FINANCE DEPARTMENT
PROCEDURES MANUAL
Document1
Revised Spring 2008
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART ...................................................................... 7
PAYROLL .................................................................................................. 9
Payroll Processing......................................................................................................... 10
ACCOUNTS PAYABLE ........................................................................... 12
Create New Vendor Account ......................................................................................... 13
Processing Taxpayer ID Forms ..................................................................................... 14
Invoice Processing ........................................................................................................ 15
Normal Accounts Payable Check Run .......................................................................... 16
City of Vista Credit Card Issuance ................................................................................ 19
Costco Membership/Department Card .......................................................................... 20
Petty Cash Fund ........................................................................................................... 21
Copies of Cashed Checks ............................................................................................. 23
PURCHASING.......................................................................................... 24
Purchase Requisition Entry ........................................................................................... 25
Purchase Order Year-End Close Out ............................................................................ 27
CASH RECEIPTS ..................................................................................... 29
Cash Register and Cashiering ...................................................................................... 30
Opening Activity and Cash Drawer Set-Up ................................................................ 30
Losses, Shortages, and Overages............................................................................. 30
Balancing Your Cash Drawer .................................................................................... 31
Locating Cash Differences ......................................................................................... 31
Entering Cash Receipts to the MUNIS Accounting System........................................... 33
Processing Cash Deposits Received by Finance .......................................................... 35
Recording Property Tax/Revenue ................................................................................. 37
Witness Fee Deposits ................................................................................................... 39
2
Posting Cash Receipts to MUNIS Accounting System .................................................. 41
TREASURY/CASH MANAGEMENT ........................................................ 42
Investment Procedures ................................................................................................. 43
Investment Procedures Manual ..................................................................................... 43
Investment Advisory Committee .................................................................................... 49
Monthly Interest Allocation ............................................................................................ 51
Transmitting Issued/Voided Check Files to the Bank .................................................... 52
Bank and Check Reconciliations ................................................................................... 53
General and Payroll Accounts ................................................................................... 53
Wave Account ........................................................................................................... 53
Theatre and Ambulance Accounts ............................................................................. 54
Returned Checks .......................................................................................................... 55
Ambulance Account ................................................................................................... 55
Wave Account ........................................................................................................... 55
General Account ........................................................................................................ 55
Finance Safe ................................................................................................................. 57
General Cash Handling Procedures .............................................................................. 59
WAVE Waterpark Cash Handling Procedures .............................................................. 60
VisTix Cash Handling Procedures ................................................................................. 65
GENERAL LEDGER ................................................................................ 67
Accounting Periods ....................................................................................................... 68
Adjusting Journal Entries............................................................................................... 69
Sample Standard Adjusting Journal Entry ................................................................. 72
Sample Completed Journal Entry .............................................................................. 73
Sample Request for Journal Entry ............................................................................. 75
Budget Adjustment Entries ............................................................................................ 76
Sample Request for Budget Transfer ........................................................................ 79
Sample of Resolution Attachment.............................................................................. 80
Sample Budget Journal Entry .................................................................................... 81
Sample Completed Budget Journal Entry .................................................................. 82
Business Improvement District ...................................................................................... 83
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Matching Payment......................................................................................................... 83
Calculation of BID Funds to VVBA............................................................................. 85
Tax Lien Verification ...................................................................................................... 86
Deferred Street Construction ......................................................................................... 89
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE...................................................................... 91
Accounts Receivable ..................................................................................................... 92
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS ................................................... 94
General Methodology .................................................................................................... 95
BUSINESS LICENSE ............................................................................... 97
Definitions/Jargon used in Business License ................................................................ 98
Screening Business License Phone Calls/Counter Visits .............................................. 99
Frequently Asked Questions - Phone and Counter Contacts ...................................... 102
Frequently Called Phone Numbers ............................................................................. 106
Unusual Business Licensing Situations ....................................................................... 108
Checking To See If Someone Has a Business License .............................................. 109
Researching Unlicensed Businesses ................................................................... 109
Accessing HdL Business License Software ................................................................ 112
New Business License Applications ............................................................................ 114
Interdepartment Coordination – Inside City Businesses .............................................. 115
Business License Payment Processing....................................................................... 119
Reconcile HdL Daily Payment Processing .................................................................. 123
Editing Changes in HdL Database .............................................................................. 124
Processing Mail Returns ............................................................................................. 126
General Instructions ............................................................................................. 126
Ideas to find new address for mail return ................................................................. 127
Renewing Businesses ................................................................................................. 128
Processing Renewal Mail ........................................................................................ 128
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Counter Help ........................................................................................................... 128
Renewal Processing – Form Review and Processing ............................................. 129
Verifying Business Closures........................................................................................ 132
Filing and Scanning Business License Records .......................................................... 136
Unlicensed Business Files (Evidence Files) ............................................................ 136
Business License Files ............................................................................................ 136
Monthly Data Clean-up and Other Steps..................................................................... 138
Review Planning Delays .......................................................................................... 138
Review Fees Due Status and Apply Penalties ......................................................... 138
Waiting for Owner, Overpayment, Bad Check Status Check ................................... 138
BL Staff Review Status and Research Status in HdL and on Unlicensed Spreadsheet
................................................................................................................................. 138
Daily Check Deposit & Munis Reconciliation ............................................................... 139
Annual Renewal Process – Mailing Notices ................................................................ 140
Early Preparation - Forms........................................................................................ 140
Early Preparation – Business License Data in HdL ................................................. 140
Printing Renewal Notice .......................................................................................... 141
Handling Mail Returns ............................................................................................. 141
MAIL PROCESSING .............................................................................. 142
Distribution of Interoffice Mail ...................................................................................... 143
Posting Outgoing Mail ................................................................................................. 144
Monthly Postage Report .............................................................................................. 146
GENERAL .............................................................................................. 147
Useful Information ....................................................................................................... 148
Phone ...................................................................................................................... 148
Copy Machines ........................................................................................................ 148
Conference Room Reservation ............................................................................... 148
BUDGET ................................................................................................ 149
Budget Preparation ..................................................................................................... 150
Budget Accountability .................................................................................................. 151
Expenditure Budget Accountability Report .............................................................. 153
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PROJECT ACCOUNTING ...................................................................... 155
Project Accounting ...................................................................................................... 156
FIXED ASSETS ...................................................................................... 157
Fixed Assets and Fixed Asset Reporting..................................................................... 158
GASB 34 and Reporting Capital Assets ...................................................................... 161
SEWER SERVICE BILLING ................................................................... 164
Sewer Service Billing Overview ................................................................................... 165
DELINQUENT TRASH BILLING ............................................................ 166
Delinquent Trash Billing .............................................................................................. 167
ASSESSMENT DISTRICTS ................................................................... 170
Assessment Districts ................................................................................................... 171
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ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
7
FINANCE DEPARTMENT
ORGANIZATIONAL CHART
TOM GARDNER
Director of Finance/Treasurer
1 FTE
JEAN THOMPSON
Administrative Secretary
1 FTE
DALE NIELSEN
Finance Manager
1 FTE
LAURA JOHNSON
Management Analyst
1 FTE
DENISE KNAPP
Accountant/Deputy
Treasurer
1 FTE
DIANNE COSTA
VACANT
MARTHA CLEAVENGER
Accountant
Account Tech
Account Tech
1 FTE
1 FTE
1 FTE
NATALIE JACOBS
Account Tech
1 FTE
JAN YELLAND
Account Clerk
1 FTE
JOCLYN SOUTH
Account Clerk
1 FTE
CATHY GARRISON
Account Clerk
1 FTE
EVA STUART
Account Tech
1 FTE
CINDY CHOQUETTE
Financial Analyst
1 FTE
JEANETTE FARRIS
Revenue Billing Manager
.5 FTE
LESLIE WEBB-BLANCO
Account Clerk
1 FTE
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PAYROLL
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Payroll Processing
Payroll Processing - SUMMARY
The City of Vista compensates employees on a bi-weekly basis in accordance with the
current and approved Memorandums of Understanding for the recognized employee’s
unions, the Vista Firefighters’ Association (VFFA), the Vista City Employees Association
(VCEA) and the Vista City Maintenance Association (VCMA). Management and
confidential employees are unrepresented and negotiate separate from any other
recognized group.
The payroll process consists of the following: 1) data entry and computer processing, 2)
distribution of checks or transmittal of direct deposits, 3) Payroll liability processing and
4) filing both in house and with appropriate organizations/agencies.
Payroll Processing - DETAIL
New Employees/Employee Maintenance/Terminations
Human Resources enters all new employee information including assignment of a
position. They also maintain all employee information including personal information,
direct deposit, appointments, benefits and deductions, leave, premiums, alternate rates
and termination processes. Once the entry is finished, the supporting paperwork comes
to the payroll office where it is reviewed for accuracy of entry, signed, and returned to
Human Resources. If there are corrections to be made, Human Resources is notified
and handles the correction.
Payroll Processing
1.
Open a new pay period
2.
Review all Position and Employee Maintenance for the current pay period.
3.
Activity Entry
A.
Check all Recaps/Timesheets/Leave reports for accuracy, complete
records, and signatures.
B.
Enter all exceptions
4.
Reconcile all reports, print checks and direct deposit vouchers
5.
Post GL Accounting and Checks.
Payroll Reporting
1.
Payroll Taxes
A.
Go into Excel File:
\\Moby\MIS\FINANCE\Payroll\PayrollReports\Payroll Tax EFTPS
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B.
C.
Copy the worksheet from the previous pay period into a new worksheet
and rename to reflect the new pay period. Then fill in the amounts and
dates for the current pay period and print.
Log on to: www.payments-govonesolutions.com/boa and follow the
Excel worksheet to transmit the information.
2.
Direct Deposit
Follow the procedure outlined in the Word file: P:\FINANCE\Payroll\Payroll
Misc\Direct Deposit Procedure.doc
3.
Vendors
Send payments and documentation as required by each vendor
4.
Payroll Distribution
A.
Insert each Payroll Check and Direct Deposit Voucher into a plain
window envelope and seal. Sort by Department. Put in the Fire King
file and lock it until ready for distribution.
B.
On the last day that City Hall is open before the pay date, an
authorized person from each department will come to the Payroll
Department and pickup the checks for that department. Print out the
Excel Payroll Distribution list:
\\Moby\MIS\FINANCE\Payroll\Payroll Misc\Payroll Distribution
Make sure whoever picks up the checks is on the authorized list and
signs for the checks.
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ACCOUNTS PAYABLE
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Create New Vendor Account
Create New Vendor Account - SUMMARY
Upon contact with a new vendor, departments submit a Vendor Information Sheet to the
Finance Department. A record of vendors used by the City of Vista is then created and
maintained by Finance for eventual 1099 reporting.
Create New Vendor Account - DETAIL
1.
Go to Financials>Accounts Payable>Vendor Maint/Reports Menu>Vendor FM.
2.
Add a new record by clicking on the new record icon (blue sheet).
3.
On the Main tab Input the vendor name (surnames first), address, phone
number. The federal tax ID or Social Security number should be entered into
the Fed Tax ID# field. If a Social Security number is used, the 1099 box should
be checked and a “7” should be entered into the Default 1099 box. This will
ensure that a 1099 will be generated for this vendor. If the vendor is a business
and is reporting under a social security number (entered on the Fed Tax ID field)
then the Sole Proprietor box should be checked as well. If a refund, claim
settlement, reimbursement, one-time vendor or a City of Vista employee, type
999-99-999 in the Fed Tax ID field. 1099’s are not generated for any of these
vendor types.
4.
When all data is entered click on the Accept Changes icon (check mark icon on
the top of the screen) to save the entry. This will populate the system assigned
vendor number.
5.
Retrieve the computer assigned vendor number and note on the approved
Vendor Information Sheet.
6.
Forward the Vendor Information Sheet to the Finance Accounts Payable Clerk.
She/he will mail out the Taxpayer Identification Form to the vendor and file the
Vendor Sheet (see Processing Taxpayer ID Forms section).
7.
Exit the Vendor screen.
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Processing Taxpayer ID Forms
Processing Taxpayer ID Forms - SUMMARY
As part of the 1099 information return statutory reporting requirements by the Internal
Revenue Service (IRS), the city must obtain accurate taxpayer identification number
(TIN) information and certification from U.S. persons (including resident aliens) or from
foreign persons. Upon contact with a new vendor, departments complete a Vendor
Information Sheet (located at O:\Finance\Forms\Vendor Information Sheet) by typing in
the address information (vendor name/vendor number and street address) and submit it
to Accounts Payable staff.
Processing Taxpayer ID Forms - DETAIL
1.
Complete and print a Taxpayer Identification Number Request Form on black
and white letterhead paper. Proof read the letter.
2.
Enclose the vendor addressed Taxpayer Identification Number Request In a #10
black and white envelope along with a City of Vista Finance Department return
envelope.
3.
Seal the envelope and process for mailing. Mail the Taxpayer Identification
Number Request Form by the following business workday after receipt of a
Vendor Information Sheet.
4.
Write ‘Taxpayer ID # Request Form Mailed on MM-DD-YY’, sign and date the
Vendor Information Sheet. File the Vendor Information Sheet in the appropriate
Vendor Binder.
5.
Information from returned Taxpayer Identification Number Request Forms is
recorded to the Vendor List.
6.
The Taxpayer Identification Number Request Form is filed with the Vendor
Information Sheet in the Vendor Binder.
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Invoice Processing
Invoice Processing - SUMMARY
Payment Authorization Forms need to be filled out by the department requesting
payment. This form is located at O:\Finance\ Forms\Payment Authorization Form. The
following information needs to be filled out by the department: Invoice #, Invoice Date,
Description of goods/services being billed and paid for, PO# if applicable, Account #,
and Amount. NOTE: Payment Authorizations must be signed by the supervisor, project
manager, or department head.
Invoice Processing - DETAIL
1.
All invoices and corresponding documentation should be attached to the
Payment Authorization form.
2.
Refunds are not made without proper authorization. Documentation to be
included with Payment Authorization requesting a refund should include the
following:
 Copy of original deposit by person, OR
 Copy of an accounts receivable report, etc. outlining when payment was
received, AND
 A letter or memo explaining why refund is owed.
4.
Credit Card Statements: All city credit card statements must be signed by the
person’s approving official. Receipts for every charge should be stapled to the
statement, a Payment Authorization Form must be completed and both submitted
to Finance for payment.
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Normal Accounts Payable Check Run
Normal Accounts Payable Check Run - SUMMARY
The City Of Vista uses a decentralized accounts payable and purchasing system. Each
department has the authority to purchase or contract for services as long as the
purchases or contracts conform to the adopted purchasing resolution and the funds
have been appropriated. The cut off for the receipt of all back up for each run will be
the same as the date for inputting the payments. Current check runs occur on Fridays
that City Hall is open. All items to be paid should be entered by 5:00 p.m. three days
prior to the check run. If the check run falls on a day that City Hall is closed, then the
check run will be moved to the prior to the regular check run. For example, in the event
that a holiday should fall on Friday the 7th (a Friday City Hall would normally be open)
the check run would move to Thursday the 6th.
After completion of the check run go into Word and retrieve to print Certification of
Check Register (O:\Finance\admin\forms\certwar.frm) and change date and dollar
amounts. Print out one copy and attach to Department Expenditure Report. Place in
folder and give to the Director of Finance for review and signature and then forward to
the Mayor for signature.
NOTE: Checks should not be released until Warrant has been signed by the
Director of Finance and the Mayor. If early release is required a memo addressed
to the Director of Finance stating the reason and dollar amount is needed.
After the Warrant has been signed, copy Department Expenditure Report (13 copies-3
hole punched paper, double sided with copy of signed Warrant Register attached) and
forwarded to City Clerk’s office for council packets. The Paid Warrant Report is then
available under Linked Crystal Reports for the departments to print. Payment
Authorizations requesting checks be returned to the department should be matched up
first, noting name of person/department on actual check. The party picking up the
check(s) should sign the Voucher/Check Register. If the check includes payments from
other departments that one department is requesting to be returned to them, call the
department in question and ask if a copy of the check will suffice. When matching
checks to the backup, make sure appropriate signatures have been received and that
all backup is attached. Check that the dollar amount of the check, vendor number and
invoice number match the payment authorization. Stamp all backup with the paid stamp
reflecting the date of the check run. Verify address of vendor and mail check with any
remittance slips. Note that packing slips, estimates and statements are not considered
good backup. The documentation must be an invoice. The exception being memos
from department heads authorizing payment. Any questionable backup should be
brought to the attention of the department supervisor. For checks that are missing
backup, take a copy of the check and stamp it ‘backup please’ and forward it to the
appropriate department. Until backup is received, the check should not be released. If
backup is not received by the next check run, an email should be sent to the appropriate
department(s) stating the check will be voided unless backup is received by the date of
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the next check run. After all checks have been matched up to the appropriate backup,
they should be filed numerically by check number in the filing cabinets located outside
the Accounts Payable Accountant’s office. Refer to black binder entitled Check Run
Procedures for additional information.
Normal Accounts Payable Check Run - DETAIL
1.
Begin the check run process by going to Accounts Payable>Invoice Processing
Menu>Invoice Entry/Proof.
2.
On the Find Invoices QBE screen, right click on the Group field and delete all
users so that all invoices entered by all users for that particular check-run are
located. Click the “!” to execute the QBE search. The Invoice Edit List will
appear on the screen. Click on the printer icon to print the report.
3.
Go to the Accounts Payable>Check Processing>Create Checks. Enter the
check date information and click on the “Create” icon. This will create the checks
to be printed during the check-run process.
4.
Go to the Accounts Payable>Cash Disbursements Menu>Select Items to be Paid
and print the report. This will be a listing of all invoices to be paid by vendors
including check totals. Match against and reconcile all Payment Authorizations
received by Finance for accuracy. The Open Invoice Report should be given to
the Finance Manager for approval before the check-run can be processed
proceeding further.
5.
After the Finance Manager has approved the Open Invoice Report, the check-run
can be processed by the following steps:
6.
Continue to Accounts Payable>Cash Disbursements Menu>Automated Checks.
This will now be populated with the auto-assigned check numbers. The checks
will print on the check printer and non-negotiable file copy will print on the
HP4200 printer.
7.
Log checks into the Cash Disbursements Activity Log which can be found in
O:/Finance/Accounts Payable/Cash Disbursements Activity Log. All printed
checks are logged here as well as voided checks.
8.
Go to Accounts Payable>Cash Disbursements Menu>Cash Disbursements
Journal to post the checkrun.
9.
Print the Check Reconciliation Report which lists all the checks included in the
checkrun. Also export the Positive Pay file for Denise.
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10.
Prepare a Warrant Certification Letter (O:\Finance\Accounts Payable\Accounts
Payable\Warrant Register), updating dates and dollar amounts for the current
check-run.
11.
Forward the Warrant Certification Letter and Paid Warrant Report to the Director
of Finance for signature/approval. After Director of Finance approval, forward the
letter and report to the Mayor’s office for signature/approval. The letter and
report are returned to the Account Clerk to retain and file in the warrant register
book. The Mayor’s approval of the warrant register authorizes Finance to
release the checks.
12.
The Account Clerk matches up the payment authorization with the invoice backup and attaches them to Finance’s copy of the check and then files all.
13.
Original invoices are canceled with PAID date stamp.
14.
Make 9 two-sided copies of the Paid Warrant Report along with copies of the
Warrant Certification Letter to be included in the council agenda packets.
15.
Hold checks with Stop Notices filed and notify departments.
16.
Return checks which have been specifically requested to departments and mail
remaining checks to vendors.
17.
File non-negotiable checks along with the attached Payment Authorization
Form(s) and invoice(s) or other support documentation and file in numerical order
in the designated file cabinet located in Finance. Documentation is also scanned
to the Laserfiche system for public viewing.
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City of Vista Credit Card Issuance
City of Vista Credit Card Issuance - SUMMARY
Department heads submit a Request for Credit Card. Purchases are not to exceed
established credit limits and are subject to prescribed uses and restrictions. Details of
the use of credit cards can be found in the City of Vista Credit Card Handbook.
City of Vista Credit Card Issuance - DETAIL
1.
Department heads must submit a completed Request for Credit Card form and
forward to the Agency Program Coordinator/Purchasing Officer.
2.
Upon receipt, the Agency Program Coordinator shall fill out an I.M.P.A.C.
Cardholder Account Set-Up form and fax it to I.M.P.A.C. Card Services at (701)
461-3466.
NOTE: It takes approximately 5 business days from the time the I.M.P.A.C. Cardholder
Account Set-up form is faxed to I.M.P.A.C Card Services until the time the credit card is
delivered to the Agency Program Coordinator.
The Agency Program Coordinator should take this time to ensure that the prospective
cardholder has received the proper training to use the city credit card. A “must see”
I.M.P.A.C Credit Card training video (approx. 18 minutes) shall be checked out, viewed,
and returned (to the Purchasing Officer) by the cardholder. The Agency Program
Coordinator is also responsible with providing the cardholder with a copy of the City of
Vista Credit Card Handbook.
3.
Upon receipt of the cardholder’s credit card, the Agency Program Coordinator
shall notify the cardholder and schedule a time for pick-up.
4.
At time of pick-up, the cardholder must read and sign two forms, 1) the City of
Vista Cardholder Agreement and 2) Certification and Receipt of Credit Card.
5.
After both forms have been signed, the Purchasing Officer will activate the city
credit card by calling I.M.P.A.C Credit Card Services using the 1-800 number
found on a sticker attached to the front of the City of Vista credit card.
6.
The Agency Program Coordinator must have the cardholder sign the back of the
credit card. Once this has been completed, the cardholder can take possession
of the credit card.
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Costco Membership/Department Card
Costco Membership/Department Card - SUMMARY
Administrative Policy 00-1(1) was adopted in June 2000 to provide approved staff with
access to Costco Wholesale membership cards. With the consent of the Director of
Finance, the Department Heads may designate a card custodian at the rate of one card
per department. Only city-approved budgeted items may be purchased. No personal
expense(s) may be transacted.
All purchased items are charged against a Costco-generated purchase order for the
City of Vista. A supervisor will review items purchased and forward the credit card slip
to the department’s accounts payable representative for payment processing.
Costco Membership/Department Card - DETAIL
1.
Department must submit memo, addressed to the Director of Finance, requesting
Costco membership card and identifying their department’s Custodian.
2.
Upon approval, Department must complete a Payment Authorization form for the
annual membership fee along with a memo that evidences approval from the
Director of Finance and submit to the Accounts Payable division for processing.
3.
Once the check has been authorized for release, contact Charles Cativiela,
Costco Marketing Representative, at (760) 716-0348 (pager) or (760) 631-7255
(store) to arrange for ‘check pick-up’.
4.
Once Charles Cativiela has received the check, he will process the membership
request and forward a Costco membership/department card to City’s Purchasing
Officer.
5.
Upon receipt, the Purchasing Officer will issue the card to the requesting
department’s Custodian.
6.
To verify that the card has been issued, the Custodian must sign the Costco
membership log (located in the safe drawer).
7.
The Purchasing Officer is responsible to ensure that the Costco membership log
has been updated and that a copy of the Costco administrative policy has been
issued to the Custodian.
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Petty Cash Fund
Petty Cash Fund - SUMMARY
The petty cash fund shall be maintained by an Accounting Technician. During the day,
the cash is kept in a metal cash box located in a locked file cabinet. This cash box will
be kept locked, except when an authorized petty cash reimbursement is being made to
an employee. After business hours the box is locked in the Finance safe.
The Account Tech will be responsible for obtaining and maintaining from each
department head a list of persons authorized to approve petty cash reimbursements,
including a specimen signature for each person. The authorizing employee must be a
member of management.
Petty Cash Fund - DETAIL
1.
When an employee requests a petty cash reimbursement, the following written
information must be provided by the employee:







