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CITY OF MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN
FINANCIAL SERVICES DIVISON
DIVISION SUMMARY financial leadership for the City in accordance
with the highest professional standards.
Financial Services
Division Description Foster Opportunities for City Youth.
The Financial Services Division is made up of The Division participates in the City's Julia
the following departments: Finance Hackley and Baker College's Internships
Administration, City Treasurer's Office, Income programs. Staff spends quality time to
Tax Administration and Information Systems provide personal and professional
Administration. The division is responsible for development t to interns which ensures their
all financial management activities of the City; competitive advantage when entering the
specifically, property tax collections, utility job market. Additionally several staff
billing and collections, payroll and employee members volunteer in the schools through
benefits, accounts payable and accounts Junior Achievement and the HOST
receivable, income tax collections and program.
management of the City's computer network
and related information systems. Additionally, Promote Economic Stability, Diverse
the division oversees the contract with Economic Growth and Redevelopment.
Muskegon County under which the County The Finance Division plays a key role in
Equalization Department performs property analyzing the financial impact, budgeting
assessment services for the City. and identifying funding sources for City
economic development initiatives such as
Divisional Relationship to City Smart Zone/Edison Landing, Seaway
Commission Goals Industrial Park, Cross Lake Ferry and
Renaissance Zone. Ultimately,
implementation and future oversight will be
City Mission Statement: To improve the the responsibility of the Finance Division
quality of life for the citizens of Muskegon through activities such as bond issuance
through stewardship of resources, excellent and tax increment administration.
service and leadership for the greater
community." It is primarily in the area of Foster Strong Ties Among Governments
resource stewardship that the Finance Division and Community Agencies.
contributes to this mission. Employees of the The Finance Division works closely with
division work to maximize the financial other governmental units to ensure services
resources available to support City services are provided in a cost-effective manner.
through revenue collections, investments, and Examples include tax collection services
sound financial management practices. Also, provided by the City Treasurer's Office and
they provide the City Commission and the intergovernmental agreement with
department managers with timely and accurate Muskegon County for assessment services.
financial information critical to prudent and
effective stewardship. Additionally, sound Develop and Maintain City Infrastructure
finances are important in shaping the and Facilities.
perception that citizens, investors, bond rating The Finance Division strives to be on the
agencies and others have of the City of cutting edge of new technology and
Muskegon. Staff of the Financial Services financial resources available to support City
Division take pride in providing excellent resources through revenue collections,
investments, information technology and
sound financial management practices. The
division provides timely and accurate CITY OF MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN
financial information critical to effective
management. Improvements and updates and operational efficiency through the use
to the security of the City's information of technology.
network protect the integrity of our Income Tax Administration: Staffing levels
information and continual enhancements to will remain constant. The budget
the City' web site and Intranet site provide provides for continued aggressive collection
access to more information and services to and tax enforcement activities.
City of Muskegon employees and citizens. Information Technology: No staffing
Recently the City of Muskegon's web site changes are proposed. Continue to provide
was listed in the Detroit Free Press as one current levels of service for data center
of the few excellent examples of interactive operations, network services, application
local government web sites in Michigan. development and maintenance and end
user computer support.
Maintain and Enhance the
Neighborhoods of the City.
The Division's Reengineering Committee is Future Outlook
continually reevaluating techniques for
improving our collection efforts especially on Following are some of the major goals of the
environmental invoices. The Committee Finance Division that are incorporated in the
has also been instrumental in updating and 2004 proposed budget:
centralizing data bases used by City
departments for everything from City Finance Administration
mailings to billing information. These efforts Constant monitoring of the City's budget
will reduce blight in our neighborhoods and so management has the most up-to-
increase the flow of information to residents. date accurate information to respond to
changes as quickly as possible.
2004 Budget Highlights Continue GASB 34 Implementation.
Finance Administration: No staffing changes The 2002 Comprehensive Annual
are proposed. The budget contemplates Financial Report featured the new
discontinuing production and distribution of financial reporting format. However
The Citizens Summary Financial Report. work still needs to be done to complete
Additionally the investment management the capital assets and infrastructure
agreement we have with MBIA is no longer reporting requirements.
cost effective and will be discontinued. Continue work on City insurance
Assessing Services: The 2004 budget contracts to reduce costs and enhance
contemplates continuation of the contract our service while maintaining benefit
with the Muskegon County Equalization levels.
Department for all assessment services.
The cost of this contract is tied to the actual Assessing Services
yearto-year increase in the City's total Begin work on Personal Property audits
taxable property valuation. For 2004, this with help from a possible state grant.
cost increase is less than one percent (1%). Integrate new ortho-digital aerial
photography with computerized
City Treasurer: A reduction in staffing is assessing system and with City's GIS
proposed. This could impact service system.
delivery to the public. The budget
contemplates continuation of billing and City Treasurer
collection services at their present levels, To increase collection efforts while
while reducing other general services. The reducing the staffing level. There will be
department is committed to working on a more aggressive use of an outside
opportunities that will improve productivity.
collection agency for delinquent
accounts. CITY OF MUSKEGON, MICHIGAN
Increase marketing of the city's e-
government (on-line) and automatic or advertisements. When a business
water/sewer utility bill payment options. registers with the Clerk's office, they will
Continue to seek opportunities to make have the option to have a small ad or
more city services (that are currently link placed on our website for an
transacted in person at City Hall) additional fee.
available through the internet, providing Establish a Computer Based Training
alternate options to help decrease lines program to replace the traditional
at the counter and delays on the phone. training program. Cost savings, flexible
schedules and self paced training are
Income Tax Administration just a few of the benefits gained.
Electronically download 40 percent of
our W-2 information from employers
directly into our software. Electronic
downloads are the first major obstacle to
Internet tax filing --- a long-term goal.
Increase withholding tax compliance
using existing software, creating custom
reports, automated billing and legal
action.
Issue electronic tax refunds through the
ACH system. This will save the City
thousands of dollars a year by
eliminating or decreasing bank fees,
check costs, and postage.
Information Technology
Enable more departments to maximize
their web presence and generate
revenue by offering online services to
local companies. Rather than incurring
the cost of dispatching an employee to
City Hall, companies will have the option
to pay a yearly or transactional fee for
customer lookup, accident reports and
other information through the internet.
Initial focus will be placed on the
Treasurer's office and the Police
Department.
Continue to help departments recognize
cost savings through the use of
technology and business process
review.
Migrate remaining databases to a
standard Database Management
System for future data mining, research
and support.
Create a portal for local "registered"
businesses that will allow a web
presence through the use of links and/