CCR1996080COMMON COUNCIL - CITY OF MUSKEG0
RESOLUTION #EO-96
ACCEPTANCE OF ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF
FINANCIAL SERVICE OPERATIONS
CITY OF MUSXEGO, WISCONSIN
WHEREAS, City Charter Ordinance #14, passed by vote of the
electors, dispensed with the Office of Comptroller and assigned
said duties to the Common Council to allow for the hiring of a
Finance Director and combined the office of Treasurer with the
office of Clerk to form the office of City Clerk/Treasurer, as an
elected position, to become effective on May 1, 1996; and
WHEREAS, the City retained the consulting firm of David M.
Griffith and Associates, Ltd. to review the overall role of the
financial services and operations currently assigned to the
Clerk/Comptroller and Treasurer in order to provide an assessment
of related operations and develop a plan to consider which
organization of this new department should be structured, and how
functions should be included in a Finance Department, how the
the implementation should occur to provide for a smooth
transition. 0 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Common Council of the
City of Muskego, does hereby accept the Organizational Assessment
prepared by David M. Griffith and Associates, Ltd. in their Final
of Financial Service Operations for the City of Muskego as
Report dated March 29, 1996.
DATED THIS 9th DAY OF APRIL , 1996.
SPONSORED BY:
David L. De Angelis, Mayor
This is to certify that this is a true and accurate copy of
City of Muskego.
Resolution #EO-96 which was adopted by the Common Council of the
.9- 4/96jmb
ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT
of
FINANCIAL SERVICE OPERATIONS
CITY OF MUSKEGO, WISCONSIN
FINAL REPORT
March 29,1996
David M. Griffith and Associates, Ltd.
2445 Darwin Road, Suite 201
Madison, Wisconsin 53704
(608) 244-3090
City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Senices
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION
I. INTRODUCTION
11. PROJECT OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE
Ill. PROJECT ACTIVITIES
IV. FINDINGS:
A. Review of Current Staffina for “Financial Related” Services
E. Grouoinq of Classified Services a C. Miscellaneous Positive Findinqs
D. Review of Current Service Level by Function
V. RECOMMENDATIONS
VI. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
EXHIBITS
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0 David M. Griffith and Associates, Ltd.
CITY OF MUSKEGO, WISCONSIN
ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF FINANCIAL SERVICES
FINAL REPORT
March 29,1996
1. INTRODUCTION
Effective financial management plays a significant role in the successful operation of
city government. The tasks and activities associated with accounting, budgeting, cash
management, banking, fiscal analysis, investments, payroll, purchasing and the like,
are requiring greater technical training, skills and expertise than existed at the time
these responsibilities were assigned to city departmenis - usually under the control of
an elected Clerk and Treasurer Increased regulatory zuthority is also requiring greater
awareness of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and Practices in compliance
with the rules and regulations applied to municipal government.
The Mayor and Common Council of the City of Muskego. Wisconsin, upon learning that
the City Treasurer would be retiring after the end of her current term of office, decided
that it would be an appropriate time to review the overall financial operations of the
City, The goal of the Council was to ensure that the financial organization developed
would effectively handle the growing demands of the community, while minimizing
additional staff expenditures to the city’s tax levy. The result of the City’s internal
review was the creation of City Charter Ordinance #14. This ordinance, passed by vote
during a special election on October 3, 1995: amended the City Charter to:
Dispense with the office of Comptroller and assign the duties to the
Common Council to allow for the hiring of 2 Finance Director; and, combine
the office of Treasurer with the office of Clerk to form the office of City
Clerlcrrreasurer as an elected position, to become effective on May 1, 1996.”
Accordingly, the Mayor and Common Council retzined the consulting firm of David M.
Griffith and Associates, Ltd. (DMG) to review the over~ll role of the financial services
and operations currently assigned to the ClerWComptroller and Treasurer in order to
provide an assessment of related operations and develop a plan to consider which
functions should be included in a Financs Depariment. how the organization of this new
department should be structured, and how the implem~ntation should occur to provide
for a smooth transition to be responsive to tne needs of the Mayor and Common
Council, City Departments, and to the Citizens ci musk;^.
