REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: SANTINO DANISI, MBA, Finance Director/City Controller
Finance Department
SUBJECT
Title
Appoint and authorize certain Finance Officers of the City of Fresno (“City”) to sign City checks and various investment and commercial banking documents, and to provide verbal instruction required for the prudent financial administration and safekeeping of City funds
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Appoint and authorize certain City employees to act as Finance Officers to sign City checks and various investment and commercial banking documents, and to provide verbal instruction required for the prudent financial administration and safekeeping of City funds.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City Council periodically adopts Resolutions which appoint Finance Officers for the City of Fresno to sign City checks and various investment and commercial banking documents, and to provide verbal instruction as required for the prudent financial administration and safekeeping of City funds. Since the approval of the last Resolution, there has been a change to the list of Finance Officers as shown on the attached Resolution.
BACKGROUND
Fresno Charter Section 804 establishes the position of Controller and specifies that this person is to have charge of the Finance Department and administer the financial affairs of the City under the direction of the Chief Administrative Officer. Fresno Municipal Code Section 7-901 names the City Controller as the ex-officio Treasurer of the City, and states that the Treasurer shall receive all moneys collected by the City and shall “retain the same in his custody to the order of said city.”
Examples of the financial affairs assigned to the Controller include: signing payroll and accounts payable checks, purchasing investments, and performing various other banking transactions. In order for the Controller to effectively and efficiently meet these responsibilities, the authority for performing many finance functions must be delegated to responsible Finance Department employees. A reasonable system of internal controls requires that only certain employees be authorized to approve these day-to-day transactions.
These employees, along with the Controller, are designated as the City of Fresno’s Finance Officers. The attached Resolution contains a list of Finance Officers, along with their exemplar signatures, and provides the authorization for them to perform Finance Department transactions. The list includes the City Manager, the Assistant City Manager, the Controller/Finance Director/(ex-officio) Treasurer, the Assistant Finance Director/Controller, the Administrative Manager of the Finance Department, the Division Manager of the Accounting Section, and the Principal Accountant of the Debt and Investment Administration Section. Additionally, to maintain a higher level of redundancy and improve internal controls, the City Manager is also designated as a signatory. The attached Resolution has been approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
By the definition provided in the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15378 this item does not qualify as a “project” and is therefore exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act requirements.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not considered because this Resolution does not include a bid or award of a construction or service contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
The compensation of the Controller/Finance Director/(ex-officio) Treasurer and the additional Officers to be appointed by this Resolution, have already been established by the City’s Position Authorization Resolution and Budget for Fiscal Year 2023-2024. There is no additional cost to the General Fund or any other City Fund associated with the recommended action. The list of approved signers is needed to meet charter requirements for the financial management of the City.
Attachment: Resolution