Name and signature of employee requesting reimbursement
Date of request
Amount (not to exceed $40)
Description of expenditure(s)
Account name(s) and account number(s) to charge
Authorized approval signature
Receipt for expenditure, or if no receipt available (such as mileage
reimbursement), description of how amount was calculated.
2.
After the petty cash is disbursed to the employee, the above written
documentation shall be placed in the cash box. A maximum of $40 per
employee per day may be reimbursed from petty cash.
3.
Petty cash reimbursements will only be made from 9AM through noon and from
2PM through 4PM. on normal flex schedule working days.
4.
At 4PM each day, if there have been any petty cash reimbursements that day,
the Account Tech will enter the expenditure information on the Petty Cash
Reconciliation Excel spreadsheet. This spreadsheet will provide the Account
Tech with the total reimbursements made since the last time the petty cash fund
was replenished, and a total petty cash remaining figure. A count of cash in the
cash box will be made and verified against the spreadsheet. If the cash on hand
does not agree with the spreadsheet figure, check the documents against the
spreadsheet to locate discrepancies. If the discrepancy can still not be located a
difference of $1 or less will be recorded as an amount of cash over or under on
the spreadsheet. If the discrepancy is greater than $1, the Accountant in charge
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of Petty Cash must be notified and give approval before entering the difference
on the spreadsheet.
5.
All the expenditure paperwork that has been entered on the spreadsheet is
clipped together and placed back in the cash box. The locked cash box will then
be secured in the Finance safe overnight.
6.
When between one-half and two-thirds of the total petty cash fund has been
expended (depending on how far away the next normal A/P check run is), the
Account Tech will verify that the cash on hand agrees with the Petty Cash
Reconciliation spreadsheet and print the spreadsheet. A payment authorization
form is prepared. Present the backup paperwork, the spreadsheet and the
payment authorization to the Finance Manager or Director of Finance for
approval.
7.
After a check has been prepared to replenish the fund, the Account Tech will
cash the check at the closest branch of the bank that the City uses. Upon return
the cash will be locked in the petty cash box.
8.
If the Account Tech is absent from work, the Accountant in charge of Petty Cash
will remove the petty cash box from the safe, count the cash in the presence of
another Finance Department employee, and verify that it agrees with the
spreadsheet cash figure. If there is a discrepancy that cannot be resolved after
checking the backup paperwork in the cash box, the discrepancy will be recorded
on the spreadsheet. The Accountant will be responsible for all petty cash
reimbursements and record the expenditures on the spreadsheet until the
Account Tech returns. Upon returning the Account Tech will count the cash in
the presence of the Account to verify that the cash on hand agrees with the
spreadsheet.
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Copies of Cashed Checks
Copies of Cashed Checks - SUMMARY
An exact replica of cashed checks (front and back) is produced in CD form and sent to
the Finance Department by the City’s bank.
Copies of Cashed Checks - DETAIL
1.
Insert the CD to the appropriate drive of the designated PC.
2.
Go to Icon on PC named Image On Site.
3.
Double click on icon.
4.
Type in User Name and Password.
5.
To view and print a check click on Select / Sort.
6.
This will bring up a screen that will give you many different selections. In
selection one type in the words check number.
7.
This will bring up a box to put in the check number. Type in the check number.
8.
Hit enter.
9.
Go to check icon on this screen and scroll down to view image.
10.
Click on view image. NOTE: If the right CD has been selected an image of the
check will be shown. If the right CD has not been used an error message will
display and indicate which CD is required.
11.
To print the image of the check click the printer icon and hit print document.
12.
Exit program.
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PURCHASING
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Purchase Requisition Entry
Purchase Requisition Entry - SUMMARY
The City of Vista uses a decentralized purchasing system. Under this system, each
operating department is responsible for coordinating the purchase of goods and
services needed for its operations. However, to ensure compliance with the City’s
purchasing manual, the City’s Purchasing Ordinance designates that certain purchases
must be approved by a Purchasing Officer designated by the City Manager.
Purchases may only be made by the following acceptable methods: 1) Purchase Order,
2) Request for Check, 3) Petty Cash, or 4) City Issued Credit Card. Funds must exist in
the account to which the purchase is to be charged.
The document used to encumber funds is called a purchase order. When a purchase
order is created, approved and entered, it reserves a portion of the budget allocated to
the particular line item in an amount equal to the purchase order. For example, if the
office supply line item budget is $1,000 and a purchase order is created for $250, $250
is considered encumbered and no longer available for appropriation. Encumbered
funds may be contractually obligated at the time the purchase order is created (such as
when there is a corresponding contract with a vendor to provide contractually specified
goods or services) or they may relate to a “blanket” purchase authorization (when a
specified volume of goods or services are purchased from a vendor throughout the
fiscal year). In either case, once a purchase order is created the funds are no longer
available for payment to any vendor (or for any other purpose) other then that specified
on the purchase order. Once created a purchase order may later be increased,
decreased or cancelled.
When goods or services are rendered to the City, payment may then be authorized
through four appropriate approval levels against a purchase order. When a payment is
issued, the balance of the purchase order is reduced and the encumbrance becomes an
expenditure.
Purchase Order Entry - DETAIL
1.
Navigate to Purchasing>Purchase Order Processing Menu>Purchase Order
Entry/Proof.
2.
To start a new purchase order click on new record icon at top of the screen (blue
paper).
3.
On the Main tab screen fill in the description and department.
4.
On the Document Default tab screen enter the vendor number and change the
ship to and bill to addresses to the appropriate requesting department.
25
5.
On the Items tab screen fill in the appropriate type, amount, description, and
account number to be printed on the PO.
6.
Click the check mark icon on top of form to save the requisition. The purchase
order number will be auto assigned and populate. Write down the PO number on
the Purchase Order Cover Sheet.
7.
The Purchase Order Cover Sheet along with the appropriate backup should be
given to the Purchasing Agent in the Finance Department so that the purchase
order can be processed and issued.
26
Purchase Order Year-End Close Out
Purchase Order Year-End Close Out - SUMMARY
Purchase Order Year-End Close Out - DETAIL
Purchase orders are closed out on June 30th, with the exception of requested purchase
orders that still remain open on contracts. All departments are requested to prepare a
list of purchase orders to be carried into the following fiscal year and submit the list to
Edid Morley in Finance by June 25th. Purchase orders requested to be carried forward
by each department will be review by Finance to insure that a contract is in place and
that the purchase order balance is accurate. Print a Purchase Order Accounting Report
so that you have a comprehensive list of all purchase orders open as of June 30 th. Go
through the list to determine which purchase orders should be carried forward into the
next fiscal year and which purchase orders should be closed out permanently.
Purchase Orders to be closed permanently as of June 30th:
In order to close out a purchase order in InForum Gold, a change order must be entered
to close out the purchase order balance. In order to perform this task navigate to
Purchasing > Purchase Order Processing Menu > Purchase Order Maintenance
. Start a new change order. Remember to enter the transaction date as June 30th. Go
to the Items tab and reduce the purchase order line by the amount of the PO balance
you wish to close and make a comment in the text field. On the left-hand side of the
screen, click on the icon to close all remaining PO lines and then save the change
order. To process all the change orders, print the change order edit list and then
posting list.
After you have performed this task now all remaining open purchase orders in the
system should equal all the purchase orders that were requested to be carried forward
into the new fiscal year. The City will leave these PO’s open in the current fiscal year
until July 30th. This procedure is performed so that invoices not received by June 30 th
for the fiscal year can be received the following month and posted against the purchase
order and the expense properly booked in the proper fiscal year. Usually by the end of
July, all June invoices have been received and entered into the system and now all
remaining purchase orders can now be carried forward into the new fiscal year.
27
Purchase Orders to be Carried into the New Fiscal Year:
To perform this procedure navigate to Purchasing > Purchase Orders > Open / Close.
Go to the Closing Purchase Order Edit List. Choose the fiscal year you wish to close
and Period 12 and then process. After this procedure is performed, go to the Post
Closing Purchase Orders. Once all purchase orders have been successfully close out,
they must be reopened in the new fiscal year. In order to perform this task, please go
to Opening Purchase Orders Edit List. Choose the new fiscal year you wish to re-open
the purchase orders into and choose Period 1 and don’t forget to check the box “Budget
JE” (NOTE: This will bring forward the carryforward budget adjustment associated with
the purchase orders to be re-opened). After this has been successfully performed, go
to Post Opening Purchase Orders.
28
CASH RECEIPTS
29
Cash Register and Cashiering
Opening Activity and Cash Drawer Set-Up
Ideally, each cash handler/cashier should have their own cash drawer that they are
responsible for. When setting up the cash drawer each day, the following procedures
should be followed:
1.
Arrange your coin and currency in a consistent manner. The cash drawer is
divided into separate compartments for different coin, currency denominations,
checks, and other items. When possible, you should set-up your cash drawer
with the smaller denominations closer to where you position yourself, and larger
denominations farther away. This set-up will help prevent the accidental
distribution of incorrect denominations.
2.
Each cash drawer has a designated “opening” bank amount. You should count
and verify that the actual amount in the cash drawer at the beginning of the day
agrees to this amount.
3.
When the cash drawer begins to get full and/or several large bills have been
received, paper clip or rubber band excess currency and if time allows transfer
the excess currency from your cash drawer to the safe in the Finance
Department. If the currency is turned over to another person for safekeeping,
make sure you get a receipt from that person for the amount turned over.
4.
Lock all cash and coins in a safe, the cash drawer, or other secure location when
not in use.
5.
NEVER leave your cash drawer unattended unless it is secured.
6.
Never let anyone touch your cash drawer, except under your direct supervision.
Losses, Shortages, and Overages
There is a clear difference between a “loss” and a “shortage”. The difference lies in the
ability of the cash handler to obtain physical custody of the money and how it is
safeguarded. A Shortage is an unintentional collection error, such as giving incorrect
change or not collecting the correct amount. An Overage occurs when you have
collected too much money and cannot immediately return the excess to a specific
customer. A loss occurs when the cash handler has obtained physical custody of
money and then due to reasons like negligence, an act of God or an unlawful action,
cannot deposit the funds into the City Treasury. “Negligence” includes such actions as
leaving City money unattended and not properly safeguarding that money from loss.
Report all losses to your supervisor immediately.
30
Balancing Your Cash Drawer
At the end of the day, the cash handler needs to account for any loss, shortage, or
overage in their cash drawer. This process is known as “balancing” your cash drawer.
This balancing process involves:
1.
Adding the currency, coin, and checks for a total dollar amount on-hand and then
subtracting out the beginning balance. Don’t forget to account for any funds that
may have been removed from the cash drawer for safekeeping during your shift.
2.
Determining the dollar amount that has been collected per the cash register.
3.
Comparing these two amounts. They should be the same.
The balancing process should take place out of public view in a location away from the
collection area to protect the safety of the cash handler.
Locating Cash Differences
Every reasonable attempt should be made to locate cash differences. If you have a
cash shortage or overage, always follow these steps:
1.
Recount all coin and currency to agree with your initial count.
2.
Make sure you have deducted the proper amount as your beginning cash bank.
If the difference is more than $5, continue with the following steps:
1.
Recheck the amounts per the cash register. Do the amounts for checks and
credit card transactions per the cash register agree to your actual count?
2.
If a shortage exists, search the area where you were working. Did anything fall
behind the counter? Look in the cash register and behind the cash drawer. Did
something get stuck there?
3.
Look in wastebaskets around your working area and where you balanced your
cash drawer. Did anything accidentally get thrown away?
The following are situations that frequently happen and can cause out of balance
situations:




Writing illegibly
Taking currency out of strap without breaking the strap and not fully
emptying coin wrappers when opening them.
Writing ending cash down incorrectly.
Handling transactions improperly.
31








Picking up figures incorrectly.
Clipping and wrapping cash incorrectly.
Dropping part of a transaction in the trash.
Cash getting stuck behind the cash drawer.
Not verifying check totals with two tapes.
Not clearing adding machine before using it.
Transposing numbers (is the difference divisible by 9?)
Mixing transactions between multiple drawers.
Below is a listing of possible reasons for hard to find errors:










Not keeping currency separated by each denomination in cash drawer.
Sacrificing accuracy for speed.
Not putting money away immediately after completing a transaction.
Not locking cash drawer when leaving workstation.
Forgetting to pay out cash.
Not counting money twice when paying out.
Not completely finishing a transaction before starting the next.
Adding up cash/checks in your head instead of using an adding machine.
Not looking at cash when you are paying it out.
Being distracted during a transaction.
32
Entering Cash Receipts to the MUNIS Accounting System
MUNIS Accounting System - SUMMARY
The MUNIS Accounting System utilizes the General Revenues/ Payment Processing to
enter cash receipts at the Finance cashiers counter. Receipts are processed by several
cashiers, each having their own separate cash box. At the end of the day, the cash
boxes are balanced with reports that have been generated by the MUNIS General
Revenues Payment Entry System. Below are procedures for the entry of an individual
receipt to the MUNIS System.
MUNIS Accounting System - DETAIL
At the cashier counter a user logs in to their respective computer. The following are
steps to process transactions:
If an Accela payment, follow steps 1 through 14. For any other payment type begin with
step 15.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Click General Revenues
Click Payment Processing
Click Payment Entry
Click small icon with ‘+’ sign to Add
a New Data Record
5. Click Miscellaneous Receipt*
Tab through all the sections of this
screen; a new screen will appear
*If payment is for a specific bill, click on
‘Specific Bill’
A receipt number is automatically
assigned
Enter the customer’s name, citation #,
etc.
Click on the drop down box to obtain
the correct charge code to be used
6. Add a new data record- click the
icon with ’+’ sign
7. In the Payment Details box, enter
information required.
8. In the Charge Details box, enter the
information in the Charge Code box
and the Charge Amount box
9. In G/L Payment Allocation, enter the
correct account number
10. click ADD (F4)
11. click PRINT (F10)
12. insert check into printer
13. after check is endorsed click QUIT
(ESC)
14. click DONE W/RCPT
Insert check face down.
Printer will create a receipt to be given to
the customer. If more than one receipt
is required click PRINT (F10).
TRANSACTION IS COMPLETE.
33
15. click $ icon
16. at Tran Code: enter the code
particular to the payment type
If the tran code is unknown, attempt a
SEARCH.
17. at Comment: enter a brief
description of the transaction
If a business license payment, enter the
name of the business and business
license number.
18. at Unit Fee enter the amount of the
transaction
19. click on ADD (F4)
20. continue with steps 2 through 14
34
Processing Cash Deposits Received by Finance
Processing Cash Deposits Received by Finance - DETAIL
1.
Collect cash/checks received the previous day from all cashiers. Verify all monies
received.
2.
Fill out deposit slips.

Write in the batch number of each group of batched checks and the dollar
amount for each batch on separate lines on the deposit slip.

Write in the currency amount and coin amount on separate lines on a
separate bank deposit slip.
3.
Prepare cash and checks for deposit to bank.

A receipt from the AT Systems ticket book is filled out with the following
information:
DATE:
SHIPPER:
STREET ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE/ZIP CODE
PREPARED BY:
DELIVERY TO:
BRANCH/STORE NO.
CONTENTS
NO. SEALED ITEMS
BAG/SERIAL NO.
SAID TO CONTAIN

Today’s date
City of Vista
600 Eucalyptus Ave.
Vista
CA, 92084
Signature
BANK OF AMERICA
SDCV
Cash/Checks (list separately)
1 (list each item separately)
Number on bank deposit bag
Amount of cash & checks
Tamper resistant bank deposit bag is filled out with the following
information:
CUSTOMER NAME
City of Vista
Store/Location Number Leave blank
Date
Today’s date

Deposit ticket and checks are inserted into appropriate pockets of tamper
resistant bank bag.
NOTE: There are three copies of the receipt form. Leave intact and the courier will sign
and take two copies leaving the yellow copy as our receipt.
4.
Inside a Cash Deposit Only bag, place all currency and coin. Fold with air out
and seal bag. Place the white deposit ticket in the ‘Deposit Ticket Only’ slot and
seal. Checks are put in a separate unencoded check bag.
35
5.
Inside an unencoded check bag, place the batch of checks along with the white
deposit ticket. Fold with air out and seal bag.
6.
Place bags with the AT Systems receipt book in the safe.
36
Recording Property Tax/Revenue
Recording Property Tax/Revenue - SUMMARY
Property tax receipts received by the County of San Diego are reported over 13
apportionment periods during the fiscal year. The City receives a monthly distribution
from the County with the exception of July when both the regular distribution and a
catch-up distribution are received. Monies are direct deposited to the City’s checking
account.
The report from the County is sorted in their account number order. This report needs
to be ‘translated’ to the appropriate City account numbers.
Receiving Cash Deposits - DETAIL
1.
From the County’s Property Tax report run a tape on the following: the Summary
City of Vista, account number 6095/00-99, Net Fund Summary page (the last
page of section) and the Summary Buena Sanit. Maint., account number
6940/00-71, Net Fund Summary. The total of these two funds should equal the
total for the journal entry. Attach the tape to the City of Vista Summary (last
page). This total should equal the journal entry.
2.
Open the Excel file P:\Finance\JEFORM and the property tax worksheet.

The month and period should be the same month as on the
Apportionment date of the report you will need to update the new date the
date should always be the last day of month.

The journal entry number will be the next available number listed in the
Journal Entry binder (located in the Finance Manager’s office).

The apportionment number on the property tax worksheet will need to be
updated to match the report.

To enter each account total go past the summary pages for each fund
(6095/00-99 and 6940/00-71) and enter the net dollar amount from each
column corresponding to the titled pages (some accounts are added
together). NOTE: Negative amounts are recorded as debits. If entered
correctly the totals on the journal entry will equal the report totals.

Make two copies of the Mandatory Trash Collection page (account
number 6095-15) within the City of Vista report.

When finished make two copies of the journal entry, one to file in the
Journal Entry binder and one to attach and file with the property tax report
in the Cash Management Accountant’s top tall filing cabinet in the Tax
File.
3.
Trash collection fees recorded on the Mandatory Trash Collection report are
forwarded to EDCO (the city’s trash collector) to the amount of their annual
contract. Process payment to EDCO as follows:
37





Payment Authorization forms can be found In the Delinquent Trash file.
Fill in the correct apportionment number and net amount from the
worksheet and total. The total should not exceed the remaining balance
on the Purchase Order in the file. If the total does exceed the Purchase
Order balance then the remaining balance on the purchase order is paid
and any remaining funds are kept as fees.
Give to the Finance Manager to approve with a worksheet copy. Make
sure the check is returned for processing.
When the check is returned, mail the check with another copy of the
worksheet to EDCO. Once the PO is processed a copy of the check to
EDCO is not necessary.
Keep a copy of the check and the worksheet in the delinquent trash file
and update the running tape of the PO less the payments.
38
Witness Fee Deposits
Witness Fee Deposits - SUMMARY
An employee of the City is occasionally called upon to appear as an expert witness in
court proceedings. The City is reimbursed for actual costs of the appearance. Any
amounts received in excess of actual costs are directed to the attorney/agency
requesting the appearance.
Witness Fee Deposits - DETAIL
1.
Retrieve the Excel spreadsheet named P:\FINANCE\Witness Fee Deposits.
2.
In Witness Fee Deposits folder you will find examples of the following:

Current Transaction Worksheet

Witness Fee Payments and attached Subpoenas

Copy of the General Ledger Account # 0010000 212320

Payment Authorizations with attached expense costs
3.
When the $150 fee is paid, an entry should be made to the spreadsheet in the
same month as it was entered into the General Ledger. Also entered on the
spreadsheet are the following: employee name, (the employee ordered to
appear by a subpoena as an expert witness) the name of the payer, (who the
check is from) and the name of the attorney requesting the expert witness (the
attorney is paid any amounts in excess of the actual costs for the expert witness
court appearance).
4.
When expense information for the actual costs (for the expert witness) is
received, a payment authorization is written up to pay any amounts in excess of
actual expense to the attorney/agency requesting the expert witness. The
amount in excess of the actual expense paid for the appearance. The difference
is entered in the current month's adjustment column on the worksheet. Enter to
the worksheet:

Pay to: (attorney)

Address: (attorney's address)

Department: Finance

G/L Account number:

Invoice Number: (employee)

Description: Witness Fee - (name of plaintiff/petitioner on subpoena)

Net Amount:

Total Amount: (difference in cost vs. payment received)

Prepared By: (person who writes up the payment authorization)

Approved By: (name of the Finance Manager)

