§ 2-197. Head of department; functions and powers; divisions.

(a)

The head of the finance department shall be known as the chief financial officer.

(b)

The duties, responsibilities and powers of the chief financial officer shall include:

(1)

The supervision of all financial transactions and the collection and disbursement of all funds due to, or payable by, the city;

(2)

The supervision over all fiscal operations;

(3)

The making of recommendations to the mayor and city commission as to the preparation and execution of all budgets and financial reports;

(4)

The supervision over the deposits and withdrawals of moneys or funds belonging to the city;

(5)

The supervision of the accounting, budgeting, purchasing and contract administration, tax collection and treasury, divisions of the finance department, as more particularly set forth in this section;

(6)

The establishment and maintenance of a reservation of the general fund balance representing an emergency reserve equivalent to ten percent of operating revenues. For purposes of initially establishing the balance and maintenance thereafter, the chief financial officer shall transfer the calculated amount from unreserved/undesignated fund balance to the emergency reserve, to the extent available, to satisfy the requirement and shall report such balances as part of the annual audited financial statement. If upon the completion of any fiscal year the ending balance in such emergency reserve is less than the requirement and sufficient monies do not exist in the unreserved/undesignated fund balance, then the chief financial officer shall recommend an amendment to the current year budget and include in succeeding fiscal year budgets reserved appropriations sufficient to cover the deficiency over a period not to exceed three fiscal years (deficiency requirement). The emergency reserve shall be used exclusively for emergencies declared by the city commission, and the appropriation therefrom shall be made by resolution adopted by four-fifths vote of the membership. Any monies available in the undesignated/unreserved fund balance shall be used prior to using the emergency reserve to fund authorized emergencies. Emergencies shall be limited to disasters, unanticipated economic downturns, one-time opportunities and other needs determined to be unusual and infrequent in nature by the city commission.

(7)

The establishment and maintenance of an unreserved/undesignated general fund balance equivalent to a minimum of three percent of operating revenues. The unreserved/undesignated general fund balance shall not exceed ten percent of operating revenues. If upon the completion of any fiscal year the ending balance in the unreserved/undesignated fund balance is less than the minimum requirement, then the chief financial officer shall recommend an amendment to the current year budget and include in succeeding fiscal year budgets reserve appropriations sufficient to cover the deficiency over a period not to exceed five fiscal years (deficiency requirement). Appropriation from the minimum balance shall require city commission approval and shall generally be for one-time expenditures such as capital purchases and not for ongoing expenditures unless a viable revenue plan designed to sustain the expenditures is approved.

(8)

The compilation of a budget comprised of current revenue and expenditure estimates including information substantiating the purpose and objective to be accomplished with the expenditures:

a.

For the general fund, the estimate of expenditures shall include an amount for contingent expense. The contingent expense estimate shall be in an amount not less than one percent and not more than five percent of the total general fund revenue. For all funds, the estimated expenditure for all budgeted capital projects shall include an amount for contingent expense of at least three percent of the estimated cost.

b.

For the general fund, the estimate of expenditures shall include an amount for reserve for emergency and reserve for unreserved/undesignated fund balance for any deficiency requirement as stipulated in subsections (b)(6) and (b)(7) of this section. The excess amount in the unreserved/undesignated fund balance above the minimum requirement established in subsection (b)(7) of this section shall be included in the estimate of revenues and the estimate of expenditures. This excess, if any, shall be appropriated for one-time expenditures such as capital purchases or additional reserves and not for on-going expenditures unless a viable revenue plan designed to sustain the expenditures in subsequent years is approved.

c.

For all funds, the estimate of expenditures shall include an amount to fund replacement of fleet assets as well as maintenance of infrastructure at a level consistent with a depreciation-based methodology or as recommended by an independent condition assessment (engineers' report). The funding should be designated to maintain the condition of assets at a desirable service level without shifting the costs of disproportionately to future taxpayers.

(9)

The preparation of a separate schedule of long range improvements and their cost, and the submission to the mayor of this schedule and the ' chief financial officer's recommendations as to the most feasible method of financing the proposed improvements.

(10)

The supervision and responsibility for the purchase, storage, and distribution of all supplies, materials, equipment, and other articles used by the agencies of the city;

(11)

The supervision and responsibility for the disbursement of all monies and control over all expenditures in order to ensure that budget appropriations are not exceeded; and the certification, as a prerequisite to making any valid expenditure or encumber any appropriation, that funds are available for the expenditure and that the appropriation involved has an unencumbered balance;

(12)

The collection of taxes, license fees, special assessments, and other revenues that the city is responsible for collecting; to receive all monies due the city from any source, including any agency, whether federal, state, or city and whether administrative or judicial; the issuing of receipts therefore; and the execution of satisfactions of liens upon full payment thereof for any and all liens in favor of the city against real property located within the city;

(13)

The chief financial officer shall be authorized to credit a receivable or credit and release a lien assessed by the city which has been deemed by the city attorney to be legally unenforceable or uncollectible as described in subsection (13)(b) below.

a.

