internal controls for cash management, including but not limited
to receipt of money, safeguarding of assets, verification of accuracy,
use of financial computer systems, promotion of operational efficiency,
proper segregation of duties and others.
A.
The City shall annually adopt the rates and fees for all enterprise
fund activities, and the Chief Administrative and Financial Officer
shall propose no less than every two years the rates and fees for
all other rate- and fee-supported services in City government.
B.
In the event that an enterprise fund requires General Fund or other
support because its revenue does not fully support its operations,
the Finance Director and relevant department head shall make a report
to the City Council regarding the fund, its revenue and expenditure
position and the reason a deficit occurred.
A.
The Capital Improvement Planning Committee shall be comprised of
the City's Chief Administrative and Financial Officer or his/her designee,
the Finance Director, a representative from the City Council, the
Director of Parks, Buildings and Recreation Management, the Budget
Director, the Planning Director, the Director of Capital Asset Construction,
the Director of Public Works and the Director of Community and Economic
Development or other officials with different titles who perform the
duties of said positions. Any member with an interest in a capital
item before the Committee shall recuse him/herself from deliberations
regarding said items. The Committee shall provide its recommendations
in writing to the Mayor and City Council. Any capital funding request
that is at variance from the Committee's recommendation shall be by
a written justification of the variance, comparison of cost-benefit
analyses for the affected projects.
B.
The Finance Director shall review the finances and capital projects
no less than annually. For a nonconstruction capital expenditure,
the City shall conduct project close-out within six months of project
completion. For a construction-related capital expenditure, the City
shall conduct project close-out within nine months of the end of construction.
The City shall release unexpended bond proceeds within six months
of project close-out and may reuse said proceeds consistent with the
provisions of Massachusetts General Law.
A.
All departments authorized to collect receipts by the Finance Director
shall remit them to the City Collector on a daily basis, or on another
schedule approved by the Finance Director in writing on a case-by-case
basis.
B.
No department shall open an account in any financial institution
or maintain a checkbook or other means of receiving or making payments
without the prior written approval of the Finance Director, and departments
may not make any payment outside of the City's central financial system.
C.
No department may seek procurement for any capital project for which
funding is not legally available via appropriation, bond funding,
grant funding, gift or other legal source unless specifically permitted
by law. In instances where law permits procurement without a previously
identified funding source, said department must seek and receive the
approval of the Finance Director prior to initiating procurement activity.
D.
All departments that issue fines and tickets under law and City ordinance
shall provide written monthly reports to the Finance Director of the
number and dollar value of tickets issued and paid. Said report shall
be reconciled prior to submission so as to provide an accurate accounting
of collections and outstanding unpaid balances to date.
A.
Grant funds shall be expended prior to the expenditure of General
Fund operating budgets whenever possible. Grant reimbursements shall
be submitted in a timely manner; a schedule for submitting grant reimbursements,
which shall be binding on all parties, may be established by the Finance
Director if he/she finds that reimbursements are not taking place
in a timely manner.
B.
Department heads shall notify the Finance Director no later than
three months prior to the expiration of a grant if they reasonably
believe grant funds may be returned unspent to the granting agency.