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City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Senices
a II. PROJECT OBJECTIVE AND SCOPE
Tne objective of this study is to assess the financial operations and duties zssigned to
the ClerWComptroller and Treasurer to determine which functions should be assigned
to a newly created Finance Department, how this new department should be organized
2nd staffed, and what steps should be taken in order to insure a smooth and eiiective
transition.
In order to meet these objectives, a project scope was developed to encompass a
review of financial and accounting related activities currently provided by the
ClerWComptroller and Treasurer focusing on the following:
Determination of tasks currently being performed by these depertrnents and
which of these tasks are delegated to various City departments (e.g. purchasing,
voucher preparation, invoicing, payroll, budgeting, investing, receipts)
Analysis of the City's budget preparation and review process, including the roles
of the Mayor, Common Council, ClerkfComptroller, Treasurer and others involved
in this process
How well the City's accounting, budgeting, purchasing, and minagement
information systems work together to serve its overall financial and department
management needs, and the needs of policy-makers (Mayor end Common
Council) to determine what modifications may be appropriate a
What current functions of the ClerklComptroller and Treasurer should be
zssigned to the ClerWreasurer and Finance departments - insuring proper
szfeguards are maintained for the funds entrusted to the City
Analysis of departmental staffing required to meet worklozd objectives
* Analysis of management, communications, and other facets of the newly formed
department to determine the role of the Finance, Director in Muskego City
Government
Ill. PROJECTACTIVITIES
To xcomplish the objectives of this project, DMG performed the following zciivities:
Interviewed:
a ,: Mayor
0 President of the Common Council
0 City ClerkJCornptroller
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City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Sem'ces
0 City Treasurer
0 Deputy Treasurer
0 Deputy Clerk
0 Assistant File Clerk
0 Bookkeeper
0 Assistant Bookkeepers (2)
0 Receptionist
0 Voter Registration Clerk
0 Sewer Utility Clerk
0 Water Utility Clerk
0 Information Systems Director
0 AudiVAccounting Firm Representative
Reviewed:
0 City Organizational Charts
0 Comprehensive Position Questionnaires (CPQs) completed by affected
0 Trial Balance Financial Reports 12/31/95
0 1996 Operating Budget
0 Financial Statements and Report of Certified Public Accountants:
employees identified above
e * City of Muskego, 1993 &1994 * Big Muskego Lake, 1993 & 1994
* Muskego Sewer Utility, 1993 &I994 * Muskego Water Public Utility, 1993 & 1994
* Tax Incremental Districts #14!7, 1994
0 City Charter Ordinance #I4
0 Accounting /Audit workpapers
0 Various Finance Director Job Descriptions
0 On-site work observations
Prepared a Draft Report dated March 4, 1996
Reviewed Draft Report with Mayor and City ClerWComptroller
Prepared this Final Report
IV. FINDINGS
Although its Property T~x Levy is among the very lowest of Wisconsin cities, during
IC56 Muskego will spend in excess of $1 1 million providing services to its citizens and
guests. Ensuring that these funds are properly managed and accounted for on a day-
to-dcy basis, are various dedicated employees and elected officials. In ?articular, the
G David M. Griffith and Associates, Ltd. 3
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departments of City Clerk/Comptroller and City Treasurer are responsible for managing
the accounting and other financial related services. The staffing and reporting
relationships within these departments, ES well as how these departments are
organized in relation to all city departments is illustrated in Exhibit 1, which is a copy of
the City’s current Organizational Chart
A. Review of Current Staffinq For “Financial Related” Services
All employees working in the offices of the City ClerWComptroller and City Treasurer
offices were interviewed, their Comprehensive Position Questionnaires (CPQ) and work
activities analyzed to identify the primary responsibilities and tasks performed. This
information was then analyzed, focusing on those activities which were determined to
be those of a financial nature. These tasks and work components were then
categorized by comparable work function. This section of the report will summarize this
information, by position, with the percentage of time in key financial task or activity
area identified in bold print, as follows:
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Citv Clerk/Cornptroller
An elected position reporting to the voters, and coordinating activities with the
Mayor, spends approximately 20% of her time directly performing, or
supervising the primary financial activities of the City. Additionally 5% is
spent on human resources related sctivities, 5% on elections, and 70%
performing other activities traditionally associated with the office of a Municipal
Clerk, such as committee meetings, licensing, meeting and corresponding with
the general public, maintaining Municipal Code, providing information to the
Common Council and providing miscellaneous services and information to the
general public.