Date: (today's date)
39
5.
When complete, keep the yellow copy in the file attached to the payment
information. Make a copy of the payment information to attach to the original and
give to the Finance Manager to authorize and Accounts Payable Clerk to pay.
40
Posting Cash Receipts to MUNIS Accounting System
Posting Cash Receipts to MUNIS Accounting System - SUMMARY
Cash receipts received into MUNIS General Revenues are posted to the General
Ledger by the Finance Department as soon as is practical. Deposits made directly to
the City’s bank accounts are posted to the General Ledger through journal entries.
Posting Cash Receipts to MUNIS Accounting System - DETAIL
The process to post cash receipts from the MUNIS General Revenues Accounting
System to the General Ledger is as follows:
1.
2.
3.
Navigate to General Revenues>Payment Processing>Payments Journal and
Post. Using the ‘Binoculars’ icon to find a set of data records, enter Both
Payments and Reversal from the drop down menu in the Batch Type box; enter
the date of the batch to be posted in the Batch Entry Date box. Save. The
number of batches found will be listed at the bottom of the screen. It is important
that cashiers have released their batches for the previous day so that all batches
are included to be posted for that day.
Click on the ‘Output-Post’ button. Click on Batch/Receipt and enter the date the
batch entries were made (generally the previous day’s date.) Click ‘Yes’ to post.
After posting is completed, the number of batches posted will appear. Click ‘ok’.
Select File>Output>Output to file and the batch will be spooled to Spool F/M.
Proceed to Dept>Spool F/M. Using the binoculars icon, enter your name for a list
of spooled files. Select Payments Journal and Post and save it as a PDF file in
O:\Finance\Department Only\MUNIS ACCOUNTING JOURNALS\CASH
RECEIPTS JOURNAL\FY 2007-2008. (Be sure to select the correct FY folder.)
Label as Cash Receiptsxxxxxx (month,day,year).
41
TREASURY/CASH MANAGEMENT
42
Investment Procedures
Investment Procedures - SUMMARY
The Deputy City Treasurer reviews the City’s cash balances on a daily basis. As
necessary, cash is transferred between bank accounts, to and from the state’s Local
Agency Investment Fund, or securities are purchased based on established criteria in
accordance with City Council Policy #700-07 Investment of City Funds.
Investment Procedures - DETAIL
Investment Procedures Manual
1.
Purpose
This Investment Procedures Manual is intended to document the internal procedures
that are used to implement the City’s Policy #700-07 Investment of City Funds.
2.
Cashsheet
The Deputy City Treasurer shall be responsible for maintaining the Excel spreadsheet
called Cashsheet, which calculates the daily book balances of the City’s General
Checking Account, the Custody Money Market Sweep Account (where all uninvested
funds held by the custodian of the City’s investments are automatically transferred to on
a daily basis), and the Investment Portfolio.
The General Checking Account is the operating account where most of the receipts of
the City are deposited and most of the accounts payable are disbursed from. This
account is also the “parent” account to the other specialized “zero balance accounts”
(ZBAs) maintained by the City. This means that at the end of each banking day the
City’s bank automatically transfers all money deposited into a ZBA account to the
General Account, and conversely transfers from the General Account to a ZBA account
the funds needed to cover all disbursements from a ZBA account. Therefore, at the end
of each banking day, only the General Account has funds in it, and all ZBA accounts
have zero balances. The following are the ZBA checking accounts maintained by the
City:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Payroll Account
VisTix/Theatre Account
Ambulance Fees Account
Wave Waterpark Account
False Alarm Fines Account
Every morning, the Deputy City Treasurer must download the previous day’s report from
the City’s bank for the General Account, as well as lists of all ZBA transfers to/from the
General Account. The information from these reports is then entered on the Cashsheet
for deposits, ZBA transfers, and returned checks. Wires and other transfers in and out
43
of the General Account (such as revenue from the State or debt service wires) are also
verified and entered (if not previously entered). ZBA activity is also entered on a
separate spreadsheet also located in the Cashsheet Excel file.
Check disbursement figures are entered on the Cashsheet as soon as they are
obtained from accounts payable and void check reports. Wires and other transfers in
and out of the General or Custody Account, and investment transactions are entered as
soon as the information is available.
3.
Calendar of Cash and Investment Activity
The Deputy City Treasurer is responsible for keeping a calendar of all major scheduled
cash and investment activity for the calendar year. An entry is made on each day that
has anticipated cash or investment activity, as soon as that activity becomes known,
showing the activity description and the amount (if known). The following are the items
to be posted on the calendar:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
Investment purchases, sales, calls, and maturities.
Payroll disbursements.
Accounts payable check runs.
Property tax receipts (including redevelopment tax increment).
Sales tax receipts.
Motor vehicle in-lieu receipts.
Highway users tax receipts.
Debt service payments.
Any other large receipts or disbursements scheduled in advance.
4.
Cash Available for Investment
The Deputy City Treasurer must review the cash balances and investment portfolio daily
to determine how much is available for investment. Items to be reviewed should
include:
a) Balance in General Account.
b) Outstanding checks in all accounts.
c) Holds placed by bank on deposits (shown as “float” on daily report from
bank).
d) Balance in Custody Sweep Account.
e) Balance in Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF).
f) Cash flow data.
g) Investment purchases, sales, maturities and calls.
h) Current receipts and anticipated large receipts shown on calendar.
i) Current disbursements and anticipated large disbursements shown on
calendar.
5.
Development of Investment Strategies
The Treasurer and Deputy City Treasurer shall meet periodically to determine the City’s
investment strategies. The following factors shall be considered while developing the
strategies:
44
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
City of Vista’s Investment Policy.
Cash flow data, including maturing investments.
Yield curve.
Current portfolio structure.
Market information from various sources.
These factors should be evaluated within the overall context of passive portfolio
management, although selective active management may occasionally be utilized.
6.
Investment Selection
Information on possible investment types, yields, and maturities is obtained by the
Deputy City Treasurer from various sources, including:
a)
b)
c)
d)
Authorized brokers.
Business publications.
The internet.
Data services, such as Bloomberg.
7.
Purchasing an Investment
If purchasing an investment through a broker, the broker must be approved by the
Treasurer, as specified in the City’s Policy #700-07 Investment of City Funds. The
Deputy City Treasurer should be as specific as possible in requesting offerings from
brokers. The following must be determined prior to contacting brokers or direct issuers:
a) Settlement—cash, regular (next day), corporate (3 business days) or whenissued if a new issue.
b) Amount—either par value or total dollars to be invested.
c) Type of security to be purchased, or type to be excluded.
d) Targeted maturity, or maturity range.
e) Time limit to show offering—5 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.
The Deputy City Treasurer shall select the investment that meets all the criteria of
allowed investments as specified in the City’s Policy #700-07 and that best meets the
City’s needs for safety, liquidity, and yield. After the selection is made, the Deputy City
Treasurer will advise the successful provider that their offering has been selected for
purchase.
After consummation of the transaction, and prior to settlement, the Deputy City
Treasurer should receive the following by fax or email, if a security is being purchased
through a broker:
a) A trade ticket.
b) A Bloomberg security description printout.
c) If the security is callable, a Bloomberg call schedule printout.
45
If the security is being purchased directly from an issuer (for example, commercial
paper purchased directly from the issuing company), a faxed confirmation should be
requested from the issuer containing the following information:
a)
b)
c)
d)
CUSIP number.
Settlement dollar amount.
Settlement date.
Maturity date.
If the investment is a deposit to or withdrawal from LAIF, a LAIF transaction form must
be completed.
The Deputy City Treasurer must verify that all written documentation of a trade that the
City receives from a broker or direct issuer agrees with the City’s records.
8.
Selling or Swapping an Investment
Before a security can be sold (not including withdrawing funds from LAIF or a money
market account) or swapped, the reason for the sale or swap should be discussed by
the Deputy City Treasurer and the Treasurer. The Treasurer must approve the sale or
swap before the transaction occurs.
10.
Settlement & Follow-through
The Deputy City Treasurer must enter the transaction information into the investment
management software used by the City (currently SymPro) and print out a transaction
confirmation. LAIF transactions, however, do not require this confirmation. This
transaction confirmation must be faxed to the City’s custodian (safekeeping agent).
The Deputy City Treasurer must make sure that the funds needed to purchase a
security are either already held by the custodian or are wired to the custodian on the
settlement date.
The custodian must notify the Deputy City Treasurer or Treasurer if a trade fails. In this
event, the Deputy City Treasurer must follow through until all problems are resolved
with the trade.
For purchases (excluding LAIF), the Deputy City Treasurer must fill out an Investment
Purchase Approval form and attach copies of all relevant documents, including trade
tickets and Bloomberg security descriptions. For sales (excluding LAIF), the Deputy
City Treasurer must complete an Investment Sale Approval form and attach any
relevant documents. These forms and attachments must be submitted to the Treasurer
for review and signature. In the absence of the Treasurer, the Finance Manager may
review and sign the transaction.
All transactions, including LAIF deposits and withdrawals, must also be entered on the
Cashsheet.
11.
Monthly Reports & Reconciliations
46
After each month-end, the Deputy City Treasurer must obtain the estimated market
value of all securities owned by the City at month-end. The City currently uses Union
Bank as its custodian, and Union posts a downloadable file with all the relevant market
values on its site on the internet (www.account3000.com/uboc). These market values
must be posted to the investment management software.
Using the information from either the custodian’s internet site or its monthly report
received in the mail, the interest received during the month (excluding LAIF interest)
must be posted to the Cashsheet and the investment management software and
compared to the expected interest as calculated by the investment management
software. Any discrepancies must be investigated and resolved immediately.
The LAIF average interest rate for the month can be obtained by either calling LAIF or
going to the website www.treasurer.ca.gov/. The actual amount of interest posted
quarterly to the City’s LAIF account can be obtained from the mailed notice received
from LAIF, or by calling LAIF. These interest rates and dollar amounts must be posted
to the investment management software. The quarterly interest amount must also be
posted to the Cashsheet.
After all market values, interest amounts received, and interest rates are entered into
the investment management software, the monthly reports must be run. These reports
include:
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Portfolio Summary
Amortization Schedule
Accrued Interest
Interest Earnings
Interest Received
Using the information from these reports, the Treasurer’s Cash Report for the month is
prepared.
The book value of investments per the investment management software, the
Treasurer’s Cash Report, the Cashsheet, and the Custodian’s report must all be
compared, and any differences must be investigated and resolved. After all the journal
entries for the month have been entered into the accounting system, the total in the
cash accounts per the accounting system must also be balanced with the total cash and
investments on the Treasurer’s Cash Report.
A City Council Agenda Report must be prepared for the Treasurer’s Cash Report, and
the entire package must be submitted to the Treasurer for review and approval. After
approval, the package is sent to the City Manager’s Department for approval and
inclusion on the consent calendar of the specified City Council meeting.
12.
Investment Policy Review
At the beginning of each calendar year, and any other time a change in state law or
other circumstances warrant a review and possible change to the City’s Policy 700-07
47
Investment of City Funds, the Treasurer and Deputy City Treasurer shall discuss
possible policy changes. Any suggested changes must be presented to the Investment
Advisory Committee. The Committee may also recommend additional changes to
Policy 700-07. After discussion and approval by the Committee, either the Treasurer or
the Deputy City Treasurer shall prepare a City Council Agenda Report listing all
changes recommended by the Investment Advisory Committee. This Agenda Report
shall be sent to the City Manager’s Department for approval and inclusion in the
specified City Council meeting.
48
Investment Advisory Committee
Investment Advisory Committee - SUMMARY
The Investment Advisory Committee reviews the practices, procedures, and policies of
the City with respect to investment activities. It consists of a representative of the City
Council, a representative of the City Manager’s office (normally the Director of
Finance/Treasurer, who also acts as Chairperson of the Committee), the City Attorney
and four Council nominated representatives of the community. The Committee meets
semi-annually, normally on the fourth Wednesday of April and October.
Investment Advisory Committee - DETAIL
The following duties are performed by the Administrative Secretary to the Director of
Finance/Treasurer in relation to Investment Advisory Committee meetings:
1.
Schedule conference room (Finance Large Conference Room is first choice) for
the semi-annual meeting.
2.
Prepare an agenda for the upcoming meeting. Have the Director of Finance
approve, give the original agenda to the City Clerk’s office and file one copy in
the Investment Advisory Committee folder. (Agenda must be posted by City
Clerk’s office no later than 72 hours prior to the meeting according to the Brown
Act.)
3.
Prepare a MANDATED COSTS REIMBURSEMENT LOG (located at
P:\Finance\Investment Advisory Committee\Mandated Costs Reimbursement
Log). Give original to the City Clerk’s office. File one copy in the Investment
Advisory Committee folder.
4.
Email a copy of the minutes from the previous meeting, the agenda for the
forthcoming meeting, and the Semi-Annual Portfolio Report prepared by the
Deputy City Treasurer to each committee member as soon as they are
completed prior to the meeting.
5.
Call each committee member three to five days prior to the upcoming meeting to
remind them.
6.
Make two or three extra packets of agenda, minutes and Semi-Annual Report
and bring to the meeting (in case a member does not bring their packet).
7.
Set up the conference room half an hour prior to the meeting using the Finance
Department supplies:

Brew a pot of coffee and set out in conference room along with cold water,
hot water for tea, cups, plates, napkins and utensils for refreshments, if
provided. Thermal carafes are provided in the conference room kitchen.
49

Test tape recorder to make sure it is operational. Have extra batteries and
mini-cassette tapes on hand.
8.
Take meeting notes to use as back-up for recorder.
9.
Transcribe minutes within a week of the meeting. Give the original to the
Director of Finance for preliminary review. After minutes are returned, make
necessary changes and return to the Director of Finance for final review. After
any necessary changes have been made, copy and put the final draft minutes in
the Investment Advisory Committee folder.
10.
If members were unable to attend a meeting, send them copies of any handouts
presented at the meeting as soon as possible.
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Monthly Interest Allocation
Monthly Interest Allocation - SUMMARY
At the end of the month an interest distribution is made to each fund participating in the
pool of combined money held by the City. The total interest earned for the month is
prorated among the participating funds based on the cash balance held by each fund at
the end of the month. Funds with a zero or negative cash balance are excluded from
the interest allocation. To ensure that the end-of-the-month cash balance is as accurate
as possible the interest allocation entry is the last entry made to the General Ledger for
the month.
Monthly Interest Allocation - DETAIL
Using the General Ledger worksheets from the Cash Management Accountant, circle
the interest in the last column on the main sheet. Using the other sheet, begin entering
to the Excel spreadsheet as follows:
1.
Copy the file named FINANCE\INTEREST\Int Master over to the end of the
month worksheets.
2.
Change and rename the worksheet title on this new worksheet to the correct
month.
3.
Update the date on the worksheet.
4.
From the listing of cash balances from the accounting system, enter the end-ofthe-month cash balance for all funds.
5.
When the cash balance for each fund has been entered total all funds to ensure
that it matches the report from the accounting system. When it is balanced sort
the first column (A-Z). Enter zero to any funds with a negative end-of-the-month
cash balance.
6.
Enter the Interest Income Suspense 00100000 180710 dollar balance from the
accounting system for the month on the Excel sheet.
Fill out journal entry:
0010000 180710
0010050 451000
FFF0050 451000
Interest Allocation $ Amount = Debit
Interest Allocation $ Amount = Credit (total General Fund Interest
Allocation on worksheet)
Interest Allocation $ Amount = Credit (from each other fund)
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Transmitting Issued/Voided Check Files to the Bank
Transmitting Issued/Voided Check Files to the Bank - SUMMARY
As a security measure to prevent fraud, electronic files of check registers are sent to the
City’s bank whenever either an Accounts Payable or a Payroll run is done. By
submitting check registers to the bank at the time the checks are issued, the bank can
then ensure that the checks being cashed were, in fact, issued by the City.
Transmitting Issued/Voided Check Files to the Bank - DETAIL
When accounts payable and payroll checks are run, files of all the issued checks are
created and saved by the Accounts Payable Clerk and Payroll Accounting Technician.
These files are transmitted to the bank by the Deputy City Treasurer using Bank of
America’s secure web site:
https://elink-http5.bankofamerica.com
The Deputy City Treasurer simply logs on to this web site, selects the positive pay file to
send from P:\Finance\Positve Pay (files will be identified by function and date), and
clicks the “Send” button.
When checks are voided, from the Deputy City Treasurer’s PC, the Deputy City
Treasurer logs into another secure web site:
https://direct.bankofamerica.com
Select Payments Direct Services, Reconciliation, Cancel Issues, and then enter the
check number, amount, and date of the void check.
52
Bank and Check Reconciliations
Bank and Check Reconciliations - SUMMARY
On a monthly basis all cash accounts are reconciled between the General Ledger and
the bank statements. Any differences are accounted for and necessary adjustments are
made.
Bank and Check Reconciliations - DETAIL
General and Payroll Accounts
The reconciliation of the general and payroll accounts is done by the City’s bank, Bank
of America. Information regarding checks (regular check runs, manual checks and
voided checks) processed during the month are electronically submitted to the bank by
the Cash Management Accountant. At month end Bank of America delivers to the City
a listing of all outstanding checks. An Accounting Technician then prepares an Excel
spreadsheet to summarize the month’s activity and reconcile the accounts.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Retrieve the Excel file in the Finance directory named Bankrecon and
select the General (or Payroll) worksheet.
Change and update the date.
Update the spreadsheet with current month’s activity taken from the Bank
of America reports.
Reconcile the balances and fix any errors.
Print and file the report.
Wave Account
Check with the Wave Office Specialist II if we do not have the backup. If necessary fax
her copies of what we're missing.
1.
2.
3.
Retrieve the Excel file Bankrecon and select the Wave Recap worksheet.
Update the data for the current month’s receipts.
Print report.
In the Wave worksheet update the bank reconciliation.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Change and update the date.
Using the Wave Recap and the bank statement, update the data on the
reconciliation sheet.
Reconcile the balances and fix any errors.
Print and file the report.
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Theatre and Ambulance Accounts
Separate and run total tape on receipt slips and enter in appropriate accounts in the
worksheet.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Change and update the date.
Update the new balances and any outstanding items.
Crosscheck against the daily ZBA Activity worksheet from the
Accountant/Deputy City Treasurer.
Reconcile the balances and fix any errors.
Print and file the report.
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Returned Checks
Returned Checks - SUMMARY
Returned checks are recorded by an Accounting Technician. The checks are then
handed back to the department for which the original check was written for collection.
Returned Checks - DETAIL
Ambulance Account
1.
Make a copy of the check and put the copy in the Ambulance bank account file
for reconciliation purposes.
2.
Mail the bank notice with the check to:
Critical Care Specialists Billing
Attn: Colleen
3156 Vista Way, Suite #405
Oceanside, CA 92056
Wave Account
1.
Make a copy of the check and put the copy in the Wave bank account file for
reconciliation purposes.
2.
Send the bank notice with the check to The Wave, attn: Kathy Monroe. If it is
not obvious which revenue account is to be debited, call Kathy for the
information.
General Account
1.
Identify which department the check originated in.

Code Compliance writes the citation number on the front of the check.

Business License stamps ‘Business License’ on the back of the check.

Fire Prevention writes the purpose of check on the front of check.

Sewer Billings stamps “Sewer” on the back of the check

If you can’t identify the department just by looking at the check, look in the
cash receipts back-up documentation.
2.
Identify the account to be debited and write it on the bank notice form.
3.
Make two copies of each check with the check at the bottom of the bank notice.
55


