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 FY20 Operating Budget for the Department of Finance is $89,645,237, an increase of $5,702,972 or 6.79 percent from the FY19 Approved Budget of $83,942,265. Personnel Costs comprise 19.67 percent of the budget for 135 full-time position(s) and no part-time position(s), and a total of 130.79 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 80.33 percent of the FY20 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 FY20 Operating Budget for the General Fund component is $15,601,135 an increase of $1,103,118 or 7.6 percent over the FY19 approved budget of $14,498,017. Personnel Costs comprise approximately 82.46 percent of the General Fund budget for 124 full-time positions. A total of 98.92 FTEs includes these positions as well as any seasonal, temporary, and positions charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 17.54 percent of the budget.

The total FY20 Operating Budget for the Self-Insurance Fund component of Finance (Risk Management) is $74,044,102, an increase of $4,599,854 or 6.62 percent over the FY19 approved budget of $69,444,248. Personnel Costs comprise approximately 6.44 percent of the Self-Insurance Fund budget for 11 full-time positions. A total of 31.87 FTEs includes these positions as well as any seasonal, temporary, and positions charged to or from other departments or funds. Operating Expenses account for the remaining 93.56 percent of the budget. Included in the total FTEs are 20.50 FTEs charged to the Self-Insurance Fund by the Office of the County Attorney and 0.37 FTE 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:

• Effective, Sustainable Government
• A Growing Economy

Department 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 FY19 estimates reflect funding based on the FY19 approved budget. The FY20 and FY21 figures are performance targets based on the FY20 recommended budget and funding for comparable service levels in FY21.

Accomplishments

• Retained the County's AAA bond rating from all three major credit rating agencies in the fall of 2018.

• Received the Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the FY17 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

• Received the GFOA award for Outstanding Achievement in Popular Annual Financial Reporting for producing the County's first Popular Annual Financial Report (PAFR) in FY17.

• Successfully issued $330 million in General Obligation bonds in FY19 with an interest rate (True Interest Cost) of 3.28 percent.

• Received a perfect score across all six divisions for the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security end of year Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) status for 2017.
• The average daily investment portfolio increased from $845 million in FY17 to $871 million in FY18. Investment income jumped from $6.0 million in FY17 to over $11.7 million in FY18, with an average portfolio yield of 1.34 percent in FY18 (compared to 0.71 percent in FY17). This 1.34 percent average yield also compares favorably versus the benchmark yield of 1.29 percent (S&P Local Government Index).
• The County's Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Program (C-PACE), completed its first project in December of 2016, which was also the first C-PACE Project to be completed in the State. The Program currently has 12 completed projects with a total of $8.4 million in C-PACE financing. To date, the County has completed more projects, in both volume and total financed value, than all other Maryland counties combined.

• During the inaugural 2018 election cycle of the County's Public Election Fund Program, there were 68 candidates who appeared on the 2018 County Council and County Executive election ballots, 40 of those candidates filed an intent to participate in the program with 23 candidates qualifying for the Program and receiving approximately $5.25 million in matching public funds. Of the 10 elected offices eligible to participate in the Program, 7 of those offices were attained by a candidate who participated in the PEF Program, including the highest elected office of County Executive.

• Performed a security assessment of all County operations that accept credit card payments to ensure that each organization is operating in a Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) compliant manner.
• Risk Management staff issued a new insurance broker contract with minimal cost increases.
• Risk Management held the 4th Montgomery County Self Insurance Program Annual Meeting and celebrated the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Montgomery County Self Insurance Program and its years of service to the County and member agencies.

Initiatives

• Upgrading Kronos Workforce TimeKeeper (MCTIME) from Version 6.2 to Version 8.2.
• Upgrading Kronos Telestaff scheduling system for Fire Rescue Service.
• Replacing the custom in-house real and personal property tax web billing applications with Citizens Self Service from Tyler Technologies.
• Implementing electronic timeclocks for the retail and warehouse division at the Department of Liquor Control.
• Upgrading Accounts Payable forensics software to monitor and verify payments to vendors.

• The Department of Finance will be implementing credit card and electronic payment solutions and re-engineering existing solutions that will decrease the total cost of ownership for the County. This will entail creating a centralized payment portal, automating processes, reducing the level of effort for on-boarding departments that wish to process credit cards, and collaborating with the merchant service provider to reduce transaction costs.

• Risk Management is actively working with FM Global, the Montgomery County Self Insurance Program's property insurance carrier, to present training to program members' maintenance staff to decrease property losses due to human factors.
• Risk Management is working with the Office of the County Attorney and the commercial excess insurance carrier to improve claim reporting and update claim handling guidelines.

Innovations and Productivity Improvements

• MUNIS, the County's property tax billing system, was successfully upgraded from version 9.4 to 11.3 in mid-March 2018. Preparations are being made to migrate from the County's on-premise environment to the Cloud.
• A test instance of the MUNIS Citizen Self Service module (version 11.3) has been implemented and is in the process of being reviewed, tested, and validated.
• Implemented a document management system for streamlining property tax credit for military retirees and senior residents.
• Implemented a Kronos Telestaff scheduling system for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
• Continued exploration for the use of Robotic Processing Automation software to perform repetitive and manually intensive jobs on software platforms that do not allow automation. This reduces staffing costs and increases accuracy.

Collaboration and Partnerships

Program Descriptions

  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...

  Accounts Payable

This program is responsible for timely and accurate payments to vendors for goods and services provided to the County; complying with County policies and procedures; and carrying out State and Federal reporting requirements. Payments to vendors are initiated and approved by individual departments. The Accounts Payable program is...

  Accounts Receivable

This program is responsible for the timely receipt and accounting for monies due to the County from residents, businesses, and government agencies. In conjunction with the implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and associated best practices, this program provides for development of standardized policies and procedures, and provision...

  General Accounting

This program is responsible for the analysis, interpretation, and presentation of the County's financial position and results of operations through timely, accurate, and professional financial reports. These reports provide public assurance as to the accountability and integrity of the use of County resources; adherence to budgetary policies established by...

  Grants Accounting

This program is responsible for the analysis, interpretation, and presentation of the County's financial position relating to grants through timely, accurate, and professional financial reports. These reports provide public assurance as to the accountability and integrity of the use of Federal, State, and other outside resources; adherence to budgetary policies...

  Payroll

This program is responsible for managing and maintaining the County's payroll system and functions as prescribed by Federal, State, and County laws, and local regulations. The program provides timely and accurate payroll disbursements to County employees, accounts for payroll deductions, issues W-2 statements to account for pre-tax and post-tax benefits,...

  Tax Operations

This program is responsible for the timely and accurate collection and processing of all County administered taxes, including property taxes (which are the County's largest revenue source), transfer and recordation taxes (relating to real property transfers and recordation of instruments of writing), and several excise taxes (fuel/energy, telephone, hotel/motel, carryout...

  Treasury Operations

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 a...

  Insurance

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 is funded through contributions from the agencies, which are based upon an annual actuarial analysis of their exposures and outstanding and projected future claims. The program...

  Occupational Safety and Health

This program operates a proactive safety program and coordinates reporting to Federal and State regulatory agencies on health and safety issues. The State-required injury reports and the mandated safety training and record keeping are completed by the Safety Section of Risk Management on schedule. The program responds promptly to inspections...

  Legal Services

This program funds activities of the Office of the County Attorney, which provides legal services including investigation, negotiation, and litigation on behalf of the County and agencies that participate in the Self-Insurance Program....

  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...