Bookkeeper
This full-time position, reporting to the City CIerkKomptroller, spends 100% of
her time performing financial related tasks and activities. This activity is
distributed between accounting and budgets (including coordination and
reconciliation of monthly bank statements and cash balances with the Treasurer‘s
office) 56%, payroll 31%, human resources 3%, employee insurance 5%, and
providing training on computer andlor system usage 5%.
Assistant Bookkeeper #I
This 30 hour per week position re;;orts to the City ClerWComptroller and
functions 100% of the time performing financial related functions. These tasks
relate to Accounts Payable processing including maintenance of gas and electric
bills for City, and maintaining expense activity records for Big Lske, Capital
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City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Sem'ces
Budget, and Debt Service 75%, Payroll Processing 15%, backing up the
Bookkeeper and miscellaneous accounting activities 10%.
Assistant Bookkeeoer #2
This 19 hour per week position reports to the City ClerWComptroller and
functions 100% of the time providing financial services - primarily as related to
managinghaintaining individual records for city developer's project accounts.
Maintenance of the Fixed Assets system is also listed in the duties of this
position.
Water Utilitv Clerk
This 30 hour per week position reports to the City ClerkIComptroller serving 1750
Water Utility customers. In addition this position spends up to 5 additional hours,
as needed to maintain refuse recycling budgeting and billing. Our analysis of this
position indicated that a potential of 100% of her time is spent on financial
related services, with a more specific task analysis indicating that approximately
65% of her time is spent providing direct service to Water Utility customers
including maintaining records on an automated data processing system, 20% to
tax and assessment calculations and related communications, 8% for utility bill
processing, 5% as backup to the Sewer Utility Clerk, and 2% on miscellaneous
reports.
Sewer Utilitv Clerk
This full time position reports to the City ClerWComptroller serving Sewer Utility
customers. Our analysis of this position indicates a potential for 100% of this
employees' time spent on financial related services, with 65% spent providing
assistance directly to customers and maintaining Sewer Utility records. 20%
spent on special assessment and related tax activities, 5% for utility bill
processing, 5% for accounts payable and voucher setup for Sewer Utility
accounts, and 5% providing miscellaneous information and reports.
Deoutv City Clerk
This full time position reports to the City ClerkfComptroller who spends up to 12%
of her time directly performing financial related activities, however all of this
time can be classified as purchasing related (8% on renewing and maintaining
service agreements, 2% for coordinetion of copy paper purchasing, 2% for
completing the State of Wisconsin WetEr Patrol Grant Application for the police
department), 78% of her time is spent on matters related to the other non-
financial traditionel duties of a Municipel Clerk, and 10% is for electioix support.
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City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Sem‘ces
Receotionist - Typist I1
This full time position reports to the City Clerk Comptroller, devoting 15% of her
time to Billing EMS Statements, 55% Switchboard and Reception, and 30% for
general office support including; meeting room assignment, mail, copying, etc.
Voter Reqistration Clerk
This position reports to the City ClerWComptroller and works 30 hours per week.
Financial related tasks account for approximately 40% of this employee’s
time (primarily in receipt of EMS, tax, utility and miscellaneous bills and
maintaining information on the Receipting system), 50% on election related
activities and approximstely 10% as a receptionist backup.
Filinq Assistant
This 17 ’h hour position provides 510% of her time as a backup receptionist,
and performs other basic copying, filing and office services, reporting to the
Deputy City Clerk. None of these activities are classified as financial related
tasks.
Treasurer
An elected position reporting to the voters, and coordinating activities with the
Mayor, this position spends a majority of her time managing and providing
administrative oversight to the Deputy Treasurer Financial related activities of
this office currently include all cash management and investments, maintaining
Wisconsin Development Fund, Sewer Sinking Fund, Lake Denoon Planning
Grant, and local tax processing and tax settlement. This time has been
functionalized as 100% Treasurer related which includes those financial
duties statutorily identified as those related to the functions of a City
Treasurer and will be classified accordingly.