4.
Attach the check to one copy and send to the originating department
Use the second copy to put in the returned check file. This copy will be
attached to the journal entry at the end of the month.
Shred the original bank notice copy.
56
Finance Safe
Finance Safe - SUMMARY
Cash receipts collected at City Hall are processed at the Finance Department cashier’s
counter. To ensure the safety of these monies until they are released to a courier for
transport and deposit with the appropriate banking authority, cash and checks are
locked in a safe located within the Finance Department. The following details the
process for safe keeping of both cash and checks.
Finance Safe - DETAIL
The safe located within the Finance Department, excepting periods when items are
being transferred into or out of the safe, is kept unlocked. A drawer within the safe into
which the daily deposit is placed is kept locked. Entry to the safe requires the
coordinated effort of both a key and a safe combination. Access to the safe is restricted
to only full-time Finance staff members; approximately half of whom are in possession
of a key while the other half has the safe combination. The following process happens
on a daily cycle beginning with the end of the business day:
1.
An individually tagged cash box is possessed by appointed Finance staff
members so that customers can be assisted throughout the day. Shortly before
the close of business, the head cashier counts the main cash box and balances
receipts to reports generated by the Munis Cash Receipting System. Time
permitting, remaining cashiers may also count and balance their cash boxes to
Munis reports of receipts received.
2.
At close of business, each cash box is put into the safe and a notation of the
delivery of cash to the safe is made in the SAFE CONTROL LOG. The safe is
locked by key and a spin of the dial. The entire Finance building is then secured
by lock and an armed response alarm is set.
3.
The following business morning the safe is unlocked and cash boxes are
distributed to the appropriate staff member. A notation is again made in the
SAFE CONTROL LOG. (Every other Friday, half of the staff members arrive one
hour later than normal. During the hour until the remaining staff members arrive
their cash drawers remain key locked in the safe.) During the course of the day,
each cashier has their cash box locked in their individual cash drawers. Keys to
individually locked cash drawers are retained after business hours by each
cashier.
4.
With the exception of the main cash box which has already been done, all cash
boxes are counted and balanced to Munis reports of receipts received. Individual
batches of cash and checks are presented to an Accounting Technician who
makes a final count of cash and checks, notifies cashiers if an entry into the
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Munis system is necessary for any cash overage and/or shortage, and prepares
a bank deposit.
a. Subsequent to preparation of the bank deposit, a Payments Proof batch
transactions summary is printed and the daily batch is then posted to the
General Ledger on a daily basis by an Accounting Technician.
5.
The prepared bank deposit, inserted into a bank-supplied numbered bag with
armored carrier book receipt, is placed into a locked drawer within the safe and
noted in the SAFE CONTROL LOG.
6.
On a daily basis the prepared bank deposit is removed and entrusted to an
armored delivery service. The courier makes notation of this action in the City’s
AT System Log and transports the deposit to the banking authority. The safe is
kept unlocked until individual cash drawers are returned to it at the close of
business.
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General Cash Handling Procedures
General Cash Handling Procedures - SUMMARY
For a variety of reasons departments may have occasion to submit to Finance a batch
of receipts for cash receipting. The purpose of the procedures below is to provide
guidance to departments in how the receipts are to be processed before being
presented to the Finance Department.
General Cash Handling Procedures – DETAIL
1. Checks should be bundled together and have two adding machine tapes
attached that are dated and initialed by the person doing the count.
2. The memo section, or some other available area on the face of the check, should
indicate a reference to the revenue account that the check is being posted to.
This is helpful when checks are returned for various reasons by the bank.
Finance needs to know what account to charge back to if the checks are returned
by the bank.
3. The cover sheet used to count out the cash and checks should have the
preparer’s initials marked in ink.
The Finance Department recommends that a full-size ten-key adding machine be used
for this process.
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WAVE Waterpark Cash Handling Procedures
WAVE Waterpark Cash Handling Procedures - SUMMARY
The WAVE Waterpark is a commercial-like enterprise operating at an off-site location.
The procedures below were developed and written by Community Services personnel
specifically for their needs.
WAVE Waterpark Cash Handling Procedures - DETAIL
Front Line Procedures
Employees assigned to a register will pick up a money till from the Lead and sign in on
the appropriate register.
The Lead must be notified of any problems that occur when an employee signs onto the
register. A new register will be assigned to the employee, if necessary.
Employees will open and count the till to ensure that there is the appropriate amount of
money in the till.
If there is not the appropriate amount of money, then the Lead is called over to verify
the employee’s count and count out the money themselves. If it is still short money,
then the Banker will redo the till and conduct an audit to ensure that the deposit from the
night before is accurate and that the bank is not short money.
Refunds, voids, and employee discounts must be supervised by a Lead.
Employees that are on a break must sign off the register and take their till to the Lead.
At the end of an employee’s shift, the till is counted out. The Lead will separate the
starting till amount in front of the employee. All transactions that occurred on the till are
to be turned in along with the till. This includes all coupons, wristbands used, refunds,
cash, credit card slips, coins, cash out report, and any notes to the Banker.
Overages or shortages require a slip to alert the Banker why the till has an incorrect
dollar amount.
All tills are locked in the vault for the Banker to pick up.
Revenue Leads
The Lead and/or Banker will determine how many tills are needed for the day based on
staff scheduled and estimated attendance.
The Lead will issue tills to employees. One till will be used by the breaker who will be a
“floater” to provide adequate staff coverage during staff breaks and lunch.
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The Lead will supervise front line staff to ensure that proper cash handling procedures
are used. The Lead will also supervise all refunds, voids, and employee discounts to
ensure accuracy.
The Lead will have an extra till to make change as necessary at the various registers. If
the Lead needs more change to distribute, the Banker will be asked to make change.
When staff has completed their work shift, the cash drawer is returned to the Lead. All
coupons, wristbands used, refunds, cash, credit card slips, coins, cash out report, and
any notes to the Banker must be returned with the till.
The Lead is required to turn into the Banker an overall report on each machine listing all
transactions, end balance, and tracking sheet. The Lead is then required to transmit the
sales from the day to the bank before closing out for the day.
The Lead returns all tills to the Banker for the next day operation.
Banker
The Banker sets up the tills the night before or the morning of for park operations.
There is a guide on each till requesting the exact dollar amount and change necessary
to operate the till.
The deposit is then determined as follows:
The Banker breaks down the deposit by each cashier. A typical day has
between 6 and 20 cashiers, depending on the estimated attendance.
Deposit amounts are counted out according to each cashier. This also includes
wristbands used, refunds, voids, and coupons.
Notes are attached to the cash out sheet to alert the Banker of shorts/overages.
Deposits are compared to the notes and total deposit provided by the cashier
and Lead.
Total amounts are entered into a spreadsheet in the vault room. After the
deposit items have been entered and verified, the total deposit amount is
combined. The Banker is then required to enter their name and the current date
into the program.
As needed, the Banker may buy change from the deposit. To ensure accuracy in
providing change, the deposit recorded on the system will reflect the bills taken
and used through the trade.
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The Banker must write up the deposit on the deposit slip. This is the final chance
to verify the total deposit amount. An Armored Transport slip is created, sealed
and locked in the vault.
The Banker will ensure that each receipt transmitted from the day to the bank matches
the credit card statement. The credit cards are then entered on the master cash out
sheet.
The day-end folder is created at the end of the day by the Banker. The folder includes
the following:
The pink deposit slip is for the City’s records.
The Lead’s day-end deposits and notes for each cashier.
The master day-end spreadsheet.
All credit card receipts identified by groups, food, tickets, and merchandise.
The folder is then turned into the office Manager.
Office Manager
The Office Manager receives the day-end folder from the Banker. This information is
entered into the computer system.
The cash amounts are entered first. The day-end for each cashier is compared to what
was reported and recorded. An over/short report is created for each cashier.
Incorrect cash amounts are reviewed. The Park Manger may be able to determine the
over/short by the notes included for each cashier.
If there is no explanation for the over/short, an investigation is initiated. The
investigation may include reviewing the total transactions for the appropriate register,
speaking individually with the cashier, and/or speaking with other employees that were
working on the same day.
Each cashier’s report is compared to coupons, wristbands used, and refunds to verify
that all items are accounted for.
The Office Manager then prints the following reports:
Sales Tax (merchandise and concession items)
Tickets (tickets, programs, swim lessons, private rentals, inner tube rentals, etc.)
Products (merchandise and concession items without taxes included)
Miscellaneous (top products, history, etc.)
The numbers are then reported on the monthly revenue report. Revenues are
accounted for in the appropriate account. Credit card deposits and currency deposits
are listed separately to ensure accuracy. Additionally, food and merchandise items are
combined with sales tax to be reported together.
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The Finance Department will provide the Office Manager with a copy of the monthly
bank statement. Discrepancies between the bank statement and the Wave deposit
records are investigated by the Office Manager and reviewed with the Finance
Department.
Correct reports are forwarded to the Finance Department, Director of Parks and
Community Services and Assistant Director of Parks and Community Services.
Audits
Audits are performed randomly by the Manager on duty. The following are the areas in
which audits are performed:
Cashier accuracy of sales
Mid-day operation for accuracy in till dollar amount
Lost and found items and money
Revenue Lead accounting of tills and deposits
Correct storage of the tills
The mid-day audit requires staff to cash out each cashier being audited, similar to the
end of the day operations.
Cashiers who have accurate tills are rewarded. The cashiers who have experienced
errors receive coaching and if appropriate, re-training and education on cash handling
procedures.
Any employee suspected of stealing money is immediately reported to Personnel and
the Assistant Director of Parks and Community Services. At that time, the next step will
be discussed.
Armored Transport
Armored Transport picks up deposits Monday through Saturday. Since the appropriate
staff aren’t available on Sundays to prepare the deposit, the receipts will be kept in the
safe until the deposit is prepared on Monday.
The picture and names of all Armored Transportation representatives is located in the
vault room to ensure that the appropriate individual is picking up the deposit.
A list of pick up dates is sent to the Armored Transport office in the spring to ensure the
correct number of pick ups from the vault during the season.
The manager on duty will open the vault and hand the deposit, along with the deposit
slip to the Armored Transport representative. The representative will compare the
deposit slip, amounts and inspect the deposit bag. The representative will sign off on
the deposit slip and exit the vault room.
Bank Runs
63
At any particular time, the Waterpark may need change for large bills or to help support
the tills in the vault to operate successfully.
The Park Manager, Office Manager or Admissions Manager are the only employees
allowed to go to the bank to make change.
A slip is created from the vault requesting the amount of change, plus the equal amount
in bills to make the change from the bank. The slip is stamped identifying the Wave and
City of Vista as the requestor.
Bank runs are usually made on as needed basis.
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VisTix Cash Handling Procedures
VisTix Cash Handling Procedures - SUMMARY
VisTix offices are located at an off-site location. Cash received is counted, a deposit
prepared and delivered to the banking authority by Community Service personnel.
VisTix Cash Handling Procedures - DETAIL

Cash drawers are located at the VisTix Office, which is the main location.
Remote cash drawers are also located at the Avo and Moonlight; however, these
are operational only during performances. Each employee has their own
identifiable cash drawer assigned to them. The employee counts to verify the
starting bank balance and signs the Cash Drawer IN/OUT settlement form. The
supervisor also verifies and signs the form.

At the conclusion of each evening, receipts for the scheduled cash drawers are
settled by the employee. The employee counts the cash, checks, and credit
cards from said cash drawer.

A Cash Drawer IN/OUT settlement form is completed and signed by the
employee listing the cash, checks, and credit card totals. Sales for the
Moonlight, Avo, donations, and other tickets are listed on the lower portion of the
form. These sales totals are obtained from the “Close Drawer” report, which the
employee is able to view on the computer.

The employee submits the monies and completed Cash Drawer IN/OUT
settlement form to the supervisor for verification and signature. The supervisor
counts the monies submitted, with the employee present. Upon verification, the
supervisor signs the form. A final “Closed Drawer Report” is printed by the
supervisor for confirmation of the daily sales total. Cash drawers must balance
before anyone is allowed to leave the premises.

The deposit is prepared each evening by the supervisor. Preparation includes
completing a deposit slip for the cash and checks for the day’s sales. Credit card
sales are automatically sent to the bank, but staff must verify amounts sent
electronically. The supervisor makes deposits to Bank of America on Tuesday
through Friday. Deposits are not taken to the bank on Saturday, Sunday, or
Monday; these deposits are held in the safe at the VisTix office, with a log in
system in place for recording deposits into and out of the safe. Access to the
safe is permitted only to the VisTix supervisors.

This procedure is completed daily by the employee and the supervisor.
65
66
GENERAL LEDGER
67
Accounting Periods
Accounting Periods - SUMMARY
To allow for continuity and consistency the accounting cycle of the fiscal year is divided
into separate accounting periods. The first month of the fiscal year, July, is identified as
Period 01, August is Period 02 and so on. At the end of the fiscal year Period 12 is
used for the regular June activity. Fiscal year end adjustments are recorded in Period
13 and dated 06/30/XX.
Accounting Periods - DETAIL
Example of fiscal year calendar:
MONTH
PERIOD NUMBER
July
01
August
02
September
03
October
04
November
05
December
06
January
07
February
08
March
09
April
10
May
11
June
12
Adjustments
13
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Adjusting Journal Entries
Adjusting Journal Entries - SUMMARY
Adjusting journal entries are used to directly record transactions to the City’s general
ledger, which are not otherwise posted through some other system. For example, if the
State directly deposits the City’s monthly sales tax remittance into the City’s bank
account, the general ledger has no way of knowing that this has occurred. In this case
there is no check processed through the cash receipts system, and therefore no posting
to the general ledger. The amount directly deposited must be recorded via an adjusting
journal entry.
Adjusting journal entries may also be used to correct an item that was previously
posted. The adjusting entry could be used to correct the amount, account used, or
timing of a previously recorded transaction. As an example, if a check for gas tax
revenues was received and erroneously posted to property tax revenues, an adjusting
journal entry could be used to correct this situation.
Adjusting Journal Entries - DETAIL
Below are listed a few examples for which adjusting journal entries are used. This is by
no means a complete list. However, it should give the user some idea of the general
nature of adjusting journal entries:








Record checks returned from the bank for non-sufficient funds.
Record interfund transactions, such as loans between funds, as directed by
management or the City Council.
Record revenues directly deposited into the City’s bank accounts.
Record disbursement made directly from the City’s bank accounts, such as wire
transfers.
Allocate interest earnings accumulated during the month to the individual funds
within the City.
Manually post accounting transactions that are not otherwise posted by some
other means. An example of this would be the allocation of postage used by
various departments throughout the month.
Post transactions necessitated by the monthly bank account reconciliation
process.
Entries done at year-end for financial reporting purposes.
A sample of a standard adjusting journal entry sheet used by the City of Vista follows.
The example is presented blank with reference numbers presented within various fields
of the form. Below is an explanation of the purpose or use of each numbered field:
69
1.
This field is the “Prepared By” field. This is where the person preparing the
adjusting journal entry places his or her name. This is important if additional
information is needed regarding the entry. The name of the person that originally
prepared the entry is the logical place to start.
2.
This is the date of the adjusting journal entry as it is posted into the system.
3.
This is the month for which the journal entry is to be posted to. The first three
letters of the month are used followed by the four-digit year, such as “JUN 2001”.
4.
This is where the person reviewing the journal signs off to indicate that they have
reviewed the entry. All journal entries are reviewed at month end by the Finance
Manager.
5.
The date of the review is indicated here.
6.
This is the accounting period to which the entry is being posted. It is directly
related to the date indicated in item No. 3.
7.
This is the number assigned to the journal entry. Adjusting journal entry numbers
are assigned in numerical order. One should look in the three-ring binder that
contains the existing adjusting journal entries and use the next available number.
Numbers are assigned using the two-digit month number followed by a two-digit
entry number. For example, the first adjusting journal entry for the month of
February would be numbered “02-01”, the twelfth entry in August would be “0812”, and so on.
8.
This area is used to enter the account number for a given line item of the
adjusting journal entry.
9.
This area is used to enter a description for a given line item of the adjusting
journal entry. Currently, the length of the description that can be accepted by the
accounting system is 30 characters long.
10.
This is where either the debit amount or credit amount of a given line of the
adjusting journal entry is filled in. Amounts shown as credits need not have
brackets around them. The column is already clearly labeled as the credit
column.
11.
This area is reserved for providing additional narrative explanation as to the
purpose of the adjusting journal entry or any other narrative information needed
for documentation purposes.
Once the adjusting journal entry sheet has been completely filled out, supporting
documentation should be attached behind the adjusting journal entry sheet. It should
be noted that a single adjusting journal entry sheet could be used to prepare entries for
several different items that need to be posted. In other words, if you have five different
70
items that need posting, there is no need to use five separate journal entry sheets.
They may all be consolidated onto one sheet to save time and space.
Once entered, adjusting journal entries should be placed in the three-ring binder that
has been designated for their storage.
Following the sample blank Journal Entry is an actual copy of a prepared adjusting
journal entry sheet so that you can have some feel for what one looks like when
completed.
Many times, departments outside of the Finance Department are the ones that are
requesting that an adjusting journal entry be prepared to correct or reflect certain
accounting information. A Request for Journal Entry form has been developed by the
Finance Department to assist outside departments in properly preparing the information
needed to allow for the accurate preparation of an adjusting journal entry. The form
follows.
Refer to the existing and current software documentation as to the exact procedure for
the actual input of the adjusting journal entry into the accounting system.
71
Sample Standard Adjusting Journal Entry
JOURNAL ENTRY
PREPRAED BY: 1
DATE: 2
MONTH: 3
REVIEWED BY: 4
DATE: 5
PERIOD: 6
LINE
DATE ENTERED:
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
ACCOUNT #
8
JE #: 7
DESCRIPTION
9
TOTAL
NET
EXPLANATION:11
72
DEBIT
CREDIT
10
10
Sample Completed Journal Entry
JOURNAL ENTRY
PREPRAED BY: DALE NIELSEN
DATE: 02/28/01
MONTH: FEB 2001
REVIEWED BY:
DATE:
PERIOD: 08
LINE
DATE ENTERED:
ACCOUNT #
01
001.1557.0000
02
001.3546.0000
03
001.3400.0000
04
301.4830.0001
05
902.1925.0000
06
902.2736.0001
07
301.5805.7901
08
110.4630.0000
09
110.4632.0000
10
11
12
13
14
15
001.4030.0000
001.4030.0001
001.4031.0001
001.4790.0000
001.4031.0000
001.4031.0001
16
17
001.4031.0000
001.4031.0001
DESCRIPTION
JE #: 02-01
DEBIT
01/24/01 HAC DEV FEE
$17,350.20
REQUEST
01/24/01 HAC DEV FEE
REQUEST
01/24/01 HAC DEV FEE
17,350.20
REQUEST
01/24/01 HAC DEV FEE
REQUEST
01/24/01 HAC DEV FEE
17,350.20
REQUEST
01/24/01 HAC DEV FEE
REQUEST
01/24/01 HAC DEV FEE
17,350.20
REQUEST
01/24/01 HAC DEV FEE
REQUEST
01/24/01 HAC DEV FEE
REQUEST
CANCEL AJE 09-13
CANCEL AJE 09-13
1,625.84
RECLASS TO 001.4790.0000
117,682.80
02/12/01 FINANCE
TO 001.4031.0001
REVERSE YEAREND ENTRY
27,604.22
13-32
TO 001.4031.0001
91,827.68
09/22 FINANCE 9/00 EDCO
FRANCH FEE
TOTAL
$308,141.34
NET
$0.00
CREDIT
$17,350.20
17,350.20
17,350.20
7,308.00
10,042.20
1,625.84
117,682.80
27,604.22
91,827.68
$308,141.34
EXPLANATION: 1-9: To record the payment of development fees to the City by the
RDA on behalf of the developer (Olson) for the Hacienda CFD.
73
10-11: To cancel AJE 09-13 which correct and entry that had already been corrected.
12-13: To reclassify a receipt from EDCO trash company that was posted to franchise
fee revenue that should have been recorded as recycling revenue.
14-17: To correct postings made to the wrong franchise fee account.
74
Sample Request for Journal Entry
Name of Requestor:
CITY OF VISTA
REQUEST FOR JOURNAL ENTRY
Dept.:
Purpose of Journal Entry (check one):
to correct a previous expenditure or receipt that was posted to the wrong
account
to charge a dept./account for goods paid for or services rendered by another
dept./account
to reclassify previously recorded expenditures/receipts (e.g. ticket sales applied
to theater rental or a new account being set up
Expenditure/Asset to Increase
Revenue/Liability to Decrease
Acct. #
Account Name
Amount
Expenditure/Asset to Decrease
Revenue/Liability to Increase
Acct. #
Account Name
Amount
Explanation (please attach all supporting documentation).
Approved By:
Print Dept. Head Name
Dept. Head Signature
75
Date
Budget Adjustment Entries
Budget Adjustment Entries - SUMMARY
Budget adjustment entries are used to modify the existing budgetary amounts for both
revenue (“Estimated Revenues”) and expenditure (“Appropriations”) accounts. The
entry may be used to either increase or decrease the budgeted amount within a
revenue or expenditure account.
Budget Adjustment Entries - DETAIL
Budget adjustments usually originate in one of two ways:
1.
City Manager approved adjustments. These budget adjustments are usually
derived from a department head requesting a budgetary change within their
departmental accounts or from the City Manager to re-align current budget
amounts to achieve a specified objective. The City Manager has the authority to
approve budget adjustments “to appropriations as from time-to-time may be
necessary and proper to accomplish the purposes, programs and services of the
Approved Budget, as amended within each account or between accounts within
the same Fund, provided that the total appropriations of the Fund are not
affected”. Budget adjustments approved by the City Manager, or his/her
designee, are originated by the completion of a memo to the City Manager and
approval by the City Manager for the requested budget adjustment. A sample of
the Memorandum used to request City Manager approval for a budget
adjustment is attached.
2.
City Council approved adjustments. These are budget adjustments that are
approved by way of specific City Council action taken during the meeting of the
City Council. The Council may also approve budget adjustments when they sit
as the governing board of the Community Development Commission, the Buena
Sanitation District, or the Vista Joint Powers Financing Authority. The City
Council approves budget adjustments to meet the specific objectives of the
Council, or to approve those requested budget adjustments that are beyond the
scope of the City Manager’s approval authority. In most cases, budget
adjustments approved by the City Council are memorialized by way of a budget
adjustment resolution. An example of a typical budget adjustment resolution is
attached as an example.
Generally speaking, budget adjustments that only affect expenditure (appropriations)
accounts within a given fund are done by way of City Manger approval as long as total
appropriations within the fund are not changed. By contrast, those budget adjustments
that affect revenue accounts (estimated revenues) and/or deal with larger dollar amount
items usually are approved by Council action.
76
Attached is an example of the standard budget journal entry sheet that is used by the
City of Vista. The example is presented blank with reference numbers presented within
various fields of the form. Below is an explanation of the purpose or use of each
numbered field:
1.
This field is the “Prepared By” field. This is where the person preparing the
budget journal entry places his or her name. This information is important if
additional information is needed regarding the entry. The name of the person
that originally prepared the entry is the logical place to start.
2.
This is the date of the budget journal entry as it is posted into the system.
3.
This is the month for which the budget entry is to be posted. The first three
letters of the month are used followed by the four-digit year, such as “JUN 2001”.
4.
This is where the person reviewing the budget journal signs off to indicate that
they have reviewed the entry. Budget journal entries should be reviewed and
signed off by the supervisor of the person preparing the entry.
5.
The date of the review is indicated here.
6.
This is the accounting period to which the budget entry is being posted. It is
directly related to the date indicated in item No. 3.
7.
This is the number assigned to the budget journal entry. Budget journal entry
numbers are assigned in numerical order. One should look in the three-ring
binder that contains the existing budget journal entries and use the next available
number. Numbers are assigned using the two-digit month number followed by a
two-digit entry number. For example, the first budget journal entry for the month
of February would be numbered “02-01”, the twelfth entry in August would be
“08-12”, and so on.
8.
This area is used to enter the account number for a given line item of the budget
journal entry. For budget journal entries, only revenue and expenditure accounts
are appropriate to use for budget adjustments. Do not try to post a budget
adjustment to a balance sheet account.
9.
This area is used to enter a description for a given line item of the budget journal
entry. The description should indicate to what account the adjustment is going to
or coming from. Budget adjustments approved by Council should indicate the
Council date that the action took place and the budget resolution number, if any,
that the Council approved. Currently, the length of the description that can be
accepted by the accounting system is 30 characters long.
10.
This is where either the increase or decrease amount of a given line of the
budget journal entry is placed. Amounts shown as decreases need not have
77
brackets around them. The column is already clearly labeled as the decrease
column.
11.
This area is reserved for providing additional narrative explanation as to the
purpose of the budget journal entry or any other narrative information needed for
documentation purposes.
Once the budget journal entry sheet has been completely filled out, supporting
documentation should be attached behind the budget journal entry sheet. The
supporting documentation should be in the form of the approved budget transfer
memorandum from the City Manger’s Office or a copy of the approved Council budget
adjustment resolution. It should be noted that a single budget journal entry sheet could
be used to prepare entries for several different items that need to be posted. In other
words, if you have five different items that need posting, there is no need to use five
separate budget journal entry sheets. They may all be consolidated onto one sheet to
save time and space.
Following the blank budget journal entry sheet is an example of an actual copy of a
completed budget journal entry sheet.
A budget adjustment entry may also require an adjusting journal entry to achieve the
intended results. Budget journal entries automatically assume that the offsetting entry
amount, for either estimated revenues or appropriations, is posted directly to
unreserved, undesignated fund balance. Many times, examination of the budget
resolution approved by the City Council reveals that the intended budget action was to
be funded by either a reserved or designated fund balance source. In this case, an
adjusting journal entry must be done to move amounts between the undesignated and
the designated or reserved fund balance accounts to achieve the proper results.
Another case that will almost always require an adjusting journal entry to accompany a
budget journal entry to achieve the intended results is in the case of operating transfers
approved by the City Council. The Council may approve an operating transfer by way
of a budget resolution, but posting the budget entry into the system does not actually
move the funds. It only documents within the accounting system that the transfer has
been approved. An adjusting journal entry must be done to actually move the cash from
one fund to another.
Once entered, budget journal entries should be placed in the three-ring binder that has
been designated for their storage. This binder is located in the Finance Manager’s
office.
Refer to the existing and current software documentation, as to the exact procedure for
the actual input of the budget journal entry into the accounting system.
78
Sample Request for Budget Transfer
Memorandum
To:
_______name_______, Assistant City Manager
CC:
From:
Date:
Re: Request for Budget Transfer
________________________________________________________________
Please transfer appropriations as follows:
AMOUNT
FROM
TO
EXPLANATION (If more space is required please attach continuation sheet):
APPROVED BY:
____________________________________
Department Head
_____________________
Date
____________________________________
Name, Assistant City Manager
_____________________
Date
79
Sample of Resolution Attachment
Resolution No. 2000-___
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF VISTA CALIFORNIA
AMENDING THE OPERATING BUDGET FOR THE 1999-2001 FISCAL YEARS
WHEREAS, on June 8, 1999, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 99-94
approving the operating budget for the 1999-2001 fiscal years; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to amend the operating budget at this time.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Vista,
that the operating budget for the 2000-2001 fiscal year is hereby amended as follows:
Account Number
001.5.180.4240
001.3.400.0000
Account Description
Homeless Programs
Fund Balance
Est. Revenue=/Use of Fund Balance
Appropriation
$60,000
($60,000)
Appropriations are hereby made from General Fund fund balance for the purpose of
funding an interim shelter located at 890 East Vista Way.
The Finance Director is hereby authorized and directed to enter these adjustments into
the appropriate accounts of the City.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Vista at a regular meeting
thereof held on the 8th day of August, 2000 by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
___________________________
GLORIA E. MC CLELLAN, Mayor
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
J. Wayne Dernetz, City Attorney
ATTEST:
Jo Seibert, City Clerk
By: ______________________
__________________________
80
Sample Budget Journal Entry
BUDGET JOURNAL ENTRY
PREPRAED BY: : 1
DATE: : 2
MONTH: : 3
REVIEWED BY: : 4
DATE: : 5
PERIOD: : 6
LINE
JE #:: 7
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
ACCOUNT #
8
DESCRIPTION
9
INCREASE
10
TOTALS
NET
EXPLANATION: 11
81
DECREASE
10
Sample Completed Budget Journal Entry
BUDGET JOURNAL ENTRY
PREPRAED BY:
DATE:
MONTH:
REVIEWED BY:
DATE:
PERIOD:
LINE
JE #:
ACCOUNT #
01
02
03
04
05
06
07
001.5180.4800
001.5180.5600
001.5190.4200
001.5520.4200
001.5180.4800
001.5180.7400
301.4830.0001
DESCRIPTION
INCREASE
DECREASE
TO 5600
$865.87
FROM 4800
$865.87
TO 001.5520.4200
1610.00
FROM 001.5190.4200
1610.00
TO 7400
2667.89
FROM 4800
2667.89
01/24/01 HAC DEV FEE
17350.20
REQUEST
08 301.5805.7901
01/24/01 HAC DEV FEE
17350.20
REQUEST
09 314.7555.4241
02/13/01 RES 2001-7
98015.28
10 302.7555.7100
02/13/01 RES 2001-7
129129.11
11 314.7554.7312
02/13/01 RES 2001-7
56420.78
12 314.7556.7300
02/13/01 RES 2001-7
13353.92
13 314.7554.7300
02/13/01 RES 2001-7
28240.58
14 302.7554.7300
02/13/01 RES 2001-7
129129.11
15 108.5460.5600
TO 1410
13000.00
16 108.5460.1410
FROM 5600
13000.00
17 001.5180.5600
TO 001.5170.5966
15000.00
18 001.5171.5966
FROM 001.5180.5600
15000.00
19 001.5170.5600
TO 5111
350.00
20 001.5170.5111
FROM 5600
350.00
21 001.5150.4200
TO 4310
68.00
22 001.5150.4310
FROM 4200
68.00
23 001.5150.3100
TO 5111
216.00
24 001.5150.5111
FROM 5600
216.00
TOTALS
$295622.55
$260922.15
NET
$34700.40
EXPLANATION: 1-6: Post budget adj. requested by depts. w/CM approval.
7-8: Post budget entries required per Loan No. 2000-03.
9-14: Post budget adj. approved by City Council.
15-14 Post budget adj. requested by depts. w/CM approval.
82
Business Improvement District
Matching Payment
Business Improvement District - SUMMARY
A Business Improvement District (BID) is run similarly to an assessment district. The
businesses within the district make agreed upon payments to the City. The City also
makes contributions based on an annually appropriated amount. From this pool of
money the City pays invoices associated with improvement of the business district. See
Vista Municipal Code Chapter 3.52, Section 3.52.010 through 3.52.90.
This program was on hold and was not in place for fiscal years 2000-01 and 2001-02. It
was reinstated beginning fiscal year 2002-03.
Business Improvement District - DETAIL
Business Improvement District (BID) Fees are collected by the business license staff
and deposited into a liability account based on the fiscal year that it is for.
After all cash receipts and relevant journal entries for a month have been updated and
balanced, printouts of each of the above accounts must be run to determine the total
receipts for that month. Based on these receipts, the spreadsheet CALCULATION OF
BID FUNDS DUE TO VVBA (see example following) is then prepared for the month.
The spreadsheet automatically deducts the 5% Administration Fee due to the City from
all delinquent fees collected for fiscal years prior to FY02/03. It also deducts 5% for the
current fiscal year, which will be retained in the current year collection account until it is
verified whether VVBA (Vista Village Business Association) has met certain delinquent
account collection effort conditions. If they do not meet the conditions, the 5% retained
will be transferred to the City as an Administration Fee. If they do meet the conditions,
the 5% Administration Fee will be waived and the funds retained will be transferred to
the VVBA account.
Matching funds from the City are also added to the amount due VVBA on the
spreadsheet based on the total collections during the month for the current fiscal year
(before the 5% deduction). However, the City Council sets a cap on the total amount of
matching funds that may be paid to the VVBA each year, so the spreadsheet also
includes a calculation of the balance of the matching funds available. Once the total
matching funds paid to the VVBA reaches the cap for that year, no additional matching
funds will be paid for that year. At the end of the fiscal year, even if the cap for
matching funds has not been reached, no further matching funds will be paid for that
fiscal year (no matching funds are paid on collections for prior fiscal years).
After the spreadsheet is completed, a journal entry is prepared to transfer the net BID
fees and matching funds to the liability account titled “Due to VVBA for BID”, account
83
number 301.2.271.0000. This account will be used to reimburse VVBA for expenditures
approved by the City’s Economic Development Department Head. After the journal
entry is entered, a copy of the spreadsheet is sent to the Economic Development
Department.
84
Calculation of BID Funds to VVBA
Delinquent Fees Collected:
FY 95-96
FY 96-97
FY97-98
FY 98-99
FY 99-00
Total Delinquent Fees
Less 5% Admin. Fee to City
DELINQUENT FEES DUE TO VVBA
Account #
301.2.270.0000
301.2.270.0001
301.2.270.0002
301.2.270.0003
301.2.270.0004
454.00
684.00
557.69
3,163.16
<485.25>
4,373.60
<218.68>
001.4.792.0000
4,154.92
Current Fees Collected:
FY 02-03
Less 5% Retention*
Plus Matching Funds**
CURRENT FEES DUE TO VVBA
Account #
301.2.270.0005
301.2.270.0005
301.5.805.4201
2,276.64
<113.83>
2,276.64
4,439.45
TOTAL DUE TO VVBA
8,594.37
*5% current year administration fee to be waived if certain collection effort conditions
are met by VVBA. This 5% will be retained in the current year collection account until
it is verified whether or not those conditions have been met.
**Matching funds balance after above disbursement:
30,000.00 07-01 Beginning Balance
<2,276.64> Matching Funds Disbursed Above
27,723.36 Matching Funds Unexpended Balance
85
Tax Lien Verification
Budget Adjustment Entries - SUMMARY
From time-to time, the Finance Department, specifically the Treasurer, will be asked to
sign-off on proposed parcel maps as prepared by the Engineering Department. As part
of this sign-off procedure, the Treasurer is being asked to attest to the existence of any
outstanding delinquent tax levies that are against the property.
Budget Adjustment Entries - DETAIL
The procedures for determining if any delinquent tax levies are as follows:
1.
The Engineering Department will bring over the proposed map to obtain the
signature of the Treasurer as discussed above. Usually, the engineer that has
prepared the map will include a listing of the assessor parcel numbers (APN’s)
that are affected by the proposed map. If the APN’s are not included, you must
contact the engineer that prepared the map and obtain the APN’s. These
numbers are needed to do the search to determine if there are any outstanding
delinquent tax levies against the properties contained within the proposed map.
2.
Once you have obtained the needed APN’s, you must then log onto the County
of San Diego’s Treasurer-Tax Collector website. The address for this website is:
https://www.sdctreastax.com/ebpp3/
3.
Once you have connected to the web page, enter the 10 digit parcel number (do
not include spaces or dashes) in the box labeled “Bill Number” and click on the
“Begin Search” button.
4.
The County system will search out the indicated parcel number and display the
current year property tax levy and payment information. This page should be
printed and kept as part of the record documenting the search for unpaid tax
levy.
86
5.
If a search for more than one parcel is needed, click on “New Search” at the
bottom of the page to repeat the procedure.
6.
After obtaining and printing the information desired for all needed parcel
numbers, the printed pages should be given to the City Treasurer for
examination. Once the Treasurer has examined the information, the map tract
numbers should be written on the pages obtained from the County and filed,
documenting that the search for delinquent tax levies was performed.
7.
The documents should be filed in MUFF’s number 1503-20 in a folder titled
‘Treasurer/Tax Collector Parcel Tracts’. This folder can be found in the Finance
Department Secretary’s office.
8.
If the APN number is not available through this method call the Tax Collector’s
Office, 619-531-5464, and ask the County for assistance in researching the
necessary information.
In certain instances, the amount of taxes due (including special taxes) on a given parcel
will exceed $99,999.99. When this is the case, the County splits the tax bill into multiple
billings by setting up ghost parcel numbers to go along with the original parcel number.
These ghost parcel numbers always begin with the three numbers “999”. The County
87
does this because at this time their current billing system can not accommodate
amounts in excess of $99,999.99. If you have any reason to suspect that the total taxes
due, including special taxes, on a given parcel may exceed this threshold, you should
contact the County to make sure that all taxes on the “999-??-??-??” ghost parcel
numbers are current and that no delinquencies exist. At the time that you call you will
have no idea what the ghost parcel number is (except for the fact that it starts with
“999”). However, once you provide the County with the real parcel number, they will be
able to check for the existence of any related “ghost” parcel numbers that have been
created.
88
Deferred Street Construction
Deferred Street Construction - SUMMARY
The City requires property owners to either make street frontage improvements as part
of construction or deposit with the City “in-lieu" fees. At a future point in time those
monies will be used by the City to make the street improvements. To insure the fair,
consistent and legal treatment of these receipts, the following policies and procedures,
effective December 20, 2000, have been established.
Deferred Street Construction - DETAIL
When the City receives a payment from a property owner “in lieu” of making street
frontage improvements, this payment is recorded in an account called Deferred Street
Construction. In the past, this account was set up under the Development Fund.
However, since this money is collected to pay for making specific future street
improvements, and does not belong to the City, these funds have been transferred to a
new trust fund called Deferred Street Construction.
The City Attorney has indicated no express legal requirement that interest be paid to the
Deferred Street Construction Fund. However, it seems prudent to credit interest to the
fund to assure that the original purpose of the payment is protected from inflation.
The Cash Management Accountant keeps a spreadsheet showing each payment
received, the address it was received for, interest allocated to each receipt,
expenditures, refunds, and the balance remaining. Interest will be allocated to the
entire fund on a monthly basis, but the total amount for the year will only be allocated at
fiscal year-end to those individual receipts that have not been appropriated by year-end.
When an appropriation is made for a street project using deferred street construction
funds, an expenditure account will be set up in the General Fund. The amount of the
appropriation will be transferred from the Deferred Street Construction Fund to the
General Fund. No interest shall be credited to this account in the fiscal year that the
appropriation is made in any subsequent year.
After the project is completed, any remaining balance of the principal amount (not
including interest earnings) will be refunded to the person who paid it, if known. If the
current property owner is not the person who paid it, the monies will not be refunded to
him/her, since that would result in a windfall to this owner. If the person who paid it is
not known or cannot be found, and the principal balance is not claimed by them, the
money will be considered abandoned. It will then be transferred to a revenue account in
the General Fund, following the procedures set forth in the City Attorney’s legal advisory
on abandoned and unclaimed property.
89
Any interest earnings remaining in the account upon completion of the project shall be
transferred to a revenue account in the General Fund, since the City is not required to
pay interest on the in-lieu receipts.
If it is determined that the project for which the money was received will never be
constructed by the City, then the total balance of principal plus interest-to-date shall be
refunded to the person who paid it. As stated previously, if that person is not known or
found, the money will become the property of the City and will be transferred to a
revenue account in the General Fund after the procedures for unclaimed money are
followed.
90
ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE
91
Accounts Receivable
Accounts Receivable - SUMMARY
There are several different categories that the City bills accounts receivables for. The
majority of the invoices prepared are for the Sheriff’s Dept. for DUI’s and fire permits for
the Fire Dept. The City is charged by the Sheriff’s Dept. for the cost of the time spent
on each case. Per the City of Vista 53150 Ordinance Code ‘Costs of Emergency
Response’, a person that causes an incident relating to DUI in the City of Vista is held
liable for the expense to the City. When a ‘Cost Recovery Statement’ is received the
total cost is billed to the party responsible for the DUI.
The AR process includes 1) setting up customer information, 2) preparing an invoice
and mailing it, a letter and in the case of a DUI, a copy of the DUI restitution code, 3)
posting payments and 4) generating monthly statements for unpaid invoices.
Accounts Receivable - DETAIL
The procedure for preparing accounts receivable invoices/statements is:
1.
Navigate to Munis Application Menu>General Revenues>General
Billing>Auxiliary Programs>Customer F/M.
2.
Enter the information to set up a new customer.
3.
Once the customer(s) has been set up, proceed to General Revenues>General
Billing>Invoice Processing>Invoice Entry and Proof and enter the information
necessary to complete the invoice. When all invoice information has been
entered, a batch may be viewed for accuracy. If there are no errors on the batch
list proceed to post the batch of invoices by selecting File>Output>Output to File
and the batch will be spooled to Spool F/M. Proceed to Dept>Spool F/M to print
the list of new invoices. Invoices can now be printed by selecting General
Billing>Invoice Processing>Print Invoices>Define>Specific date (which will be the
date invoices were entered.)
4.
Select the General Revenues>General Billing>Reports and End of Period>Print
Statements to print statements.
5.
If an invoice adjustment is necessary, select General Revenues>General
Billing>Invoice Processing>Invoice Maintenance/Inquiry. When the invoice
adjustment has been adjusted, go to Output>Output to file>Report Title. Proceed
to Department>Spool F/M to print the invoice adjustment.
6.
When payments are received from customers, payment instrument is coded with
the invoice number and forwarded to the cashier for payment entry. When
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payment has been entered into Munis payment entry, the specific customers
account will be credited.
If after 90 days payment has not been received from the customer, arrangements are
made to send copies of the customer’s materials to collections. The collection agency
makes contact with the customer for collection of payment. The City does receive a
portion of those revenues collected from said customer by the collection agency.
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CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
94
General Methodology
General Methodology - SUMMARY
Capital improvements are initiated at the direction of the departments and approved by
the City Manager or City Council. A draft budget is submitted to Finance and then to
the City Council for approval. Once approved the Finance Department maintains
budgets, off-cycle funding and transfers between funding sources; reviews expenses
and revenues; and monitors available unspent balances for all CIP projects on an on
going basis.
General Methodology - DETAIL
Maintain file on all capital projects:
1.
Cover Sheet – Outlines history of budget and appropriated amounts,
expenditures to-date, encumbrances to-date, any adjustments and the
unencumbered balances.
2.
Budget Reconciliation – Includes a copy of all yearly budgets on projects along
with a reconciliation summary by year.
3.
Purchase Order Detail – Includes analysis on all purchase orders related to
project and payment history with current open purchase order balances. This will
tie into the encumbrances for that project.
4.
Received/Expended Spreadsheet – This outlines history of all monies received
and expended on the project.
5.
Staff Reports, Resolutions, Budget Adjustments, etc. – All correspondence
regarding projects will be kept on file.
Review of all Requisitions, Purchase Order Amendments and Invoices paid:
1.
Requisitions – Review requisition before they are entered into the system to
ensure that they are being set up with proper amounts and account numbers.
Insure that proper documentation is attached as backup and proper approval has
been obtained before facilitating the requisition. This insures that all checks and
balances are in place.
2.
Purchase Order Amendments – Review to ensure that appropriate backup is
attached and the amount and account numbers are the same as indicated in the
Staff Report and/or Resolution.
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3.
Invoice Payments – Review invoices to ensure that the work has been approved,
proper account numbers have been charged, and to provide an additional check
to avoid duplicate payments or overpayments, and to make sure that all records
agree with the vendor’s as far as the revised contract amount, payments
received and balance outstanding.
Compile and update weekly changes to projects:
1.
Compile Changes to Projects – Review, compile and update all changes to each
project on a weekly basis. These updates will be entered into the spreadsheet
kept on each project.
2.
Summary of All Projects – A spreadsheet summarizing all projects detailing
funding source appropriations, expenditures, encumbrances and unencumbered
balances to date is kept.
NOTE: These procedures for reviewing all documents related to any CIP is the only
way to ensure that information is current and updated for each project.
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BUSINESS LICENSE
97
Business License
Business License - SUMMARY
The practice of collecting business licenses is enacted solely to raise revenue for
municipal purposes, and is not intended for regulations. For additional information see
the City of Vista Municipal Code, Chapter 5.04 for details of the business license
ordinance. For additional details of daily procedures see the supervisor’s copy of the
Business License Procedures Manual. In addition to the business licenses, the office
issues and monitors several ancillary regulatory permits for other city departments.
Business License - DETAIL
Definitions/Jargon used in Business License
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BL: business license
HdL: Business license software (software provider is Hinderliter del Lamas
HOP: Home Occupation Permit
DSC: Development Services Center (Planning, zoning review on business licenses)
IC: Independent Contractor (receives 1099 form for work done; no payroll taxes
removed from check when they are paid)
Employee: Payroll taxes removed from their check when they are paid; receive a W-2
form at the end of the year (not a 1099 form)
Vendor: Business does business for the City and is paid through accounts payable.
MJC: Minimum Job Contractor; business is a contractor whose base of operation is
outside the City limits or from another city. They only come to Vista to do individual jobs.
BID: Downtown Business Improvement District operated by Vista Village Business
Association (VVBA). The city collects BID fees along with the BL fees and transmits
them to the VVBA.
GR: Gross receipts - earnings or sales of company before deductions are made from
the sales. Not net profit or net receipts.
VMC: Vista Municipal Code – the laws that governs how we handle business licensees
and other license functions.
PC: Unlicensed business spreadsheet. PC stands for postcard; originally we sent
postcards to unlicensed owners, but stopped doing it a long time ago. The PC
designation just ‘stuck’.
Critical change: This is an editing change to a license that must be done before the
license is printed. Sometimes, these changes also trigger zoning review or some other
permit process. Critical changes are modifications to business name, owner name,
mailing or site address or business type.
Non-critical change: Changes to other data.
Corporate Apportionment: Rate type used rarely when business does not have
traditional gross receipts (sales) for the location (research and development firms,
warehouses (where there is a business license in another city, etc). Requires supervisor
approval (see process below).
DBA: Fictitious Business Name (“doing business as”)
AKA: “Also known as”
SBOE: ‘seller’s permit’ issued by the State board of equalization.
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Screening Business License Phone Calls/Counter Visits
Person wants to open a business

Ask if they have ever had a license if Vista before (this business or other
businesses). If so, look up the prior license(s) to see what happened on
them or to see if we can reinstate the prior license (must have same
address/owner/type of business).

Ask if they received a letter from us about a business license issue. If so,
look them up on the unlicensed spreadsheet to see what the situation is.

Ask if the business is closing another business at the same location. If so,
we need to take steps to close that business license.

Is the business located downtown (subject to BID fees).

Find out what kind of business it is and where it will be located.

Provide them an application, Home Occupation Permit form (if they will be
working out of their home) and brochure Key Steps to Starting a Business.
You can fax, mail or ask them to download these from the City website.

If they are in HdL or on the unlicensed spreadsheet, update notes in the
appropriate database.

If they are not in HdL or on the unlicensed spreadsheet, add them to the
bottom of the unlicensed spreadsheet. The evidence can be 'owner
requested application' if nothing else fits the situation.
Person has question about where the location of the business should be on their
application:

They may not use a Post Office box or mail receiving agency address for
a business site address per State law. They can use tyis type of address
for the mailing address.

The address should be the location they will be working from.

If this is a business located outside the city that has a job here, show their
normal business address, but show under notes where the job is located,
who the general contractor is and what the job dates are.

If person wants to keep the address confidential, we can protect it
somewhat by coding HdL to not print the address on lists and we won’t
give it out to others without City Attorney direction. However, if we receive
a request under the Public Records Act or are subpoenaed, we would be
legally required to give it out. (Coding is * in front of the street # and “addr
pblm” in the inspection area box.
Person has a question about amount to be paid (more details in payment processing
section of procedures):

Ask what they expect the gross receipts to be for 12 months of business.
Tell person that Gross Receipts are the amount of money the business will
make in 12 months total (this is before deductions - not net earnings).

If this is a new business, they can pro-rate the gross receipts from the
start date to the end of the following June.
99
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
To calculate fees, you can use HdL to run the numbers or refer the person
to the back of the application form (lower left corner of the renewal form).
If downtown business, refer to BID chart to see if they are located in the
BID zone and let them know the fees. BID fees can also be pro-rated (the
fee period runs 7/1 to 6/30 of the following year).
Person wants to make a payment (more details in payment processing section of
procedures):


Cash – process through Munis cash drawer and give Munis receipt.
Check – you can process through Munis cash drawer and give Munis
receipt or you can accept check and use rubber stamp & fill-in the spaces
on their original document (i.e., renewal form) and then make a copy for
them as their receipt. The latter process is input directly in HdL and the
check included in the batch deposit done at the end of the day.
Person needs business license right now. Most business licenses require additional
review (i.e., zoning) before they can be issued – the normal time span is 7-10 days for
us to mail the license.

If they need a number earlier, you can make a copy of the application form
(only if they paid the fees due) and circle the BL# for them.