Definitions. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

Lien shall mean a charge upon real or personal property for the satisfaction of some debt or duty ordinarily arising by operation of law, which have been recorded with the clerk for Palm Beach County Florida, excluding those liens imposed pursuant to section 26-35.

Receivable shall mean any claim for funds, money or other property which would normally be required by generally-accepted accounting principles to be recorded as a receivable in the official records of a governmental unit.

b.

In considering whether a receivable or lien assessed by the city is unenforceable or uncollectible as a matter of law, the city attorney shall consider the following criteria:

1.

The lien is more than 20 years old; or the statute of limitations relating to the lien has otherwise expired;

2.

The receivable or lien was foreclosed by order of the Circuit Court of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit in and for Palm Beach County, Florida, Civil Division;

3.

The receivable or lien was discharged in a bankruptcy proceeding by order of a bankruptcy court;

4.

The lien has been recorded against the property for more than four years after the issuance of a tax deed as provided in F.S. § 95.192(1);

5.

The property encumbered by the lien or receivable is currently owned by the city;

6.

There is insufficient documentation to support a receivable or lien totaling under $10,000.00;

7.

Proper legal procedure was not followed or is not documented;

8.

The receivable is under $5,000.00, and has been deemed uncollectible by a collection agency after being in collections for more than one year; or

9.

Any other reason that establishes the legal unenforceability or uncollectibility of a lien that does not exceed $10,000.00.

c.

Request for credits of receivables or liens shall be submitted to the chief financial officer who is hereby given the authority to administer the procedures for the credit of receivables or liens as established in this article. The following procedures shall apply to all credit requests for receivables or liens:

1.

The department under which the receivable or lien originated shall complete and sign a standard written request form for a credit and submit the request to the chief financial officer. This written request form shall set forth in detail the grounds for the request and shall include documents supporting the articulated justification for the request.

2.

Upon receipt of the written request for credit, the chief financial officer shall forward the form to the city attorney for his/her review.

3.

The city attorney shall review the information presented and evaluate it using the considerations outlined in subsection (13)(b) above. The city attorney shall complete his/her review within 60 days of receipt of such request for review. The city attorney shall set forth his/her determination in writing of whether or not the submitted request qualifies for credit pursuant to the criteria set forth in subsection (13)(b), setting forth the specific reason(s) for the decision, and shall forward this written determination to the chief financial officer. If the city attorney determines that the receivable or lien qualifies for a credit under this section, he/she shall approve and sign the written request form, and forward it, with a release of lien, if appropriate, to the chief financial officer.

4.

The chief financial officer shall coordinate the credit of the affected accounts receivable, shall execute a release of lien, and shall forward the executed release prepared pursuant to this section to the clerk of the court for recording in the official records of Palm Beach County. The release of liens shall not take effect until the appropriate release has been recorded in the public records.

5.

The chief financial officer shall keep appropriate records pertaining to the credit of a receivable or lien for a period of two years to document the basis for all credits effectuated pursuant to this section.

(14)

The custody of all public funds belonging to or under the control of the city or any of its agencies; the deposit of these funds in such depositories as may be designated by the city commission, and the crediting of all interest to the proper account;

(15)

The investment of city funds, subject to general supervision by the city commission as to investment policies; and the custody of all investments and invested funds belonging to the city or in its possession as a fiduciary;

(16)

The receipt and delivery of city bonds and notes for transfer, registration, or exchange; and the performing of such duties as may be prescribed hereby or by ordinance or resolution in connection with issues of city bonds or other evidences of city indebtedness;

(17)

The maintenance of a general accounting system for the city and each of its agencies, in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

(18)

Reporting to the mayor and city commission, no less than quarterly, a financial analysis comparing receipts and disbursements to the budget for each receiving and spending department or agency of the city;

(19)

The preparation for the mayor, as of the end of each fiscal year, a complete financial statement and report, and the submission at such other financial statements and reports as the city commission or the mayor may require; and

(20)

The authority to make and establish rules, regulations and financial controls covering all such matters necessary to the proper functioning of the finance department, and such rules and regulations shall be binding on all city personnel.

(c)

The finance department shall include the following divisions:

(1)

Cash management division;

(2)

Budget division; and

(3)

Accounting division.

(d)

All references to finance director in this code shall mean the chief financial officer.

(Code 1979, § 2-99; Ord. No. 3626-02, § 3, 12-9-2002; Ord. No. 3761, § 1, 5-10-2004; Ord. No. 3837-05, § 1, 3-28-2005; Ord. No. 4538-14, § 1, 11-10-2014; Ord. No. 4813-18, § 1, 2-11-2019)