Deoutv Treasurer
This full time position, reporting to the City Treasurer has delegated duties 100%
of which are included in our financial analysis, including 51% of which are
classified under “general” financial activities (including Receipt Processing
40%, Reconciliation of checks issued and funds deposited with monthly bank
statements 8%: Investments 3%) and balance or 49% related to tasks which
have been classified as “Treasurer” related (tax processing 34%, loan and
bond fund manEgement 7%, and miscellaneous letters, reports, etc. 8%).
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City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Services
6. Groupinq of Classified Services
An analysis of the activities listed in the previous section was performed to identify and
furiher classify workload by function - with the specific intention of segregating the
finsncial related activities by task and employee. The following classifications emerged
zs logical groupings necessary to determine workload distribution and will be used for
furiher analysis:
Accounting - Includes general ledger activity, budgeting and review, all utility related
xtivity, managing of liability and employee insurance funds, miscellaneous financial
activity, interaction with data processing, audit coordination and related activity, etc.
Payroll - Includes payroll processing and reporting
investments - Investing surplus funds of the City and special City funds
Receipting - Processing all revenues and other (non-property tax related) cashkhecks
rsseived including: license fees, EMS receipts, Public Work charges, etc. Processing
of this data includes providing a receipt to the payee and entering information into the
Receipting system of the General Ledger [Note: tax receipt processing is included
under the "Treasurer" classification.]
Treasurer - Includes all activities dealing with property tax bill prepxation, tax
collections, lottery tax credit, deposits, banking arrangements, balancing cash drawers,
irid other duties normally associated with a Municipal Treasurer [Note: bank
stztement reconciliation, receipt processing and investments have been identified and
included in other "general" financial classifications.]
Personnel - Includes activities related to employee recruitment, orientation,
ccmpensation, bargaining, employee benefits administration, bargaining, etc.
City ClerWGeneral - In addition to the duties normally associated with the office of
Municipal Clerk (excluding ?hose which may have been previously classified), this
cztegory includes activity related to providing general clerical support to the City such
2s reception, elections, etc. Also included in this section are the duties of the Deputy
Cierk as related to maintaining service agreements and coordinating the purchase of
c:py paper
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a I x functions described above are summarized in Table 1 which group, by function
,ct?ormed, all employees in the City Clerk/Comptrolle and Treasurer Depxtments. A
xnmary for each employee includes percentzge of time worked per week and the
cxverted average number of hours worked each week.
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City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Senices
TABLE I
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FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITY BY PERCENT OF POSITION AND HOURS PER WEEK
Regarding the twelve positions listed in Table 1
416.5 Hours, or the equivalent of approximately 10.4 FTE are Currently being
utilized - including overtime hours of 5 for the Bookkeeper and 3 for the Deputy
ClerUComptroller
/ Full-time positions work 40 hours per week, plus overtime in Some situations -
3 Positions work 30 hours per week
One of the 30 hour positions may also work up to 5 additional hours per week
for refuse recycling related services, as needed. Note: for classification
purposes all of this activity has been included under "Accounting" with 2
hours averaqe per week used in our functionalized comparison
2 Positions are scheduled to work less than 20 hours per week
C. Miscellaneous Positive Findinqs
During our review various positive findings were noted. Some of these which directly
re!ete to this study are as follows:
There appears to be a very good working relationship between the employees of
these departments
Cross-training of employees is applied very effective!y. In addition to maximizing
productivity during periods of employee absence. this cross training becomes
helpful to fill vacancies with qualified and capable %iff
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City of Muskego. Organizational Assessment of Financial Services
The City's ability to maintain a very favorable tax levy, is in some way related to
effective budget management, via department management and employees,
quality assistance from the City's audit firm, and a frugal budgeuspending
philosophy supported by the Common Council
The City's A1 Moody's Municipal Bond Rating
0. Review of Current Service Level bv Function
This section of the report should not be interoreted as a performance review regarding
employee or department performance of various financial related tasks. Rather, it is
intended to identify areas for potential improvement once Finance Department
operations are underway. Under this premises, we will be focusing on opportunities for
improvement in the functional areas we have used to classify current activity:
Accounting
The budget process, as a "process", appears to be well managed. The budget "kick-
off', development of policy and preparation instructions, payroll and fringe projections,
and the coordination and compilation of information from the various city departments
and programs seems to operate effectively. However, much assistance is needed from
an outside audit firm before the budget cm be prepared and presented to the Mayor
and Common Council. Likewise accounting statements and various state and
regulatory reports must be completed entirely by independent auditors.