Other situations where they need license immediately require supervisor
approval.
Person wants to speak to supervisor, or person 'who wrote that letter' or 'person I spoke
to before'. Look up the person's license or unlicensed spreadsheet item. In most
cases, you can answer the question that the person has. During the high volume
mailing period, the supervisor sends out hundreds of letters each week and cannot
handle all the calls personally.
 If the person is rude, unruly or demands to speak to a supervisor, refer them to
the Account Technician.
 If there are still problems, bring the supervisor into the situation, transfer the call
to the supervisor or take message for supervisor to call back.
 If the supervisor or Account Technician is not available, take a message for
them.
 DOCUMENT you spoke to the person and what they wanted and what the
problems were on the spreadsheet or in HdL notes.
Person wants to know why they got a letter from the city about having a business
license (or why they 'keep getting' the letters). All of the unlicensed business letters are
generated from the unlicensed spreadsheet (except a few that have been referred to
Code Compliance and they are input in HdL).
 When the person calls, find out what business name or person's name the letter
was addressed to and then find them on the unlicensed spreadsheet.
 Look at the evidence cell and explain to the person why they got the letter (tell
them why we think they are in business).
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o If the evidence is something other than a tax return filing, this is pretty
straight forward.
o If the evidence is only a tax return filing (these rows are usually shaded
green), tell the person the reason they got the letter (filing a business tax
return from Vista address) and then tell them we need additional
information about their business to determine if they need a business
license. Find out if they have a license in another city, what exactly they
do and where they do the work. Find out where they do the office work
associated with their business (where their base of operation is).
If they do not believe they need a license, ask them to put it in writing - a note on our
letter is fine and mail it back to us. We will review it and get back in touch with them
if further information is needed. Have them send copies of any business licenses
they have in other cities.
DOCUMENT details of the conversation, phone numbers, who you spoke to and
what they said in the first column of the spreadsheet (see format below).
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Frequently Asked Questions - Phone and Counter Contacts
(Details for handling most of these issues are found elsewhere in procedures)
1.
Person at counter speaks Spanish.

Use the Spanish Bilingual Services Duty Roster list to get someone to
help you translate.
2.
Do I need a business license in Vista?

Yes, if they have an office or business located in Vista. Contractors need
business licenses for work they come into the City to do. Other
businesses outside the City need licenses if they advertise, have
customers, work or have a job in Vista or if they otherwise make money in
Vista. Some businesses have a business license because they are based
in Vista even though most of their work is done in other cities.

The Vista Municipal Code states a business license is required "When any
person by use of signs, circulars, cards, letterheads, telephone book,
radio, television or newspapers, advertises, holds out, or represents that
he is in business in the city. . .”

Other examples of evidence that someone is in business includes
 Telling another public agency they are in business using an
address that is inside the Vista city limits:
 Seller's permit opened with State Board of Equalization
 Filing of a Fictitious Name with the County of San Diego
 Filing a business income tax return using a Vista address
(we need to clarify what the business activity is and where
the person does the work)
 Citizen complaint about the business (best to get a copy of an
invoice or other written documentation)
 Report from City Staff or records (code compliance, vendor lists,
City Council agenda reports or contracts)
 Telephone, business card or other records
3.
I want to open a business in Vista.

See questions to ask under 'screening' and 'new business procedure'.
4.
I am covered by another business license already issued in Vista:

Ask about the relationship between the two businesses.

Independent Contractors working in another licensed business: Usually
they need a separate license. In a (rare) few situations, the owner covers
all his independent contractors under the owner’s license. However, we
usually get this information in writing from the owner and the owner’s
gross receipts must be high enough to support the owner and all the
contractors.

Other situations are covered in the ‘new application’ procedure.
102
5.
Can I do my business at a particular location?

Refer person to DSC for response on all such inquiries.
6.
I have a complaint about a business in Vista.

The Finance Department/Business License office can log and refer on
complaints, but we do not handle the complaints and we usually cannot
revoke a business license based on a complaint.

First, determine what the complaint is and get the business name,
address, owner’s name and telephone number.

Try to get the complainant’s name, address and phone call so we can
contact them later if we need to. Some people will refuse to provide this
information.

Look at the Who Ya Gonna Call? Flyer and the Frequently Called Phone
number list to see who to send the person to about the complaint. See
supervisor for help if you don’t see what you’re looking for.

Business operation complaints can be reported to the Better Business
Bureau – refer the person to www.sandiego.bbb.org/ or they can phone
them at (858) 496-2131.

Log the complaint and how you handled it in HdL or on the unlicensed
spreadsheet. If the business is not in HdL or on the unlicensed
spreadsheet, you can add them to the bottom of the spreadsheet. Be sure
to show the complainant contact information.
7.
I am starting a business and need help.

Refer them to the city’s website www.cityofvista.com/business for help. Or
you can mail them the Key Steps brochure along with application
materials. See other ideas on New Business Procedure page.
8.
Person’s business name does not contain their last name.

Person needs to go to the County of San Diego Recorder Office to file a
Fictitious Name statement.
9.
Person received a letter from us saying they have a business in the City.

If they admit they have a Vista business, explain the application procedure
to them (see New Business Procedure). If they say they do not have a
business in Vista, ask them to put it in writing, sign it and fax, mail or drop
it by our office.
10.
Person wants a business license application.

Clarify what type of business they have and where they will work. Then
mail, fax or refer them to city website for the appropriate forms.
11.
Person wants to be referred to another agency.

See frequently called telephone numbers or "Who Ya Gonna Call" flyer to
see if the number is there. If you are not sure, call the probable
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department and see who handles that situation before you transfer the
call.
12.
Person wants to change address or owner name on license

Change in owner name probably requires a new business license.

For address changes, provide application form to them and tell them to
mail it back; be sure to show the business license number in the upper
right hand corner of the application, so we don’t accidentally open a new
license on it.

Show the request and how you handled it in HdL notes.
13.
Person wants to close business.

Get as much information as you can, including date closed, did they
move? Who is new owner and what is their address/phone? Reason
closed. Get closure in writing if at all possible with owner signature.

Log information in HdL or on unlicensed spreadsheet. In Hdl, make status
“closed” and license status “status review underway”. See closure
procedure for how to handle from this point.
14.
Person wants a fee refund

Request must be in writing and they need to specify the reason for the
request.

Log in HdL notes and give request to supervisor.
15.
Person wants to have penalties or fees waived

Request must be in writing, signed by the owner and state the reason for
the penalty waiver request. Give this request to Martha.

We are not authorized to waive fees due and are not able to reduce BID
penalties.

On business license penalties, by practice, we have been able to grant a
one-time penalty waiver on licenses.
16.
Person wants information about another licensee.

Try to get the requestor name, phone, etc. If they have a business card or
letter of some kind, make a copy for the file.

You can give them non-confidential information, including location of the
business, telephone number of the business, owner name, and effective
date of the license, whether or not they are licensed or status of the
license. You can give them the physical site of the business (see
supervisor if there is * in front of the address).

However, if the person asks for more information, have them put their
request in writing and refer it to a supervisor. Technically, we have 10
days to respond to this request.

In no case can you give you the owner’s home address (unless it is also
the business site and there is no * in front of the house number), the social
security number, owner phone or the gross receipts (or amount paid) on
104

the license. Requests for this information need to be handled by the
supervisor.
Document in HdL or on the PC who requested the information and how
you handled it.
17.
Reporter calls for information

Refer call to supervisor.
18.
Person calls for summary business license information (not on a specific license).

Refer call to supervisor
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UPDATE THIS ***
Frequently Called Phone Numbers
VISTA CITY DEPARTMENTS
Building
760-639-6105
Business License
760-639-6174
Code Compliance
760-639-6141
Development Services (DSC)
760-639-6108
Economic Development
760-639-6165
Fire -175 N Melrose Dr St #1
760-726-2144
Parks & Community Services
760-639-6151
Planning
760-639-6100
Redevelopment & Housing
760-639-6191
Sheriff-325 S Melrose Dr#210
760-940-4559
BUSINESS LICENSE-OTHER CITIES
Carlsbad
760-602-2495
Del Mar
760-755-9354
Encinitas
760-633-2600
Escondido
760-839-6377
Oceanside
760-435-3878
San Diego
619-615-1500
San Marcos
760-744-1050
SCORE
Jack Philbian, Captain
Service Corp of Retired
Executives (call Chamber of
Commerce for appointment):
Vista
Oceanside
San Diego
760-918-9865
760-726-1122
760-722-1534
619-544-1300
STATE DEPARTMENTS
Alcoholic Beverage Control
334 Via Vera Cruz #204
San Marcos, CA 92069
760-471-4237
Board of Equalization
(seller’s permit number)
334 Via Vera Cruz #107
San Marcos, CA 92069
760-510-5850
COUNTY DEPARTMENTS
Air Pollution Control
760-694-3307
9150 Chesapeake Drive
San Diego, CA 92123
Bureau of Auto Repair
1310 Union Plaza Court #100
Oceanside, CA 92054
760-439-0942
Business Certificate
unincorporated areas of Vista
338 Via Vera Cruz #201
San Marcos, CA 92069
760-471-0730
Bureau of Collections &
Investigation
1920 20th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
213-620-5901
County Assessor
(property tax)
334 Via Vera Cruz #150
San Marcos, CA 92069
Public Info (San Diego)
760-940-6868
California Occupational
Safety & Health (CAL/OSHA)
7827 Convoy Court #406
San Diego, CA 92123
619-279-3771
619-338-2379
760-471-0730
Contractor’s Board
5280 Carroll Canyon Road
San Diego, CA 92121
800-321-2752
Health Department
338 Via Vera Cruz
San Marcos, CA 92069
Hazardous Materials
Vector Surveillance Control
(for rats)
619-338-2231
760-940-2807
Day Care Licensing - children
Residential Care – elderly
Dept. of Social Services
7575 Metropolitan Dr #110
San Diego, CA 92108
619-767-2200
619-767-2300
Recorder/County Clerk
(fictitious name filing)
334 Via Vera Cruz #150
San Marcos, CA 92069
760-940-6858
Dept. of Consumer Affairs
800-344-9940
Dept. of Labor
619-557-5606
760-236-3771
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STATE DEPARTMENTS, CON’T.
Employment Tax Office
(for state employer ID #)
240 @ 2nd Ave
Escondido, CA 92025
760-737-2200
Public Consumer Action
619-525-4217
Real Estate Licensing
619-237-7345
Secretary of State
(corporation filing)
1350 Front Street #2060
San Diego, CA 92101
619-525-4113
State Board of Accountants
(CPA info & apps.)
2135 Butano Drive #112
Sacramento, CA 92825
916-574-2155
State Bus Transportation
& Housing Agency
(Real estate, banking,
insurance, savings & loan)
916-574-2155
FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS
Dept. of Agriculture
5555 Overland Ave., Bldg. 3
San Diego, CA 92123
619-694-2739
Better Business Bureau
(to file complains/for referral
lists)
3111 Camino Del Rio N #600
San Diego, CA 92108
858-496-2131
Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco
And Firearms
2221 Camino del Rio S #211
San Diego, CA
Dept. of Motor Vehicles
800-777-0133
(auto dealer license)
FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS, CON’T.
Federal Trade Commission
11000 Wilshire Blvd., #13209
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310-575-7575
Food & Drug Administration
880 Front Street #4-N-34
San Diego, CA 92101
619-557-5168
IRS Taxpayer Service
(federal tax ID #)
Federal Building
880 Front Street, 1st Floor
San Diego, CA 92101
800-829-1040
Small Business Admin.
Federal Building
880 Front Street #4-S-29
San Diego, CA 92188
619-557-7257
Social Security Admin.
1305 Union Plaza Court
Oceanside, CA 92054
800-234-5772
Dept. of Treasury &
US Customs
(import info)
San Diego, CA 92188
619-557-5360
Or
800-829-3676
Or
800-827-5722
VISTA CITY INFORMATION SOURCE
Chamber of Commerce
CEO, Leo Mantas
127 Main Street
Vista, CA 92084
760-726-1122
Fax-726-8654
619-557-7079
Vista Village Business Assoc.
Exec. Director, Leo Mantas
127 Main Street
Vista, CA 92084
760-726-1122
Fax-726-8654
Dept. of Commerce
(export info)
6363 Greenwich Drive #145
San Diego, CA 92122
619-557-5395
Farmers Market-Sat by library
Marguerite Baughman
760-726-8545
Street Fair – Thurs nights
Vista Village Business Assoc.
760-726-1122
Customs – US Treasury
San Diego, CA
619-557-5360
107
Unusual Business Licensing Situations
These types of businesses are exempt from having a business license in some cases.
This provides tracking of the business if we get calls or inquiries about them.
Childcare Centers/Family Day Care businesses – licensed under state law. Per City Attorney1,
a business license is required if the County licenses them for more than 8 children. However, all
centers must pay BID fees, if they are located downtown.
Trucking Companies – licensed under state law. Per City Attorney2, trucking companies are not
required to have a business license. Specifically, this applies to businesses ‘engaged in the
transportation of goods for hire by motor carrier’. The exemption does not apply to carriers
engaged in ‘transportation of passengers for compensation (i.e., household moving companies
and private bus companies). However, they must pay BID fees, if they are located downtown.
Banks, Credit Unions, financial corporations – licensed under State law. Per copy of code
provided by a financial institution3, they do not have to have a business license. However, they
must pay BID fees for downtown locations.
Bail Bond Companies – Licensed under the state. Per Karen Hirata4, they are exempt from
having a business license, but are required to pay BID fees, if they are located downtown.
Non-profit entities – once we verify non-profit status (check state paperwork), the business is
exempt from business license fees per the city’s ordinance. They pay a reduced BID fee (see
chart) and are not exempt from Home Occupation Permit fees if located in a residential location.
We ask that they register in our HdL BL system for public safety purposes.
Corporate Apportionment / No sales from Vista location: This rate type is unusual and requires
supervisor approval to use it. It applies to businesses that do not have traditional gross receipts
for the Vista location. Examples: research and development companies, warehouses (where
the sales office is in another city), administrative offices (where sales locations are in other
cities, etc.) These businesses may qualify to pay on a “corporate apportionment” rate type
using expenses instead of traditional sales as the gross receipts for the license. Please give all
these calls to Account Technician.
Other businesses that do not require a business license:
 Delivery businesses coming into Vista from out of town (not located in Vista) to deliver
items unless they do installation or other work while they are here
 Residential rental properties less than 3 units.
 Commercial rental property owners where this is the only business activity the owner
has. The reason for this is that the businesses located in the commercial buildings are
required to get the license and not the property owner. If the property owner also does
other work out of the location, they will probably need a separate license.
1
See Attorney Memo dated 1/2/3/98
See Attorney Memo dated 4/18/98
3 See Letter from Commercial Credit Company dated 12/12/97
4 See Notes from 7/98 verbal discussion and copy of the law
2
108
Checking To See If Someone Has a Business License
Researching Unlicensed Businesses
GENERAL STEPS:

Check county street list to be sure this is not a county location. Use the version
that is on the city network (most up to date). If it is in the county, just mark the
business “county” and go to the next business. If you are not sure, look it up in
Realquest.com and be sure tax code is 12xxxx.

Look in HdL and on unlicensed spreadsheet. Be sure to check for business
name, owner name, address and phone number. On unlicensed spreadsheet,
use a ‘workbook’-wide search.

Update HdL notes or unlicensed spreadsheet for what you found.

Process formal change if required per Editing Changes section of this procedure

On the document you are handling/reviewing, log what you found for each
business. If you use coding of some kind, be sure to leave a legend to show
what the codes mean (i.e., X=licensed in hdl)

On the document you are handling/reviewing, when you are finished, initial and
date the document and return it to the supervisor.

Process document for unlicensed spreadsheet or HdL filing if appropriate*.
Generally, if the evidence is something that could change in the future, you need
to send a copy to the unlicensed filing or to the HdL file.

If there is more than one business on a sheet (like if you’re using a newsletter),
just return the whole item to the supervisor – don’t make copies for businesses
with existing licenses, unless there is some data change.

Keep in mind that only one person at a time can be in the PC spreadsheet, so
when you make your changes, exit the spreadsheet. If you are browsing only,
use Read-only status.
BUSINESS IS IN HdL:

If the business is in HdL, write the license number on the document you’re
handling.

If you notice differences in data (i.e., different owner name with same business
name, added owner name, different address than what we show, etc.), highlight
what is different and document the change in HdL notes.

Process formal changes if required per Editing Changes section of this procedure

Print copy of notes for supervisor if the license status is anything but active.
BUSINESS IS ON UNLICENSED SPREADSHEET, BUT NOT IN HDL:

Write ‘No BL’ and your initials and the date you checked HdL on the document
you’re handling.

Update the evidence on the spreadsheet for this business using appropriate
format*

Put a note in the first column for this business for what changed*

If the business is not on the active worksheet, flag it on the base document with
what sheet it is on (i.e., on closed worksheet).
109
BUSINESS IS NOT ALREADY ON UNLICENSED SPREADSHEET AND NOT IN HDL:

Write ‘No BL’ and your initials and the date you checked HdL on the document
you’re handling.

Add business with evidence to the bottom of the spreadsheet completing the
highlighted columns in the appropriate format*
OWNER SAYS THIS UNLICENSED BUSINESS IS “THE SAME AS” OR “COVERED
BY” ANOTHER, LICENSED BUSINESS: Usually this comes up when the businesses
are at the same location.

Is this a fictitious business name? Check county recorder database; if a
corporation (for example) owns a dba and the unlicensed name was the dba, OK
to add the dba to the current business license. If it is the same owner name,
keep asking questions.

Find out if they keep separate books for the unlicensed business? Do they file
two separate tax returns? If yes, they probably need a separate business
license.

Is it the same ownership? If different ownership, probably needs a different
business license.

Find out what the unlicensed business does – how is it connected to the licensed
business? In some cases, the supervisor will approve adding “holding
companies or other similar situations to an existing business license. Update
notes and refer these to supervisor.
QUESTIONS OR YOU’RE NOT SURE:

Give these to the BL supervisor with a note about what the question is. You can
put these in the ‘unlicensed’ file in the mail drawer.
Unlicensed Spreadsheet format notes:
Location of spreadsheet: For all businesses but apartment units (see section on
Business Closure/Opening - Apartments), add the business to the ‘postcard’
spreadsheet (document name O:\FINANCE\DEPT ONLY\BUSINESS
LICENSE\UNLICENSED & CHANGED\unlic-postcard list 1-09-06 2.xlw).



Which worksheet? You will only input new items on the yellow-tab sheet.
If you need to make a note on another worksheet, be sure to let supervisor
know what business and which sheet (e-mail is fine).
Don’t duplicate businesses on the spreadsheet. You can usually tell if the
business is already on the worksheet because the same business name
comes up automatically as you start inputting in the BUSINESS NAME
column. If you ar enot sure, do a workbook-wide search using keyword
and address to see if the business / owner is already on the sheet.
Complete all cells that have a yellow header – for now you can ignore the
gray headed columns.
110

Use the ‘Notes’ column for input about the business that doesn’t fit into the
other columns or for notes from when they call in.
First column notes: put your note at the beginning of what is already in
that cell; do not replace what you find in the cell. Format: xx/xx/xxxx (add
your comment – i.e., see new evidence)/(your initials)
Evidence Cell: This information is printed in correspondence to the owner,
so be careful what you write here. Do not put your initials, today’s date or
use abbreviations. You can put notes and comments in the “notes”
section of the spreadsheet. Common formats:





Filed Fictitious Business Name (add name of business if it is not already listed in the
‘business name’ cell) on xx/xx/xxxx
State Board of Equalization Seller’s Permit #xxxxx-xxxxxxxx, start date xx/xx/xxxx
Citizen inquiry about this business (put details under notes)
111
Accessing HdL Business License Software
1.
Find the icon on your desktop or look under programs/HdL for business license.
Type in your initials and password.
2.
To add a record: Click on the red + sign and you will be given a new license
number. Type information carefully, because we cannot delete licenses, once
the record is saved.
3.
To save a record: Click on the blue square in the middle of the screen (looks like
a floppy disk).
4.
To delete changes before you save the record: Click on the trash can symbol and
answer yes to the prompt.
5.
To edit business license information in HdL: open existing license using ‘edit’
key. See notes elsewhere about how to edit and what to document.
6.
Looking things up in HdL: You can use the key word method - click on the "key"
at the top center of the screen and then use the drop down list to find the area
you want to search. Type in an unusual part of the name (not the whole name)
for the best results).
You can also right click on one of the raised boxes to get to a list that is sorted by
the item shown in the box you 'clicked' on.
Using the raised box fields, you can also place the cursor on the field you want to
inquire about (not on the raised box), right click the mouse and type in the first
letters of the name/number you are looking for. This is a good way to search for
addresses.
You can also search adjacent licenses by clicking on the raised box you want to
search by and then click the single arrows forward or backward (top, right side of
screen).
7.
Print out a document, including renewal form:

If the person is asking for a license to be printed, verify the license is paid
in full for the current license year and is on Open/Active status. If not,
work with the customer to complete whatever is needed to get it to that
status.

Get license number from applicant or by looking up business license in the
system. Be sure you have the right business by verifying key data against
the request.

There are two ways to print:
 Use print "hot key" - Go to the Print Reports button (at the top of the
HdL screen – key looks like a printer), but use the down arrow and
112


choose the report you want. This method will only print the report
you select for the current license that is on the screen.
 Use the 'print reports' button and select the report you want to print.
Be sure to click 'current record' or you will print the report for all
the licenses in the database.
Check what you printed to be sure it is the report/form you want and for
the correct business.
If you need to print reports for more than one business, see Account
Technician for assistance to learn how to filter, verify number of records
and select the correct report.
113
New Business License Applications
(See quick step list for basic steps on new applications)
See initial customer service steps and questions under the 'screening' procedure.





Some businesses require additional permits or licenses from inside or outside the
city. Examples: Massage businesses, retail gun sales, tobacco sales, food vending,
etc. require a separate permit from the city. Pull the procedures file and read notes
on what additional steps are required.
Determine if the business already has a license in HdL (check firm name, address,
owner name) - this is especially important with outside city contractors (MJCs).
If the application has a business license number written on the top right corner, it
means a license is already open for the situation. Don’t open a new license. Update
what we have in the computer and show any changes to relevant information under
HdL notes.
Determine if the business is on the unlicensed spreadsheet to determine if they owe
additional fees.
Open the license in HdL
o See procedure section 'accessing HdL' for how to get started.
o Input everything on application into HdL.
o If business was on the unlicensed spreadsheet,
 import (copy) the row from the spreadsheet and put this at the bottom
of the HdL notes section. Make a heading: INFORMATION
IMPROTED FROM PC SPREADSHEET and make headings for each
of these sections: NOTICES MAILED, OWNER RESPONSE,
EVIDENCE, FEE CALCULATION, NOTES.
 Pull the filing from the PC file drawer for this business (also check
pending filing)
 Put the business license number in the first cell of the unlicensed
business spreadsheet (use format BLxxxxxxx (your initials))
o If the evidence includes tax filings, flag the unlicensed source code 'ab63'
(blue I screen).
o IF THE CUSTOMER IS WAITING AT THE COUNTER and the business is
located inside Vista,
 Calculate the fees due on the license (including PC amounts, HOP fee,
past fees based on start date, BID fees, penalties, etc.) and let the
owner know what they will owe. However, do not collect the money at
this point.
 Input the following fields, make a copy of the application materials and
let them hand carry the application to the DSC. Tell them to return the
application to us so we know what happened. You can input the rest
of the application when they are gone or later in the day.
 Business name
 Business location (not a PO box or a mail receiving agency)
 Start Date
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 Rate type (use drop down list) – most are Retail, Wholesale or
apartments. If not refer to the account clerk.
 Be sure the status remains Pending.
 Business type (on Information Screen – Use blue “I” button
 Write the business license number onto the application form (top
right section) and put in the rate type (Gross Receipts Retail, Gross
Receipts Wholesale or Apartments) in HdL.

