Annual Report 2000 - Halifax Regional Municipality

Financial
Services
F
inancial Services,
formerly the Department
of Finance, recently
underwent organizational
change. The primary
functional areas within
Financial Services includes
Accounting Services,
which provides all
corporate accounting and
reporting functions for the
municipality; Financial
Planning, which
coordinates and supports
Business Planning and
budgeting, and provides
fiscal and economic policy
advice and formulation;
Procurement, which
provides support and
implementation of the
municipal procurement
policy, inventory and asset
management, insurance
claims and risk
management; and
Revenue and Process
Audit, which analyses
assessment information,
calculates and prepares tax
billings, coordinates area
rates and administers a
number of by-laws.
Accomplishments
Financial Management
System
On April 1, 1999 SAP,
the first phase of a new
financial management
system became
operational. Included in
Phase I were Financial
Accounting (general
ledger); Controlling
(departmental accounting
and job costing); Materials
Management (purchasing
and inventory) and Plant
Maintenance (fleet).
Customer Service
New payment options
were implemented for
paying parking tickets and
taxes through financial
institutions, the Internet
and pre-authorized tax
payments.
Business Plans
Business Plans were
completed for each
Business Unit.
Budget
2000/2001 Budget
(Operating, Capital &
Reserves) was approved by
Council. It included a tax
rate reduction of
approximately 1%
and a decline in
the municipality’s
debt of
approximately
3.2%.
Current Initiatives
Business Strategies
Financial Services will
lead Council’s Taxation,
Fiscal Accountability and
Economic Growth
Business Strategies.
Multi-Year Financial
Strategy
Implementation of
Strategy is continuing.
HRM 20/20
Financial Services
continues to participate in
the exercise.
Municipal Involvement
Continue to clarify the
role of the municipality
with the Greater Halifax
Partnership and the
Halifax Regional
Development Agency.
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At a glance...
• 450,000 customer payments
processed
• 11,000 tax certificates issued
• 4,700 business occupancy
openings and closings processed
• $10 million in Metro
Transit fares sorted, rolled &
deposited
• 34,000 cheques issued
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