P
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The City of Muskego should be able to complete and approve the annual budget
without reliance on outside consultants including auditors or financial advisors.
Additionally, the preparation of annual financial statements, regulatory reports, and pre-
audit worksheets and reports, should be prepared by the City. Less reliance on the
City's CPA firm should save Muskego in excess of $20,000 annually. And while it is
understood that this will require additional work by a Finance Director and hidher siaff,
it is equally understood that this was one of the reasons the City decided to create a
Finance Department.
City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Sem'ces
0 Treasurer
AS stated previously, most of the day-to-day operational responsibilities are being
managed very well by the Deputy Treasurer (under the overall direction and
supervision of the Treasurer). A cash-flow management system is in place and
appears to be effective, however frequent interaction by the Bookkeeper is necessary
to bring the City and Bank (Treasurer's) cash into agreement. The procedures for tax
processing, tax reconciliation, interaction with Waukesha County regarding taxes and
tax settlement, application of the lottery tax credit, balancing cash drawers, and other
duties normally associated with a Municipal Treasurer appear to function without
problem. The current process of making bank deposits could be improved regarding
security and frequency, including exploring the use of bank remittance or bank "drop"
or 'lock boxes.
Personnel
Activities related to employee recruitment, orientation, compensation, bargaining,
employee benefits administration, etc. will not be directly affected by the creation of a
Finmce Department. The financial responsibilities of managing the funds related to
the fringe benefit insurance programs and other matters related to the fiscal (not direct
employee contact) matters of the employee insurance administration has already been
discussed in the Previous "Accounting" section.
City ClerWGeneral
This is our "catch all" category for the tasks that were not classified under any of the
previous sections. One area of general concern has to do with the possibility of Public
Works relzted billing and receipting being performed. on occasion, by the same
person. This is ironically related to one of the positive attributes identified earlier, that
of cross utilization of employees to achieve maximum eificiencies. Although not
considered a problem, our recommendations will eliminate this potenti21 issue in the
recommended organization of the Finance Department.
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City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Sem'ces
@ V. RECOMMENDATIONS
Muskego City Charter Ordinance #14, approved in a special election on October 3,
1995, allowed for the Common Council to hire a Finance Director As stated earlier in
this report, the primary purpose of this study was to identify the functions and activities
that should be distributed between the Finance Director and City Clerkllreasurer The
recommendations that follow are based on our analysis and while they focus on the
assignment of financial responsibilities and activities, they also considered related
issues identified during our investigation.
Recommendation #l. Responsibilities of Finance Director
This position is responsible for the management of fiscal affairs for the City of Muskego
and the supervision of employees assigned. Included are all of the functional activities
currently being performed and listed in Table 1, (page 8) as "Accounting", "Payroll",
and "Investments" Although not all inclusive, responsibilities assigned to the Finance
Director should include:
Manage the City's Budget
0 Work with the Mayor end Common Council in determining annual budget
goals priorities, limitations, etc.
0 Develop guidelines and system enhancements to assist departments in
preparation and management of their budgets
0 Coordinate the preparation of the proposed and final budgets to include
all City operations: General Fund, Water and Sewer Utility, Special
Revenue Funds, T I.D., Capital Improvement, etc.