If the business is located outside the City or in the County area of Vista, skip to
Payments section below.

If the business is located inside the City, make a copy of the application packet,
stamp or mark it “copy” and send the person with their original paperwork to the
DSC for zoning approval. Ask customer to come back to our office so we know what
happened on the application.
o Go to Payments Section of procedure if DSC approves business.
o If the business does not return from the DSC the same day, log this
information in HdL notes and put the application packet copy in the hard copy
file by BL number (don’t scan these). Leave status on pending/pending.
o If not approved by DSC, we cannot issue the business license. Person may
still owe fees, but don’t try to collect it at this point. If they owe money, we will
adjust the fees and bill them separately.

If the person is upset about the denial, refer them back to the DSC,
where they can talk to a supervisor. We cannot help them with this
part of the process.
Interdepartment Coordination – Inside City Businesses
(New applications, changed address or change in type of business or use of property)
This procedure is used for new applications and any time the address or type of
business changes on the property. Changes come to our attention from the owner (new
application form, changes on renewal form), from a complaint from other person, or
from other sources. If the change generates from a complaint (other than from the
owner of that business), see the BL supervisor with the information. There are
additional steps with other departments on the ancillary/regulatory licenses and they are
outlined in the folders in the file drawer.
All input and advice concerning zoning, use of property is to be given by the DSC staff
and not addressed at all by Business License staff. Examples of issues that may come
up that you need to refer: Can I do this in my house (garage, yard, etc.)? Can I have
(this kind of business) at (this address)? Can I do my Internet/phone/computer
business at this address (or at my home)?
We cannot issue a business license for locations inside the City, without DSC/zoning
approval for the business use at the specific address.
115
116

Base document & HdL handling:
o Document on base document date you sent item to DSC with your initials.
o Make a copy of the change document from the owner and stamp it “copy”.
o Application forms – send original to DSC and put copy in the pending copy
location.
o Renewal forms/statements/letters, etc. – put a ¼ sheet approval slip on top of
the copy and send copy to DSC. Put original base document in the pending
copy file.
o HdL Status is Pending/Pending

BL Changes (address, owner, type of business): Verify a new business license is not
needed for this situation (instead of just changing the old one). Once HdL is
updated for the change, follow steps above.

New Applications: Be sure we have the application form and a HOP form if needed.
If the form(s) are not present, send the missing form to the owner (show BL # at the
top right corner so we don’t open a new license. When all forms are here, handle as
above.

Basic steps: When the form comes back from the DSC, take these steps:
o Verify DSC provided written action, including Planner initials and date. If not
take it back over to DSC, so they can do this.
o Verify HdL input has been completed (Dept approval screen)
o Log in HdL notes that DSC has approved location and log anything that is
missing from the license (holding it up from release at this point.
o Update APN, zone, location code, location
o If anything unusual, be sure the HdL notes show any comments, problems or
other information about DSC approval. This is also where you would log
correspondence DSC sent to the owner.
o Send copy of application to Fire Department (inside city only)


If license is approved by DSC, take steps shown above.
Verify if the license has been paid in full and check to see if there are any other
permit/regulatory license issues outstanding.
o If everything is complete, license is ready for releasing. Change issue date
on license to today’s date and change status to Active or Y-active or MJC. Be
sure to send a copy of the application to Fire and to mail the New business
packet if it is warranted (see procedure elsewhere).
o If something is missing, follow-up on the missing step and change status
accordingly (i.e., change to fees due if balance is owed and send them a
statement). DOCUMENT what you did.

If license is NOT approved by DSC, it means that the proposed use of the property
is not allowed by City zoning laws. DSC will notify the applicant. Sometimes, the
applicant just needs to provide some additional information to get it approved and
117
DSC will tell them what is needed. When you get the DSC action back, take basic
steps shown above. Then log in HdL notes the reason for denial (call the person
who signed off on it in DSC if you’re not sure), change status to zoning pblm/waiting
for owner. And file the base document and the Planning input.
o If the applicant has requested a refund of the business license fees, be sure
to get request in writing, show that they requested it under HdL notes
(indicate if they will return the written request), print a screen display (general
info & full notes) and give it to the Account Technician.
118
Business License Payment Processing
Helping Customer at counter:

Payments: Review form (renewal, application) and help customer complete gross
receipts section and Downtown Business Improvement District (BID) section:
o If customer states they are a wholesale business, find out what they produce
or sell. Also find out who they sell to and if they have a seller’s permit from
the State Board of Equalization. Who charges sales tax on their products?
The only businesses that qualify for wholesale rate are manufacturers who
sell to someone else who sells to the customer (no direct sales to customers)
and businesses that sell product to a retailer (who charges sales tax).
Questions on this? Review situation with Account Technician or supervisor.
o Gross receipts are the total monies earned by the company. They should
estimate GR for the balance of the fiscal year they are applying for. (i.e., how
much will they earn between now and 6/30). If they have questions about
what is included in gross receipts, give them a Gross Receipts handout form
(City Municipal Code Section 5.04.020, Definitions).
o If the business is an out-of-town contractor, they compute their Gross receipts
on what the job(s) in Vista will pay. If the project(s) will go over more than
one fiscal year, they can pay it all now or split the GR over two years (be sure
to show total amount and how it was broken up in HdL notes).
o Minimum tax for a license is $15 and covers up to $15,000 gross receipts.
o Gross receipts are roughly 1% of gross receipts.
o Downtown businesses are in the BID zone and pay an additional fee (see
map/chart); prorate the fee to the number of months in business in the BID
(the year runs 7/1 to 6/30). If they have questions about what the VVBA does
for them or why they have to pay the fees, refer them to the VVBA office.
o Include any penalties or special permit fees at the same time, so the
customer does not have to pay again later.

Accept payment from customer.
o Cash payments are entered in Munis and the customer is given a Munis
receipt.
o Check payments can be entered in Munis (handled then as cash in HdL) with
a Munis receipt. OR Payments by check taken at the counter can be input
later by using the rubber stamp at the counter, fill in the blanks and make a
copy of it for the person. WRITE BL# ON THE CHECK.
119
o If this is a contractor who wants to pay for the license and permits on one
check, process through Munis.
o If person wants to return to pay, input information including fees and show
that they will return. Mail them a statement. Status – fees due.
o Once paid, tell person they will receive the actual license in about a week in
the mail.
o Give NEW business owners other than HOP and sub-lease businesses a
“VISTA COMMUNITY PROFILE” packet and a BID brochure if they are
located in the BID area.
Inputting Business License Payments






Review form and information
See if the business is already in HdL. If the business is already in HdL (be sure it’s
the same kind of business, same owner, address or other significant factor), this
may be a reinstatement or renewal.
If it is on the unlicensed spreadsheet, look at payment instructions to be sure fees
are billed correctly.
Verify name/address on check and on return envelope are the same as what is on
the application. If not, log difference in HdL notes.
Glance over the form and payment. If it does not look right, determine what the
problem is, make a note in HdL.
o if it is a simple underpayment, input the payment and mail them a statement
(fees due status unless we have already charged penalties on the current
year, then delinquent or del y-active). Document in HdL notes reason for
additional fees (miscalculation, did not pay prior year fees, etc.)
o If it is a more complex problem, review it with the Account Technician or
supervisor. Special situations: Make a note in HdL notes and then refer
these situations to the AT/supervisor to process – do not input the payment
into the computer:

Payments with blank Gross receipts (unless it is a minimum
payment and is close to prior GR).

Paid BID with no GR on form.

Wants penalties waived

Checks with no documentation (no statement/renewal
form/application form)

Subsequent payments involving penalties or other complications for
the fiscal year.

Any payment where you need to adjust reported GR to fit the
payment (usually from owner fee miscalculation).
Find them in HdL/PC and be sure to check any notes on the license to be sure they
are in compliance with earlier actions
120

Input payment into computer

Open payment screen and click “add”. Input payment type (check, cash –
remember checks run through munis are ‘cash’) and the check number.
On cash transactions, show the receipt number and check number in the
‘paid by box’. Save transaction.

Note balances over/under $10 will adjust out.

WRITE BL # ON THE CHECK.

If person underpaid license by more than $10, then change status to Fees
Due (if they are Active) and print out a statement to mail to them. If their
status is not active, just send them the statement and don’t change status.
In either event, be sure to show under notes the date you sent a statement

If business overpaid the license fee due by more than $10, then change
status to Overpayment, log in HdL notes the reason for the overpayment
(i.e., miscalculated fees) and forward the renewal form to the Account
Technician.

If the gross receipts are much lower than what was reported in the prior
year, input the payment, make notes in HdL about the problem and
change status to Gross Receipts Check. Give renewal form to Account
Technician.

If business did not show Gross Receipts and still made a payment, you
can process it only if it is a minimum payment or the GR is close to the
amount they showed last year (and there are no GR error notes under
HdL notes). Otherwise, refer it to the Account Technician.
Processing License at this point

Statement payments:
 Change issue date to today’s date
 Make a note in HdL that the balance has been paid.
 Make sure status is now correct – on pending licenses don’t make it
active until the DSC or other permit required actions are completed
(should be documented in notes)

New Applications
 Check pending items needed on license; do not make license
active until DSC or other permit-required actions are completed.
These should be documented in notes.
Processing Paperwork

WRITE BL # ON THE CHECK.

Write the check #, date and your initials in the lower right margin of the
renewal form/statement/application form.

If the payment was the only action on the renewal form, process the form
for filing or scanning (see that section of procedures).

If there are other changes that need to go into the computer, make the
changes per procedures elsewhere in this document.

Forms that have address or ownership changes need to have formal
processing. See that section of the procedure.
121
Batch payment entries – helpful during renewal season

It is easiest to do bulk changes in ‘batch mode’; see attached HdL
software information about how to process batch payments.

Renewal form will come to you with the check or payment on the top and
may have an envelope stapled on the back.

Batch mode works only for the first payment in the fiscal year; if there is a
subsequent payment (i.e., from a statement), you will need to do it
individually. Do not change the dates or GR for this. If penalties are
involved on the subsequent payment, refer it to the supervisor.
Penalty Waiver Requests: The only penalties we can waive at all are business license
fees and we can only waive 1 year unless approved by supervisor. BID penalties
cannot be waived.

Working with owner: All requests must be in writing, signed by the owner
and must state the reason for the request.
 Ask owner to pay the base fees and tell them we will consider the
penalty waiver request.
 If owner does not want to pay fees, tell them that even if a penalty
waiver is granted, it is only good for 30 days and they must pay the
balance in that time or we will re-apply the penalties.
 Document HdL notes: if there has not been a prior penalty waiver,
ask owner to pay the base Document request, reason and date.
 Forward request to the Account Technician.

Account Technician Review: If the license has not had a prior penalty
waiver on it, we can grant the waiver of business license penalties only.
 Look at HdL notes to see if there has been a prior waiver; if
correctly formatted, notes will show this – usually in capital letters
“OK FOR OT PENALTY WAIVER”
 If penalty waiver looks ok and there have been none in the past,
then document HdL notes as shown immediately above and
remove penalties (either by adjusting penalty date or by adjusting
the penalty fees themselves).
 If they had a penalty waiver in the past, document HdL notes and
refer situation to supervisor.
122
Reconcile HdL Daily Payment Processing
At the end of each day, you need to reconcile what you input in HdL against the checks
you input that day that are now ready for deposit. This needs to be done in the
afternoon before you leave work. Occasionally, the work can be done first thing the
following morning. The AT puts all the daily processing reports together for the daily
check deposit.







Run a calculator tape of the checks you have input today. Write on it the input date
you’re your initials.
Print the Cash Receipts report from HdL. Select the date you worked with, remove
“all users” from the right box and input your initials. The report will print
automatically.
Look at the report and find any BID payments; if they were not for the current year,
you need to indicate which year they were for.
Compare the calculator tape with the total shown on the Cash Receipts report. If
they are the same skip to the last note.
If they are different, find the reason and correct the HdL input (or re-run the
calculator tape) so they match. Yes, to the penny.
See AT/Supervisor if you cannot find error or make correction.
Once they match, clip the checks with the calculator tape on top (be sure your
initials/date show) and fold it inside the Cash receipts report. Put this whole
package in the date folder set up for this.
123
Editing Changes in HdL Database
Once the application is input, normally the data in HdL does not change often except
during renewals or if there is some issue on the license. Changes usually come from
the owner, although we sometimes get information from other sources (like from the
Post Office on mail returns).
TYPES OF CHANGES
 *Owner changes:
o New owner: requires written request or application form. Probably require a
new business license. Inter-family (brother to brother or husband to wife for
example) can be done on the same business license (document this
carefully). The only other exception is if the officers of a corporation change
(i.e., they have a new president). If this occurs, you need to handle as a
closure of the old license and a new application for the new owner.
Ownership changes require zoning review if a new license is opened.
o Remove or add owner: requires owner approval in writing before change is
made; probably does not require zoning approval.
 *Mailing address:
o Can be changed by owner or by other sources verified by the City (mail return
information, etc.). If someone other than the owner says to change mailing
address, confirm change with supervisor.
o OK to change mailing address; however, only change mailing address. See
below for changing site address.
 Owner address:
o Changed by owner only. If someone other than the owner says to change
owner address, confirm change with supervisor.
o OK to change owner address at request of owner.
 *Site address:
o Changed by owner only; requires zoning (DSC) approval before license can
be issued.
 *Business Description:
o If there is only a slight change in business description, it is ok to make this
change with owner written request.
o If there is a difference in the type of business, DSC review is required for the
change.
o If the owner wants to add a new type of business to the license, the person
may need a new business license for the new type of business. Verify with
supervisor.
 *Firm/Business Name change: Normally OK to change with owner written request.
However, if they are changing from a formal business structure (from a corporation
or LLC), we need to be sure this is not really a new company. See supervisor if this
does seem clear.
 New data: If the owner provides information that was previously not provided, you
just need to add it to the license data and send a note to the file about the change.
Under HdL notes, show “owner added emergency contact”.
124



Rate type, # employees, etc.: If the change would affect their payment in some way
(rate type, import-export, number of employees, etc.), review the change against the
reported gross receipts. If the change makes sense, then OK to document and
make change. If it would change the gross receipts, document issues and refer item
to Account Technician.
Other data changes (emergency contact, phone number, etc.: OK to document and
change.
*Closures/Inactive: After closeout or inactive status review is completed (see
elsewhere in procedure),
o Change business status to closeout or inactive depending on the situation.
o Determine if closeout fees are due (see closure procedure)
o If closeout fees due,
 business status is based on the time they have owed fees (fees due=to
start with; delinquent when penalties added; Kloseout fees due or
litigation after that; if no fees due but sboe is open, status is closed/quit
state lic).
 Be sure the ‘mail addtl’ line shows “c/o” a few spaces after the last
words in that line. Example: Attn: Joe Smith c/o. This is a code to
everyone that this is has closeout fees pending.
 Send statement with closeout footnote if c/o fees due.
o If no closeout fees due, license status is closeout or inactive.
o Document change in HdL notes (part may already be documented if someone
else did the closeout review):
 On closures (inside city) don’t change data at this point in HdL unless
there are closeout fees due and then only change the mailing address.
Document other changes in HdL notes.
 Show reason, date of closure and who told us about the closure in HdL
notes (Example: per renewal form, owner indicates business was sold
4/18/2012)
 Document whether or not closeout fees were charged (Example: No
closeout fees per JFW; open less than 12 months).
HOW TO MAKE CHANGE
 Open license in HdL.
o Document the change in HdL notes; be sure to show what you changed the
item FROM so we can keep track of the changes. Be sure to show the OLD
information under HdL notes (Example: Per renewal form, changed mailing
address from PO Box 1283, Manteca, CA 95336.)
o Make change requested/authorized.
 If the new information is a change to prior information, you need to
replace the data in the HdL fields.
o Determine what if any follow-up action is needed for this change (i.e., Zoning
approval?; additional fees due?, etc.)
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HANDLING BASE DOCUMENT
 Use a highlighter to mark over all changes you made; then initial/date the form.
 File any hard copy documentation to the file if we have it (renewal form, application,
telephone slip, etc.) Be sure to put your initials/date on the item and highlight each
change you made.
* Critical Change – must be changed/approved before license is issued.
Processing Mail Returns
Business License Office mail gets returned by the Post office for a number of reasons,
including the person or business is no longer at that address, the envelope is not
addressed correctly or the person/business refuses the item. Any time you’re handling
these, you need to document every step you take, so we don’t repeat steps, waste time
doing the same thing twice and so we document how hard we tried to find them.
General Instructions
The goal is to get the form/license or other document into the owner’s hands. If the
business is closed or moved to a new site address, then the owner will let us know.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Refer all mail refusals to the supervisor to handle.
Determine why the PO returned the item
Find another solid address to use for the business (see ideas below).
HdL changes/notes:

Under notes, show what returned (statement, renewal #1, PC letter, etc.

Show what address it was returned FROM and the reason for the return
(attempted not known, undeliverable, refused, etc.)

Change the MAILING address (not the business address) in HdL and remail the item.

Flag the site address and inspection area in HdL so other people know
this is an unreliable address.
Samples of HdL note input:
i. (date) ‘PO returned mail from (old address, i.e., 600 Eucalyptus, Vista, Ca,
92083) as attempted, not known; re-mailed statement to forwarding address
provided by PO (or provided by CSLB records or from phone book, etc.)’.
ii. (date) ‘PO returned mail because the statement was in the envelope backwards;
re-mailed, letter dated 5/1/00 to mailing address.’
iii. (date) ‘PO returned mail because PO Box is closed; re-mailed renewal #1 to
business address’.
iv. (date) ‘PO returned mail because mailing address didn’t have the correct city; remailed statement.
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5.
6.
7.
To re-mail item, the best method is to cross off the old address on the document
that was returned, re-date it in the top left corner (for the day you re-mail it) and
hand-write the owner’s name and the business name on the envelope. You can
also reprint the item.
If you can’t find the new address using one of these methods, make sure you
show solid notes of everything you checked and refer it to the supervisor.
If you believe the business is closed, process per closure procedure.
Ideas to find new address for mail return
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Use forwarding address provided by the post office.
If the correction is obvious (no city name and it’s in Vista, incorrect street name,
item is in envelope backwards so no address shows, etc.), just make the change,
document under notes and re-mail the item.
Look in HdL or on PC for other possible addresses – for example, if an item
returns from the mailing address, remail to the site address (assuming it is
different) or to owner’s address. Don’t use emergency contact address without
supervisor approval.
Pull the original application/renewal information to see what it should be, re-mail
and document.
If the problem that the address is an apartment building, larger office or
commercial building where you need a suite number or apartment number, try
using the reverse directory or look up public records for the business (sboe
website, CSLB, etc.) to see if you can find unit #.
Telephone the business to see if they are open and to see if they have changed
mailing addresses.
Review state licenses on the internet – seller’s permits, contractor license, real
estate license.
Check Realquest.com to see if the person has moved.
Look business up in reverse directory or the regular phone book.
Look for business/person on internet search –whitepages.com or
zabasearch.com. Be aware that these sometimes give faulty information, so be
sure you have the right person before you mail the item.
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Renewing Businesses
Check against cklist one more time – Jeanette will do this shortly
Processing Renewal Mail

Date-stamp each renewal form on the front of the renewal form whether received in
the mail or at the counter.

Review envelope and check document to see if the return address is the same as on
the renewal form.
o If they are the same or it is a window envelope, you can discard the
envelope.
o If it is not the same, document the difference in HdL notes (don’t change
data in HdL); cut or tear the return address label off the envelope and tape
it securely on the front of the renewal form (don’t cover anything
substantial).

Paperclip the check to the front of the renewal form horizontally across the middle of
the form, so we can still see the top section and maybe even the gross receipts
section of the renewal form. If the envelope is not processed yet, clip the envelope
to the back of the packet (check on top, renewal form, envelope on bottom).

If there is no payment enclosed, write on the renewal form (in the margin); ‘Received
with no payment’ and show your initial and the date.

Separate renewals by the paper color and per the mail processing spreadsheet
provided each year into the mail folders provided.
Counter Help

If the person is at the counter, review renewal form to be sure it is completed
properly, signed and that amount they are paying includes all past due amounts
shown on form.

If person at counter and they do not have their renewal form, print one out from HdL
and ask them to verify and update the information and calculate the tax due.
o up to 8/30
Renewal form 1st notice
o 9/1 to 9/30
Renewal form 2nd notice – 20% penalty
o On or after 10/1
Renewal form 3rd notice – 45% penalty

Gross receipts need to be provided by the business owner for one full year – either
the prior calendar year or (if a newer business does not have a full year of receipts)
projected 7/1 to 6/30 receipts.

Look at the gross receipts on the renewal form, if they don’t look right for the type of
business, ask the owner about it. For example, if they owner is a doctor with 15
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employees, but only reports $20,000 in gross receipts, they probably are reporting
an incorrect number. Document what they say.

If you have time, look at the HdL business license and the gross receipts from the
last year. If you notice that the gross receipts are less than the prior year, ask owner
about it and document what they say under Hdl notes

If business license payment is coming in after 8/30 of each year, you need to apply
penalties; multiply the base BL tax for the year x the percent. Hand-write the
penalties on the renewal form and show the new total due and initial the change.
o Payment made between 9/1 and 9/30 = 20%
o Payment made between 10/1 and 6/30 = 45%

If business is in the BID area, be sure they paid BID fees. Penalties for BID fees
start 9/1 of the license year at 20% and increase 20% each month after that up to
100% of the base fee.
BID Fee Penalties if Unpaid by August 30
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
If paid between September 1 and September 30
If paid between October 1 and October 31
If paid between November 1 and November 30
If paid between December 1 and December 31
If paid between January 1 and January 31

If person requests a penalty waiver for any reason, have them put the request in
writing. Ask them to pay the base fees and we will contact them about the penalty
waiver request.

Process payments per payment procedure.

Business licenses will be issued in about a week through the mail. If the person
needs it sooner than that then refer the person to the BL account clerk.
Renewal Processing – Form Review and Processing

If envelope has not been processed, handle it as shown above.

Be sure you are only processing the color renewal forms you are authorized to input.
If you received one in error, send it to the correct person.

