[Amended 2-5-2004 by Ord. No. 04-6; 2-19-2004 by Ord. No.
04-14; 10-4-2018 by Ord. No. 18-45; 3-19-2020 by Ord. No. 20-13[1]]
A.Â
There
shall be a Department of Finance, the head of which shall be the Director
of Finance. The Director shall, prior to his/her appointment, be qualified
by training or experience in governmental finance and fiscal management.
The Department of Finance, under the direction and supervision of
the Director of Finance, shall be organized into four divisions, namely,
Accounts and Controls, Assessment, Treasury and Tax.
B.Â
Powers
and duties of Director of Finance. The Director of the Finance Department
shall be responsible for the accounting, preauditing and control of
all City revenues and expenditures; for the custody, receipt and disbursement
of City funds; for the safety and investment of the City's investments;
for the management of the City's debt; for the development of financial
policies for recommendation to the Mayor and for the safeguarding
of the City's financial interests.
There is hereby created by the City Council
the position of Chief Financial Officer of the City, which position
shall carry no additional compensation and shall be filled, ex officio,
by the City Comptroller. The Chief Financial Officer shall have all
the authority and responsibility provided by state laws.
[Amended 2-5-2004 by Ord. No. 04-6; 3-19-2020 by Ord. No. 20-13]
Within the Department of Finance there shall
be a Division of Accounts and Control, the head of which shall be
the City Comptroller. Under the supervision and direction of the Division
Head of Finance, the Division shall:
A.Â
Develop, maintain and enforce a uniform system of
accounts, including forms, standards and procedures for all departments
of the City government. Any uniform system of accounts shall include
appropriate provision for such records and reports as may be prescribed
or approved by the Business Administrator for the determination of
the cost of performance of each functional program or activity, measured
in such work units as may be appropriate thereto, and for such data,
records and reports as may be prescribed or approved by the Business
Administrator for the preparation and execution of a budget for the
expenditure of public funds for capital purposes to give effect to
general improvement programs.
B.Â
Maintain and operate the City's central bookkeeping
and accounting records according to sound accounting principles and
in accordance with the requirements of the Director of the State Division
of Local Government.
C.Â
Audit all receipts and disbursements of the City government
and of each of its departments, preaudit all bills, claims and demands
against the City, including payrolls, and require each department
head to certify that materials, supplies or equipment have been received
and accepted as specified and that services have been duly rendered.
D.Â
Control all expenditures to assure that budget appropriations
are not exceeded, and maintain such books and records as may be required
for the proper exercise of such budgetary control, including an encumbrance
system of budget operation.
E.Â
Review each proposed expenditure and commitment to
be made on behalf of any department for conformity with state law,
the Charter and ordinances of the City and authorize only such expenditures
and commitments as conform with all the requirements of this chapter.
F.Â
Install, operate and maintain all pension records
for personnel of all departments.
G.Â
Devise, install and supervise a perpetual inventory
of unissued stores of the City and install an accounting system whereby
the status of such inventories will be maintained current. Supervise
a physical inventory periodically. Supervise the making of inventory
lists of furniture and equipment by every officer, department or other
agency having possession of city owned properly. Devise a system of
inventory records to account for all furniture and equipment and supervise
a periodic counting of such furniture and equipment.
H.Â
Submit a monthly report of encumbrances, expenditures
and unencumbered balances to the City Council and Business Administrator.
Within the Department of Finance there shall
be a Division of Assessments, the head of which shall be the Chief
Assessor. The Chief Assessor shall be appointed by the Director to
serve for the term provided by law, and vacancies shall be filled
for the unexpired term only. Prior to his/her appointment, the Chief
Assessor shall be qualified by at least five years' training or experience,
or a combination thereof, in the valuation and assessment of real
and personal property. The Division of Assessments shall be limited
to the Chief Assessor and six other persons engaged in assessment
functions. Under the direction and supervision of the Director of
Finance, the Division shall:
A.Â
Have, perform and discharge all the functions, powers
and duties prescribed by law for a Municipal Assessor.
B.Â
Make assessments for benefits for local improvements
and, for that purpose, have and exercise the powers and duties of
a Board of Assessment for local improvements as provided by law.
C.Â
Maintain adequate assessment records of each separate
parcel of real property assessed or exempted and establish and maintain
such files, records and procedures as may be required for the valuation
and assessment of personal property pursuant to law.
D.Â
Maintain a current Tax Map of the City as a public
record and cause to be recorded thereon all changes in ownership or
character of the real property assessed, employing for that purpose
the facilities of other departments as provided by this chapter.
Within the Department of Finance there shall
be a Division of Treasury, the head of which shall be designated as
the Treasurer. The Treasurer shall be appointed by the Director to
serve for the term prescribed by law, and any vacancy shall be filled
for the unexpired term only. Under the direction and supervision of
the Director of Finance, the Division shall:
A.Â
Receive funds entrusted to or under the control of
any department, and deposit all funds received by it in depositories
authorized by the Council by resolution.
B.Â
Have custody of all investments and invested funds
of the City or in its possession in a fiduciary capacity, except as
otherwise provided by law, and keep such funds and City moneys not
required for current operations safely invested or deposited in interest-bearing
accounts, as may be approved by the Comptroller.
C.Â
Make disbursements of City funds upon warrant of the
Comptroller by an individual warrant check for each bill, claim, wage
and salary payment.
D.Â
Keep a full account of all cash receipts and disbursements
by the Division according to the system of accounts approved by the
Director of Finance.
E.Â
Have the safekeeping of all bonds and notes of the
City and the receipt and delivery of City bonds and notes for transfer,
registration or exchange.
Within the Department of Finance shall be a
Division of Tax, the head of which shall be designated as the Collector
of Taxes. The Collector of Taxes shall be appointed by the Director
to serve for the term prescribed by law, and any vacancy shall be
filled for the unexpired term only. Under the direction and supervision
of the Director of Finance, the Division shall:
A.Â
Have, perform and discharge all the functions, powers
and duties prescribed by law for the Tax Collector including, but
without limitation thereto, the preparation and mailing of tax bills,
enforcement of tax collections by tax sales and otherwise, and the
maintenance of tax accounting records in such manner as may be prescribed
or approved pursuant to the Charter and this chapter.
B.Â
Receive and collect all current and delinquent real
and personal property taxes, and charge and receive penalties and
interest pursuant to law.
C.Â
Make, or cause to be made, and certify searches for
tax and other liens on real property as may be authorized by law,
and charge and collect for the use of the City, the fee required pursuant
to law for any such search. The Tax Collector may appoint or designate
one of the Division employees as official tax searcher to perform
these functions within the Division.
Within the Department of Finance shall be a Division of Water Billing. Under the direction and supervision of the Director of Finance, the Division shall bill, receive and collect water and sewer accounts as determined from water meter readings or flat rate, pursuant to Chapter 309, Water and Sewer, of this Code.
The City receives numerous checks dishonored
for insufficient funds or other reasons that would cause the check
to be invalid or valueless constituting a burden on the personnel
in the respective offices who must correspond and recover funds as
a result. Therefore it is in the best interest of the City to assess
the issuers of such instruments a charge sufficient to reimburse the
costs incurred and to discourage such practices. The City Council
shall impose a service charge of $20 upon the account of, or surcharged
to the fee or charge otherwise chargeable to, any person or entity
who issues to the City, or for whom it is issued, a negotiable instrument
which, upon presentment in due course, is subsequently dishonored
by the bank or other institution upon which it was drawn or at which
it was made payable.