0 Assist departments in financial deteil necessary in the application of
Grants and other alternative methods of funding
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Manage General Ledger and Accounts Payable System
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Prepare monthly reports, actual-to-budget comparisons for department
heads end other interested parties
Prepare summarized monthly reports for Mayor and Common Council
Prepare annual financial statements for all city funds
Monitor receipt of Grant Funds with eppropriate department(s)
Prepxe the Annual State of Wisconsin Department of Revenue Form C
Prepare annual Public Service Commission reports pertaining to the
Water Utility
Prepare reports as needed for generel government operations, utility, and
all other city funds and operations as required
Prepare worksheets as required for the annual Audit
Manage pzyroll accounting system, proccss and reporting
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Manage Invoicing and Receipting System
0 Develop and coordinate stmdards and guidelines for all departmental
invoicing
0 Issue invoices for EMS, Putlic Works, Sewer Utility Services, Water
Utility Services, Trash Collection, and miscellaneous subdivision
assessments
0 Work with City ClerUreasurer in maintaining and effective receipting
system and procedures including efficient interfacing with the General
Ledger to reduce duplication
Manage the City's Fixed Assets System
Review all contract payment agreements for all departments
Manage all reporting to Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District (MMSD)
0 Coordinate the Capital Improvements Program
Manage all investment portfolios, e.g. city fund, utility funds, special revenue and
trust funds
Maintain debt issues to comply with all federal and state regulations, working with
Financial Advisor on comprehensive debt statements, restructuring of debt
payment and market conditions affecting refunding
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City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Sem'ces
accounts) and work with the City Clerflreasurer in reviewing contracts, service
agreements, etc.
Provide other services as deemed appropriate by the Mayor and Common Council
Recommendation #2. Responsibilities of Citv Clerk/Treasurer
This position is responsible for all statutory duties customarily assigned to the office of
Municipal Clerk and Municipal Treasurer including the activities in such broad
categories as: taxation, licensing, reception, maintaining records and minutes and all
other papers and records of the city, and serving as primary liaison with the general
public, elections, etc. With the exception of those fiscal duties previously performed by
the City ClerWComptroller and City Treasurer which have now been reassigned to the
Finance Director (including accounting, budgeting, investments, etc.) the functional
activities listed in Table I (page 8) as "Receipts", "Treasure?', "Personnel", and
"ClerWGeneral" would remain as responsibilities of the City ClerkfTreasurer and would
include the following:
Banking arrangements (with input from the Finance Director)
0 b Bank reconciliation to include general ledger cash reccnciliation with end-of-
month bank statements. May require assistance from Finance Department to
determine best procedures to maintain cash flow and cash balance records
Maintain operational responsibility as the City's "Risk Menage?' and "Employee
Benefits Advisor"
Procedures for receiving, collecting, depositing and meneging city funds
Cash Flow requirements and coordination with Finance Director
Recommendation #3. Obtain Professional Personnel Assistance
Although it has been estimated that about four hours per week are being directly
devoted to personnel related activities, the immediate effort spent on: employee
relations; negotiations; recruitment; vacation, sick and leave policy administration;
ADA and other legal compliance issues, etc., can affect productivity in many areas of
city operations, especially as related to the City ClerkfTreasurer
The City of Muskego may wish to consider retaining the services of a human
resources consulting firm to meet periodically to review e 'checklist" of concerns
from City officjals and employees as well as assist in upde!ing of personnel policies, 0 hmdbooks, etc. This would, of course be secondary to a full time Human Resources
Director being hired which may not be economically efficient si the present time.
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City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Senices
Recommendation #4. Modify Informational Siqninq at ReceDtion Area
The central reception area provides immediate attention to anyone seeking general
information or directions upon entering City Hall. This is a luxury many cities chose
not to afford. It is recognized that the City has attempted to keep this position
productive by assigning EMS and Public Works related billings, and other tasks to
this position. However, with the transfer of all City billing activity to the Finsnce
Department (including EMS and Public Works) this position should have some
"freed-up" time which could be of service to the ClerklTreasurer or other
departments. In the event the receptionist is called away from her front desk area a
sign should be availsble indicating (or pointing) which counter to go to for
assistance. A movesble "Information" or "Reception" sign could also be positioned
to identify which area of the counter visitors should go to for assistance. This could
improve the mobility of the Receptionist to provide additional support such as copy
and filing assistance. It is believed that this would eliminate the need for the part
time Filing Assistant position - which historically had been staffed to provide copy
and filing assistance due to the lack of available student interns.
Note: The position of Filing Assistant could possibly be converted to a "pool position"
to assist in the City ClerUreasurer Department, as well as to provide support to the
Finance Director, Mayois Office and other departments, if needed.
