Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Finance is to prudently manage financial operations, recommend and implement sound fiscal policies, safeguard public assets, and encourage a safe environment on public property.

Budget Overview

The total recommended FY22 Operating Budget for the Department of Finance is $100,944,411, an increase of $7,295,110 or 7.79 percent from the FY21 Approved Budget of $93,649,301. Personnel Costs comprise 17.45 percent of the budget for 126 full-time position(s) and no part-time position(s), and a total of 132.04 FTEs. Total FTEs may include seasonal or temporary positions and may also reflect workforce charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 82.55 percent of the FY22 budget.

The Finance Operating Budget is comprised of a General Fund component (the Director's Office and the Divisions of Fiscal Management, Treasury, Information Technology, and Controller) and the Division of Risk Management, which is funded by the Liability and Property Coverage Self-Insurance Fund. The total FY22 Operating Budget for the General Fund component is $15,600,785, an increase of $295,205 or 0.20 percent over the FY21 approved budget of $15,305,580. Personnel Costs comprise approximately 83.15 percent of the General Fund budget for 115 full-time positions. A total of 99.67 FTEs includes these positions as well as any seasonal or temporary positions and positions charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 16.85 percent of the budget.

The total FY22 Operating Budget for the Self-Insurance Fund component of Finance (Risk Management) is $85,343,626, an increase of $6,999,905 or 8.93 percent over the FY21 approved budget of $78,343,721. Personnel Costs comprise approximately 5.45 percent of the Self-Insurance Fund budget for 11 full-time positions. A total of 32.37 FTEs includes these positions as well as any seasonal or temporary positions and positions charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 94.55 percent of the budget. Included in the total FTEs are 21 FTEs charged to the Self-Insurance Fund by the Office of the County Attorney and 0.37 FTEs charged by the General Fund component of Finance (Controller Division) for services provided in support of Risk Management.

County Priority Outcomes

While this program area supports all eight of the County Result Areas, the following are emphasized:

• A Growing Economy
• Effective, Sustainable Government

Program Performance Measures

Performance measures for this department are included below (where applicable), with multi-program measures displayed at the front of this section and program-specific measures shown with the relevant program. The FY21 estimates reflect funding based on the FY21 approved budget. The FY22 and FY23 figures are performance targets based on the FY22 recommended budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY23.

Initiatives

• Develop electronic claim reporting forms to streamline reporting and eliminate significant paper waste in the Claims Section.

• The Partnering Community Banks with the Small Business Plus! Program boost lending to local small businesses and spur job creation in Montgomery County. The Small Business Plus! Program began with an initial total deposit of $10 million with several local community banks in 2012 and has since expanded into deposits of approximately $50 million as of December 31, 2019 with the program generating over $2.9 million in interest income and creating an estimated 2,588 jobs. The program is in its 8^th year in calendar year 2020 with 3 participating banks.

• MCTIME Workforce TimeKeeper on-premise migration to SaaS Strikethrough will provide a single platform for timekeeping, and the County will benefit from enhanced functionality and disaster recovery.

• The Department of Finance worked with the County Council to adopt amendments to the Public Election Fund Program that will improve and enhance the Administration and operations of the Program in the current election cycle. The Department is in the process of adopting Executive Regulations to address improvements that include enhanced clarity and transparency as well as establishing a post-election audit of the public campaign financing system to ensure compliance with County Law.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• Implemented Simplifile, the online system for e-recording for transfer/recordation to increase productivity and allow more staff to work remotely instead of more time-intensive manual processing.

• Implemented new software, Gravity, to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the creation and completion of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

• With the assistance of the County Executive and Department Directors, created a mandatory Worksite Safety Coordinator Program to improve County safety and health culture. All Departments now have representation and have spent the past several months working on the core elements of the County Occupational Safety and Health Program. The implementation of new training and educational programs has strengthened the County's overall safety culture.

Program Descriptions

  Operations and Administration

This program includes operational support for the Department as well as the administrative portions of the Director's Office, the Division of the Controller, the Treasury Division, and the Division of Risk Management. The program provides support for efficient, effective, and timely accomplishment of the Department's mission, including budget development and...

  Fiscal Management

This program provides effective management of County capital and operating funds and the fiscal analysis and issue management associated with master plan development, economic development, and legislative issues. It is also responsible for accurate revenue and economic forecasting and publishing reports on economic and revenue analysis on a monthly and...

  Information Technology

This program provides planning, direction, and support for finance and core business systems, technology, and business processes to support effective and efficient achievement of the Department's mission. Activities are proactively coordinated with the Department of Technology Services, other County departments, vendors, and Department staff to ensure consistency of Department systems...

  Controller

This program provides effective management and support to the operations of accounts payable and receivable; general and grants accounting; financial analysis, audit and compliance; and payroll. This program through its operations is responsible for overseeing expenditures and cash flow management; preparing timely and accurate annual financial statements and other standardized...

  Treasury

This program is responsible for providing coordination and oversight of treasury operations and customer services through the cashiering function. All money received by the County, directly through the Treasury cashiering operation, from other County agencies, or through the internet and bank lockbox operation, is processed, administered, and recorded in...

  Risk Management

The Montgomery County Self-Insurance Program, established under County Code 20-37, provides comprehensive property and casualty insurance for the County and participating agencies. The program pays all claims for Self Insured Workers' Compensation, General and Auto Liability, Auto Physical Damage and Property matters. The program is funded through contributions from the...