Page 107 - Fort Worth City Budget 2019

General Fund

FY2019 DISCUSSION
While the deployment of new technology and dramatically changed business processes provided the
opportunity for substantial improvements to the department’s operations, these changes lent
themselves to other challenges, such as a higher than average turn-over rate when compared to other
departments with general employees and vast technical training opportunities. Coupled with low
unemployment rates and a metropolitan statistical area with a shortage of finance and accounting
professionals, the Department of Financial Management Services has recently focused efforts on talent
development and retention. In recent years, the department has restructured and reclassified positions
to accommodate the necessary levels of education and skills needed to support the operations. The
fiscal year 2019 budget reflects increases to salaries and benefit funding as a result of a funding gap
created from these efforts.

HORIZON ISSUES

The Financial Management Services Department expects to address the following issues in FY2019 and
beyond, which result in some level of budgetary and/or operations impact.
• Based on the current implementation plan, successfully implement the PeopleSoft Accounts
Receivable/Billing and iNovah Point of Sale for Aviation and Code Compliance departments. This will
involve substantial redevelopment of business processes.
• Successfully integrate the collection of past due accounts receivable activities with the city's third party
collection agency to improve collection efforts and reduce aged receivables.
• Implement an automated invoice processing software system to streamline the activities associated with
invoice management.
• Implement the PeopleSoft Inventory module. The three departments anticipated to use the module
initially are Fire, Transportation and Public Works and IT Solutions.
• Re-engineer the functionality of the customized enhanced general ledger application within PeopleSoft
FINS with respect to how the system is being used for Grants Management to improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of the award of local, state, and federal funds.
• Redesign the city’s corporate policy and procedures relating to travel and training which includes the
adoption of a new policy by the Mayor and Council and the training on new procedures which cover how
costs are incurred and reimbursed.
• Continue implementation of newly promulgated GASB standards, including the implementation of GASB
Statement No 87, Leases. Which revises existing standards on lease accounting and financial reporting.

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