Recommendation #5. Recommended Orqanizational Structure of Finance and
ClerWTreasurer Departments
As indicated in the previous sections, it is understood that the position of Finance
Director will be stziied by someone expecting to "roll-up their sleeves" and perform the
tasks required. And while over time it is expected that there will be enhancements in
the operations of the Finsnce Department to allow for staff reductions perhaps through
attrition, it is recommended that INITIALLY the total staffing of the former City
ClerWComptroller 2nd Treasurer Departments remain at the current tot21 FTEs level,
with the Finance Director position replacing the FTE vacated by the retirement of the
City Treasurer Of significance regarding these new departments are:
FINANCE DIRECTOR
Reports to the Common Council with operational guidance from the Finance
Committee (lisison committee)
Obtains day-to-dey cirec:ion from the Mayor as Chief Executive Officer oi the City
Directly Supervises: *
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City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Services
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1 Bookkeeper - Performs payroll, general accounting, special accounting 2nd
project responsibilities, invoicing procedure coordination including the
processing of EMS, Public Works and miscellaneous bills, etc.
- Assistant Bookkeeper - Manages and maintains accounts payable
processing, and expense activity for special projects and funds, assist in
payroll, etc.
- L Assistant Bookkeeper - Continues to work part-time maintaining individual
records for city developer's accounts and the Fixed Assets system
5 Utility Clerks (2) - Continue to serve customers of the City's Water and Sewer
utilities and handle all billings, assist in budgeting, customer assistance, and
refuse and recycling program coordination
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-; May supervise a co-op student depending upon availability and need
CITY CLERWTREASURER
Elected by the Voters
0 Meets with Finance Committee to provide reports regarding cash balances,
investment balances, and other status reports as deemed appropriate and
necessary
Obtains day-to-day direction from the Mayor as Chief Executive Officer of the City
Directly Supervises:
- - Deputy Treasurer - Manages the daily receipting, collecting and depositing of
funds, reconciles bank statements, 'oversees tax processing, collection and
recording, coordinates loan and bond fund management with the Finance
Director and Clerkllreasurer, provides supervisory direction over the Voter
Registration Clerk when assigned to non-election related duties, etc.
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- Deputy Clerk - Continues to manage the service agreement contracts,
coordinates purchasing of copy paper for all departments (with possible
expansion to consideration of a centralized purchasing function), elections,
licensing, and assists in other duties traditionally performed by a municipzl
clerk, as assigned including attending the Common Council meetings for the
purpose of taking the minutes, preparation and distribution of meeting
agendas, prepxation 2nd drafting of City Ordinances, etc.
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Citv of MuskePo - Ortianizational Assessment of Financial Sem'ces
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- Voter Registration Clerk - Assists the Deputy Treasurer in receipt of funds,
provides back-up to Receptionist, elections and Voter Registration,
miscellaneous clerical and backup support
- - Receptionist - Switchboard and general reception responsibility continues
with additional clerical support, copying, filing, etc. May also assist the
Deputy Treasurer in the collection and processing of receipts
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- Floating Filing Assistant - Part-time position under the direction of the City
Clerk-Treasurer If needed, this position will also provide clericzl and
secretarial support to other city departments, backup to Receptionist and
Voter Registration Clerk, etc.
The organization and staffing assignments as related to the depaftments involved in
this study are shown in Exhibit 2.
Recommendation #6. Reorqanization of Manaqement Information Svstems
Increased dependence on up-to-date computer systems, and need for systems
operations and support is crucial for effective city management. Furthermore, the
users of information systems technology and the need for technical and
programming supportldirection has grown to many, if not all departments of a typical
city government. We believe that the City of Muskego is not an exception.
According to the City's Organizational Chart however, the Management Information
System (MIS) Director currently reports directly to the Common Council.
An alternative staffing scenario is offered in Exhibit 3: where the Information
Systems Division: headed by a Manager, is included as part of the overall operetions
of the Finance Department. This type of organizational structure is common in some
municipal government settings, particularly where MIS Departments were initially
established to provide general ledger accounting and payroll services. Part of the
justification for this reporting relationship is based on the amount of daily ectivity that
are of a "financial" nature. As the primary user in many communities, greater
responsiveness, improved planning, and overall coordination of activities is noticed
2s the direct result of including this function in the financial chain-of-command.
