Finance Department

As a critical cog in the District's wheel, the Finance Department is committed to ensuring financial stability, efficiency, and transparency in our operations. We handle an array of activities to keep the District financially healthy and sustainable.

Responsibilities

Our duties revolve around a number of key functions:

1. Budgeting and General Accounting: We prepare the District-wide budget, including forecasting revenues and expenditures, monitoring, and approving expenses. We maintain an open book to discuss and resolve budget issues with appropriate staff and adjust as necessary.
2. Financial Management and Information System Activities: We manage the District’s financial resources prudently. This involves managing and coordinating the District’s investment portfolio, administering debt financing and capital management programs.
3. Auditing: We maintain the integrity of financial operations by conducting regular audits. Our aim is to ensure adherence to federal, state, and local laws, codes, and regulations.
4. Risk Management: We oversee the District’s risk management functions, which include general liability, property, special events insurance, workers compensation, and employee benefit programs.
5. Policy Recommendations: We play a critical role in formulating financial policies that influence the District's financial health. Our insights drive the crafting of laws, ordinances, resolutions, and programs related to the Department's activities.
6. Liaison: Serving as a key point of contact, we liaise with federal, state, regional, county, and special district agencies to ensure efficient and effective financial operations.
7. Public and Community Relations: We stay updated on issues relevant to the field of finance, risk management, and information systems. We also resolve sensitive and complex community and organizational inquiries, issues, and complaints, while maintaining a customer service orientation.

Unclaimed Checks

Checks issued by the District but not cashed within six (6) months of issue are considered Unclaimed Checks. The Finance Department holds these payments, which are not the property of the District, for three (3) years after the date of issue.

After that time, pursuant to State of California Government Code Section 50050, the City is Required to publish a public notice listing unclaimed amounts three (3) or more years past their issue date. We post this information in the local newspaper annually.

In accordance with California Government Code sections 50050, 50551, and 50056, once three (3) years have elapsed since a warrant’s issuance date, the District will publish notice of unclaimed stale warrants in the local newspaper once per week for two successive weeks. If a claim is not made within 60 days after first notice is posted, the funds will become the property of the District.

Click on the link below to search the District’s listing of stale-dated warrants. If you believe that one of the listed warrants belongs to you, you must file a claim by completing the District’s claim form from the link below.

You may file a claim at any time until the date on which the money becomes the property of the District. If the District’s review of the Claim Form indicates that you are entitled to the warrant, and the warrant was not previously reissued, the District will reissue it to you.

Budget Preparation

The General Manager of the Community Services District, either independently or with the Board of Directors, prepares a preliminary budget. This process typically involves collaborative work between the General Manager, staff, and department heads to reflect on operational needs and plan for the upcoming financial year.

Final Budget Approval

By September 1st each year, the Board of Directors adopts the final budget, which is then sent to the Auditor of Kern County.

Responsibility

Department heads, supervisors, the General Manager, and accounting staff share the responsibility for preparing budgets. This collaborative approach ensures that the budget aligns with the Board's goals and policies, balancing resources between departments efficiently.

Budget Implementation and Review

Throughout the year, a budgetary control system is employed to monitor fund availability. Budget-to-actual comparison reports are used to prevent overspending, and formal reports are provided to the Board of Directors periodically to evaluate performance against budget goals.

Budget Development

Departments develop their budgets according to past and projected needs. The General Manager then reviews and adjusts these budgets to reflect realistic expenditures, thus avoiding unnecessary inflation of expenses.

Budget Transparency and Public Readability

The district takes steps to ensure budget transparency and readability, providing detailed overviews, organizational charts, funding source breakdowns, and planned capital outlay for each department or fund. Salary schedules and authorized positions, as well as cost allocation methods, are also made publicly available.

Adherence to District Policies

The budget development process strictly adheres to the District's Budget and Fiscal Policies, which include:

• Balancing Expenditures with Revenues Operational expenses are distinguished from capital expenses to ensure sufficient funding for annual operations.
• Fair Cost Allocation: Costs are allocated fairly across different services based on improved allocation formulas.
• Funding Capital Improvements: Capital improvements are funded from excess revenues, fund balances or if the expense is vital.
• Review and Adjustment of Fees and Charges: The district reviews and adjusts fees to reflect the true cost of services, eliminating any unnecessary subsidies.
• Identification of Contingency Funds: Contingency funds are identified according to the expenditure budget of the upcoming fiscal year, providing a safety net for future planning.

By adhering to these steps and principles, the Community Services District ensures that its budget is well-planned, transparent, and effective in meeting the needs of the community.

Types of Funds in Community Services District Budget

General Fund: This is the main fund used for financing most district programs and services. Its primary revenue source is property tax. The General Fund pays for several district departments such as administration, public safety, parks and recreation, and general services.

Special Revenue Funds: These funds come from specific levies against property owners and must be used for specific purposes. For example, there might be a fund collected specifically for police services or gate maintenance. However, sometimes these funds do not fully cover the cost of the service they're designated for, so they're supplemented with money from the General Fund.

Enterprise Funds: These funds account for services where a fee is charged in exchange for goods or services, operating similarly to a private business. They have their own separate financial statements and are typically used for services like solid waste management, water, or wastewater treatment. They are not meant for normal government operations.

Debt Service Funds: These are funds set aside for paying the interest, fees, and principal of long-term debt that the district may have incurred.

Development Funds: These are funds used for building or acquiring new infrastructure to increase the capacity of systems, especially for water and wastewater services. These funds must be used for improvements that increase capacity, not just for replacing existing assets or for ongoing operations.

Understanding Cost Allocation

Cost allocation might sound complex, but it's simply a way of ensuring that each department shares the cost of the administrative services we provide. Think of it as dividing a pie: if we make a pie (the administrative services) to share at a party (the District), we want to make sure everyone gets a fair slice. That's what cost allocation does.

In our case, the "pie" is the total cost of all the services that our department provides to keep things running smoothly. This cost is then divided or "allocated" among the different departments based on their usage of our services.

This approach ensures fairness, transparency, and allows each department, and our citizens, to see the real cost of providing and maintaining the wide range of services our District offers. It's just one of the ways we strive to keep our operations clear and accountable to you.