Reassignment of the MIS function will allow for this very important function to receive
more immediate and closer management oversight because it will not be opereting
directly under the guidance of the Common Council - rather at the dirziion of its
greatest user We see this as a crucial time for this realignment due to the pending
change in the City's General Ledger Accounting System and the amount of work 2nd
coordineted effort that will be required.
It is EISO highly recmmended that (whether or not MIS becomes an cperaiional
division of the Finence Department) an MIS User / Steerinc Cor.nitt5.E .be
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Dadd \I. Griffith and Associates, Ltd. 17
City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Sem'ces
eskblished consisting of: the Finance Director, City ClerklTreasurer (or designee),
and other primary users such as Library and Police. In addition, it is recommended
that st least two members of the Common Council serve on this committee. This
would afford user departments an opportunity to bring their specific needs to a forum
where priorities and future system enhancements can be discussed. This will also
serve as an excellent sounding board or "reality check" to insure that the needs of
other departments are not being overlooked - that MIS services are not being
monopolized by the Finance Department.
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Recommendation #7. Reaffirm Sinqle Point Administrative Responsibility
During our study, it became apparent that some departments were unsure as to the
chiin-of-command regarding the organization of the City of Muskego government.
Wisconsin Statutes as related to cities, 62.09 (a), (9), and (ll), clearly describe the
bssic responsibilities of the City Mayor, City Treasurer and City Clerk. While we
recognize and respect the responsibilities of all of these positions, it is clear that:
(a) The mayor shall be the chief executive officer The mayor shall
take care that the city ordinances and state laws are observed and
enforced snd that all city officers and employees discharge their duties.
It is recognized that the above quotation is by no means all inclusive, nor does it
discuss the "independence" of constitutionally elected officials. However, it does place
the overall administrative and coordination responsibility on the Mayor
VI. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
To allow for a smooth and effective transition from the current organizational structure
to that of the Finance and City ClerklTreasurer arrangement the City will have to be
flexible and patient enough to develop a phased implementation. The 'hands-on"
experience, as .well as training and education of the person selected as Finance
Director, will all play a determining factor in the timeliness of this transition.
The remainder of this report will present various tasks to be considered in the adoption
of a staged implementation plan which should help identify, or break-down some of
the primary sctions required into less overwhelming and manageable tasks.
Tisk 1 Hire a Finance Director The desired candidate will preferably posses 611 cr
most of the following:
Bachelors Degree in Accounting or Business Administration - required
License as a Certified Public Accountant - preferred 0
C2 Dabid M. Griffith and Associates, Ltd. 18
City of Muskego - Organizational Assessment of Financial Senices
Task 2:
Task 3:
Task 4:
Task 5:
Task 6:
Task 7.
Experience in governmental accounting
Audit Experience
Communication Skills, oral and written
Supervisory and management experience
Ability to analyze data and familiarity with bond issues and transfers,
budget preparation, financial reporting, and independently recognize
problems and develop solutions
Experience in Grant Application, Monitoring and Reporting
Due to the growing complexity of Governmental Accounting the experience
factor should be stressed a most importsnt requirement. The independence
of this position will rely heavily on the confidence of the person selected and
the successful candidate having successfullv gone through the "paces"
Notify Affected Employees of the changes that will be occurring, including
their roles in the new organization.
Schedule transitional status meetings with the Mayor, ClerklTreasurer
and include periodic input from the City's audit firm, Financial Advisor, Legal
Counsel, and other interested or affected parties not directly employed by
the City.
Develop task force rogarding the acquisition of a new general ledger
system.
Solicit feedback from department heads regarding the transition at least
monthly during department head meetings.
Join the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and
Wisconsin chapter of this professional organization (WGFOA) as well as
other local peer groups to enable the new Finance Director to "network with
other experienced professionals.
Following the first complete year on-the-job, review the expectations of this
position as well as other areas: E.Q. Purchasing Policies and Procedures,
Risk Management, Human Relations. etc.
It is hoped that these tasks will serve as general picdines Essisting in the successful
implementation of this study's recommendaticns.
(C David M. Griffith and Associates, Ltd. 19
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EXHIBIT 3
CITY OF MUSKEG0
FINANCIAL OPERATIONS w/MIS
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