Review renewal form to be verify there are no exceptions:
o Gross receipts need to be for one full year – either the prior calendar year
or (if a newer business does not have a full year of receipts) projected 7/1
to 6/30 receipts. If this is a new business and the GR are not for a full 12
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o
o
o
o
o

months, project the GR to 12 months and send statement (status: fees
due)
Look at the gross receipts on the renewal form, if they don’t look right for
the type of business*, or if they are significantly** lower than prior year,
make notes about what the issue is and give renewal form and check to
Account Technician.
If the business is in the BID area, be sure they paid BID fees.
If there are no extenuating issues – no penalty waiver requests, letters
that need responding to, etc.
Set aside (in the provided folder) if this renewal fee is under $10.00, so we
can input these all at once.
If there are more complex problems with the renewal, review it with the
Account Technician or supervisor. Special situations: Make a note in HdL
notes and then refer these situations to the AT/supervisor to process – do
not input the payment into the computer:

Payments with blank Gross receipts (unless it is a minimum
payment and is close to prior GR).

Paid BID with no GR on form.

Wants penalties waived

Checks with no documentation (no statement/renewal
form/application form)

Subsequent payments involving penalties or other complications for
the fiscal year.

Any payment where you need to adjust reported GR to fit the
payment (usually from owner fee miscalculation).
Penalties start around 9/1 of each year. The date varies based on how far behind
we are in inputting renewals and where the weekend falls. Supervisor will let you
know the exact date each year. Generally, if the payment comes in after 8/30 of
each year, you need to apply penalties. HdL will calculate the fees automatically if
you have the issue and penalty dates input correctly.
o Business License penalties:
 Payment made between 9/1 and 9/30 = 20%
 Payment made between 10/1 and 6/30 = 45%
o Penalties for BID fees start generally on 9/1 of the license year at 20%
and increase 20% each month after that up to 100% of the base fee.
BID Fee Penalties if Unpaid by August 30
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
If paid between September 1 and September 30
If paid between October 1 and October 31
If paid between November 1 and November 30
If paid between December 1 and December 31
If paid between January 1 and January 31
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
INPUTTING RENEWALS IN HDL:
o Process renewals in the date order they were received. The only
exception is cash payments that need to be processed using the date that
the transaction went through Munis.
o Review notes on HdL license to see if there is anything unusual about this
license.
o If license is flagged ‘combined renewal’, be sure we have both (or all)
renewal forms needed to review them at the same time. If not, document
this one came in (hdl notes) on this license and on the others it is
combined with. File the renewal form and check in the file set aside for
this situation.
o Either process payments as batch renewal or individually. If handling
individually, only hit the ‘renew’ button once (very important).
o Document anything unusual in HdL notes.
o If changes shown on the renewal form, either just make the changes if you
have time or separate into critical and non-critical changes and put into
those files (see Editing procedure).
o Process payments per payment procedure.
*For example, if they owner is a doctor with 15 employees, but only reports $20,000 in
gross receipts, they probably are reporting an incorrect number.
** OK to process if the fee will be minimum (last year was minimum and this year is
minimum AND it makes sense for this business to be minimum (or there are notes
explaining why it is OK for the business to be low. Refer others if . . . xxx%
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Verifying Business Closures
When a business closes, we verify the closure, determine if they owe closeout fees,
send the closeout statement and document the closure in the paper file and in HdL.
Businesses can close licensed businesses (in HdL) or on the unlicensed spreadsheet.

PERSON WANTS TO CLOSE BUSINESS: Ask them to send notice in writing
showing the date and who the new owner is. They can just return the renewal
form (or whatever) with the information written on it. If you’re on the phone or in
person, get as much information as you can about the closure: including the date
closed, did they move? Who is new owner and what is the new owner
phone/address? The reason closed.

DOCUMENT: Document all this information under HdL notes or on unlicensed
spreadsheet.
o Initial Documentation: Show all information we have about closure (before
research). (Example: closed 4/08 per renewal form.) Status:
Closed/status review underway.
o Closure review: Document all sources checked so we don’t duplicate
efforts.

VERIFYING CLOSURES – ROUTINE STEPS: We review closures to verify if
closeout fees are due and to be sure we don’t close a business that is really still
in operation. Document each step in HdL notes or on PC spreadsheet (notes
column).
o Apartment Units: Check Realquest.com for new owner and if there is a
new owner, you can assume this is closed. See Special Closeout
Situations below.
o Envelope/check: Look at envelope or check they send us to see if
address/phone number has changed. Sometimes the business has
moved and this will give us a clue. Only change mailing address with this
information; DO NOT CHANGE SITE ADDRESS (they closed from the
Vista location). Log changes from check/envelope under notes.
o Telephone check: Phone the business to see how the Vista number is
answered. Log in notes if it is disconnected, is answered residentially, or
has a referral number on it (show the referral number). Sometimes, the
phone is answered for the (closed) business showing it is probably still in
operation (ask for their new address or to confirm if they are still open in
Vista). Sometimes the phone is answered for another business showing
the owners have opened a new business or the number has been reused
for another business (check to see if the new business has a license).
o Telephone book: Check telephone book or most recent reverse directory
to see if they’re listed.
o Seller’s Permit: If they have a seller’s permit, look it up in the Vista
database or on the state website. Minimally you need to know if the
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permit is open or closed. Document it either way in notes; if closed, show
the closure date indicated in the sales tax data.
o Other business open? Check HdLand unlicensed spreadsheet to see if
the business has opened under new ownership or if the owner has
another business. Look by owner name, address and by business name
to see if the business is open under another license number. If it looks as
though there is another owner, proceed to step D below. (Document
status of other business licenses including business license number under
notes for the closing business.)

VERIFYING CLOSURES – ADVANCED STEPS:
o Check address/activity on seller’s permit – you can check activity using
the Vista sales tax data and also check the state website.
o Check state license status/address: Contractors: Check CSLB; Real
Estate: DRE
o Check business income tax list for the most recent year(s).

OPEN OR CLOSED?
o Using above research, decide if the business is open or closed.
 If you believe it is still open, update notes and refer to Account
Technician for billing.
 If you believe the business is closed, see closeout fees below.
 If you are not sure if it is open or not, make notes about what you
checked and why you are not sure and then refer to Account
Technician.

DETERMINE CLOSEOUT FEES – BUSINESS OUTSIDE CITY:
o On vendors and MJCs (contractors), check notes and/or accounts payable
to see if they have any outstanding jobs. You may need to also check
Accela if permits have not been posted on the licenses recently.
 If there are outstanding jobs and the job value is in the notes, add
that amount to any balance due or ‘renew’ the license using that
amount and mail a statement. Adjust issue date to today’s date if
this is not a ‘renewal’.
o If the business has any balance due on the license, but has not new jobs,
mail the prior balance as closeout fees.
o If there is no balance due and no outstanding jobs, OK to inactivate
license (status inactive/inactive).

DETERMINE CLOSEOUT FEES – BUSINESS INSIDE CITY: Closeout
payments are due if there is a significant amount of time between the gross
receipts end date when they paid last on the license and the date of closure.
There can be a gap of up to 23 months at the worst situation. The City Attorney’s
office advises that new business owners (who take over another business) may
have to pay any past due license fees incurred by the old owner, depending on
how they got the business. If it just closes, the payment is due from the old
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owner (no new owner to talk to). If it is sold, inherited, etc., the debt belongs to
the new owner. See the supervisor for assistance on this issue.
o If there is any balance due on the license, send the last balance as
closeout fees.
o If this is business not calculated on prior year gross receipts, (apartment,
corporate apportionment, cabaret license, etc.), there are no closeout fees
(they do need to pay the last balance if there is one.
o If the business has been open less than 12 months (and there is no
balance on the license), ok to close the license with no more fees due.
o If business has been open more than 12 months, but less than 36 months,
look at the number of payments made on the account (don’t include
statement payments or separate penalty payments); if they paid at least
once annually (and there is no balance due on the license), ok to close it.
 If business did not pay at least annually, give documented notes to
Account Technician for billing.
o If business was open more than a few years, they probably owe closeout
fees. Refer these (with documented notes) to the Account Technician.
 The closeout fee period runs from January of the year following the
last gross receipts year they reported to the date of close.
 So, if the business closes on November 30, 2007 and they
did not renew for 07/08, their closeout period would be
1/1/06 to 11/30/07.
 If they did renew for 07/08, the already reported the 2006
income, so they only owe for 5 months – 7/1/07 to 11/30/07.
 Estimate gross receipts base on sboe sales or prior reported (or
estimated) gross receipts on the license. If the gross receipts look
way under reported, refer to supervisor.

DOCUMENT DATABASE AND SEND BILLING STATEMENT/LETTER:
o HdL businesses with closeout fees due,
 business status is based on the time they have owed fees (fees
due=to start with; delinquent when penalties added; Kloseout fees
due or litigation after that; if no fees due but sboe is open, status is
closed/quit state lic).
 Be sure the ‘mail addtl’ line shows “c/o” a few spaces after the last
words in that line. Example: Attn: Joe Smith c/o. This is a code
to everyone that this is has closeout fees pending.
 Send statement with closeout footnote if c/o fees due.
 Issue date is today’s date (date you mailed statement)
 Close date is the date the City closed the license (date we
determined they were closed) – do not put the date the owner said
they were closed here; list that date under notes.
o Unlicensed spreadsheet businesses,
 Put all comments, research under ‘notes’ column in the usual
format.
 In first column, put “business closed” in the usual format.
 Supervisor will send them closeout letter.
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
SPECIAL CLOSURE SITUATIONS & NOTICES
o Notice to close SBOE – sent in cases where business looks closed and
there are no closeout fees due. It is sent when the seller’s permit (SBOE)
is still open. (NOTE: if a closeout statement was sent, the footnote used
includes a note to close the seller’s permit.
o Apartments –
 Just close the old license (assuming fees are paid)
 Open new business license in HdL using information from
Realquest.com.
 Calculate fees using # units from prior license (it will also show on
Realquest sheet. (See supervisor if they are different.
 Send owner statement (no penalties – fees due status) along with
rental unit letter and apartment application form (write in the BL# in
the upper right hand corner, show address the way it is shown in
Realquest.com and show fees using units in Realquest.com.
 Occasionally, the property changes a couple times before we find
out about it. Review the cycles, as long as we have been paid
once for each year, just work with the current owner of record. If
issues, see the supervisor for assistance.

OWNER QUESTIONS CONCERNING CLOSEOUT FEES: Most larger, formal
businesses pay the fees without question. However, the closeout fee billings
incur a large number of inquiries; sometimes the owner is concerned we are
double-billing them. Most of the arguments revolve from the owners on the date
they paid the license fees and not the gross receipts period.
o Explain that their last payment was for the PRIOR CALENDAR YEAR
gross receipts and the closeout fee is for the final gross receipts period.
Be specific – “you last paid in 6/06, but you reported the gross receipts for
2005 on that renewal form. Your closeout fees cover calendar year 2006
when you were still in business.
o If this gets sticky, refer the caller to the Account Technician after you make
solid notes about what the person is concerned about.
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Filing and Scanning Business License Records
Unlicensed Business Files (Evidence Files)
These are the evidence and correspondence copy files for unlicensed businesses that
are still on the PC spreadsheet. Once a business license is opened in HdL, the material
is moved to the regular business license file system (see below).
 Material is filed alphabetically by business name. If there is no business name,
we file it by the owner name.
 If you are looking for something, look by owner first name and owner last name
(along with the business name. Different people have had different philosophies
about how to file these.
 When a new license is opened that is on the PC spreadsheet, the PC filing for
that business is supposed to be pulled.
 Closed PC items are filed by letter in an adjacent file drawer. If an item is being
closed, pull the other PC filing on that business and staple them together. Then
file by letter (don’t try to alphabetize these.
 Occasionally we need to review the pending PC filing against the spreadsheet
and pull the closed or licensed materials and send them to the correct location.
Business License Files
Once a business is input in HdL, the materials are filed by BL number. We are in the
process of phasing out the hard copy files for licensed businesses. So all current filing
is scanned onto the computer and eventually attached to the HdL business license
database. The only exception to this is the most recently opened licenses – we keep
the originals in a file cabinet for about 6 months on these.
Hard copy file: The hard copy filing is only for the most recently-opened licenses in
HdL. The material is filed by license number in the cabinet behind the cashier window.
The reason we keep the hard copy on these is because other departments refer to them
so often and make notes on the original copy. DO NOT ADD MATERIALS TO THE
OLDER BL FILES – THAT MATERIAL IS TO BE SCANNED.
Scanning: We scan all current filing except as shown above. The materials are placed
onto the city network and periodically a link is created to allow you to access the
materials through the HdL database.
 Preparing scanned items: Staples need to be removed, unnecessary items need
to be removed, partial sheets or backs of documents that need copying need to
be copied. See detailed instructions by the scanning machine.
 Scanning the item: A PDF file is created using the software on the computer
near the scanning equipment. Each item is placed into a separate PDF
document (unless you are scanning an old file and then we put the whole file in 1
document). Document is placed in the CURRENT QUARTER scanning using
136




the license number and an extension showing the type of document and date.
Format: 000xxxxx_(type of document & date) or BL00xxxx or xxxxxxxx. See list
of codes posted near the scanning machine.
Handling original documents that have been scanned: Stamp each page you
scanned and show initial/date on it. Then put it face down in the box in the
corner. When the box gets full, handle disposal as shown below.
Attaching the documents: Periodically the supervisor runs the process to link the
scanned documents to the HdL database. You may be asked to rename
documents if they were not named correctly and won’t attach to the database.
Destroying records: All records are destroyed with approval of the supervisor
and the department head. Only scanned records can be destroyed. Once the
box gets full, give the box to the Account Technician.
o Spot check: While we are learning the scanning system, spot check the
box to be sure the materials were scanned correctly. If repeated
problems, refer these to supervisor.
o Create destruction form: Form provided by City Clerk’s office. See
samples in notebook near scanning equipment. Obtain supervisor initials
and Finance Director’s signature.
o Take box to City Clerk’s office.
Scanning older files: Because there are so many pages, this can go slow and
you may have time to prepare other files at the same time the materials are being
processed.
o Naming file: We scan all one license number and name it “file” instead of
doing each sheet separately.
o Boxing records for destruction: Put these into a different box because
they are labeled differently when they go for destruction.
o Work in numerical sequence: Don’t skip around – once you start a
number series, keep going on it.
137
Monthly Data Clean-up and Other Steps
Review Planning Delays
About once a month, go over the pending applications (Pending/Pending or
Pending/Hold-DSC) file to see what the hold up is:
 Review notes in HdL to see what the delay is.
 If there is a procedural error (for example, items not sent to DSC from our office; or if
we didn’t document a letter and change status correctly), remedy the error and
document HdL.
 If there is a balance due, send statement (status pending/fees due)
 If it is held up in DSC (around 30 days), send a tracer copy to DSC for update and (if
paid for current license year) show status as Pending/Under Review Other Dept.
 If license is still pending after 60 days, call DSC for update and document what they
say in notes; apply status according to the situation.
Review Fees Due Status and Apply Penalties
Review licenses with Fees Due status filtering out ones that have an issue date more
than 60 days old.
 Look at notes to be sure the issue date is correct and change it if needed.
Sometimes people re-mail statements, etc. without changing the issue date.
 Apply penalties to license:
o Open license
o Check penalty date to be sure penalties will apply correctly (at 60 days,
penalty should be 45% on BL and 40% on BID.
o Change issue date to the date you will print the statements.
o Verify penalties applied correctly.
o Add short note to HdL notes that you updated penalties and mailed a
statement.
 Mail a statement to the business(es).
 Change license status to delinquent or del y-active.
Waiting for Owner, Overpayment, Bad Check Status Check
Review these statuses monthly to be sure steps needed have been taken. Update
notes and follow-up on missing items we need to do. If we are still waiting for the owner
to do something, just leave it on this status.
BL Staff Review Status and Research Status in HdL and on Unlicensed Spreadsheet
Review licenses in these status categories to see if you can help with the research
needed to clear these items. Update notes or evidence/address as needed. See
supervisor if you are not sure what needs to be done.
138
Daily Check Deposit & Munis Reconciliation
Martha updating this procedure by ~ 3/15/08
1.
Recalculate checks to be sure that the total deposit is correct.
2.
Check Cash Receipt Listing (CRL) form –

Revenue accounts are correct (compare ‘receipt no.’ column data with
spread at bottom of form).

Amount shown as ‘cash’ is same as the BL Cash data sheet (usually
processed earlier in the week) -–this should be attached with the other
papers you receive when you get it. Write ‘on the Cash data sheet ‘cash
OK on BL report with your initial/date’ (assuming they match).
3.
Check Data Sheet for check deposit –

Input date must show on check data sheet (same date as ‘Date Pd’
column on CRL form). (NOTE: It should also show on the cash data
sheet)

Spread on bottom of CRL should match account spread on check data
sheet.

Initial and date CHECK data sheet.

Return the whole package to the account clerk for bank deposit.
NOTE: A copy of this packet (including all checks) is made before deposit, so that we
can trace payments back to the check that was written.
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Annual Renewal Process – Mailing Notices
Check against worksheets – Jeanette will update shortly
Early Preparation - Forms
1.
Print out renewal forms to see if they print properly; call changes to HdL for
correction in April. Follow up with HdL to make sure corrections are made in time
to print the renewal forms (late May).
2.
Call the Sr. Nutrition Center to see if they will help stuff the envelopes when they
are printed, due to the volume and timing involved. See note below.
3.
Be sure we have enough window envelopes and paper to do this printing.
Early Preparation – Business License Data in HdL
Review non-paid, but open businesses for status and update status to current. This
needs to be done in order to have renewal forms print out with updated information,
past due amounts and with less aggravation. As much as possible, be decisive on the
status:
1.
Do Site Inspections and check Vacancies to determine if they are open or not.
2.
Process businesses for closure if there is no evidence they are still in business.
(Status would be Closeout).
3.
Estimate Gross Receipts and mail statements to businesses that are still open
but have not renewed for the current year. (Status would be delinquent or
litigation).
4.
Fish or cut bait on the (under-reporting of) Gross Receipts problems.
5.
Check Pending and Unlicensed businesses to determine if they are really open
and update status.
6.
Check Overpayment status and any negative fees due to zero out the amount
shown due.
7.
Check any business with a positive fee due to make sure the balance is correct.
8.
Make seasonal businesses Inactive status (i.e., Christmas Tree Lots).
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Printing Renewal Notice
First renewal notices are printed around June 1 to allow time for printing and
processing. And so that they are in the mail so they are delivered to businesses before
July 1.
1.
Print 2 of the Summary Status reports – one with open businesses and one with
all businesses. This becomes your baseline for the renewal process this year.
2.
Run a rate type summary report; use this as check-off as you run renewals.
3.
Select licenses you will run:

Expiration Date is Up to 6/30/xx (year you are currently in).

Only one Rate Type you are working on (using the summary report as a
base to be sure you do them all).

Open Businesses: Select active, bad check, delinquent, gross receipts
check, litigation, no BL required, overpayment, site inspection, fees due,
waiver requested. You can select these rate types by choosing Closeout,
inactive, pending, unlicensed, zoning problem and X delete and checking
the NOT box.

The fastest printer is the OCE/Network Copier, but someone from BL
needs to stay there while the copies are being run to handle paper jams
and to be sure no one interrupts the run.

Mail out in window envelopes. There is a huge volume, so you may want
to send them to the Sr. Nutrition Center to have them put into the
envelopes. We usually buy them donuts every couple of days and we
deliver and pick-up the materials to them.
4.
Send 2nd notice using same process as for 1st notice with these exceptions

Be sure all renewals and closures received to date are input.

Process so these are received by businesses by September 1.
5.
Send 3rd notice using same process as for 2nd notice, so they are received by
businesses by October 1.
Handling Mail Returns
After 3rd notice settles down, closeout all contractor businesses outside the City that
have not renewed - leave open the ones that have a Vista mailing address just in case.
Processing payments (batch mode)
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MAIL PROCESSING
142
Distribution of Interoffice Mail
Distribution of Interoffice Mail - SUMMARY
Inter-department mail delivered to the Finance Department mail slot is distributed by the
Administrative Secretary or Finance Department staff member.
Distribution of Interoffice Mail - DETAIL
1.
Remove mail from Finance Dept. slot in mailroom.
2.
Sort mail by addressee’s name. Mail for the Payroll Accountant is not opened.
Other Accountant, Finance Manager and Director of Finance mail is opened and
date stamped. Mail for everyone else is not opened. Director of Finance mail is
placed in filing folders labeled with the current date and placed in his/her office.
Any mail requiring his/her signature should go in a file folder marked “For
Signature”. Mail for other office staff is placed in their individual in-boxes.
3.
Open Business License mail. Endorse stamp the checks and date stamp
correspondence and Business License forms. Paper clip both check and letters
to envelope. Deliver to Business License staff.
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Posting Outgoing Mail
Posting Outgoing Mail - SUMMARY
City departments meter outgoing mail in the City Copy Room by 4PM for posting daily.
Outgoing mail is metered and prepared for special services as required by an
Administrative Secretary or staff from each department. An account of postage
expense is made and charged back to each department monthly by journal entry. Daily
the processed mail is delivered to the Post Office by city personnel at 4PM.
Posting Outgoing Mail - DETAIL
1.
Outgoing mail should be placed in the brown, cubbyhole box (located on the left
as you enter the mailroom) labeled with department names. Some departments
have multiple accounts to which mail costs are charged. In that case, each
department is responsible for bundling the mail by account, which will be marked
in the upper, left corner. Department staff is asked to notify the Administrative
Secretary of any mass mailings to be metered for posting as soon as they are
ready (or as portions of mailing are ready for metering).
2.
Separate odd sized or items requiring special handling.

Certified Mail handling: The label should be attached close to the right
side of the return address, the name of the sender should be noted on
both halves of the Certified Mail label, white portion of the label should
reflect originating department. Green return receipt card should be filled
out front and back then attached to the back of the envelope. Rate
information is posted on a sample label located in the mailroom. If not
supplied by the individual department certified supplies are stored in the
second drawer to the right of the postage machine. Note: Certified mail
needs to be delivered to the post office (or to the Post Office site located
in King’s Stationary on Indiana Street) prior to 5PM. Upon entering the
post office, proceed straight ahead to the blue door and ring the bell. A
postal employee will take the certified mail, date stamp the white portion
and return it to you. The receipt is then returned to the department for
which the item was sent.
3.
A postage scale is used to determine how much postage is applied to each item
to be mailed.
4.
The postage machine is kept locked until used. The key to the postage machine
is kept inside the mail instruction three-ring binder in the City Copy Room.
5.
After turning the machine on the date needs to be updated to today’s date.
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6.
A code number is used to identify each department/division so that the cost of
postage can be charged back to each department on a monthly basis. Key in the
appropriate department/division code number before running each item through
the machine. Continue to change the code number as each department’s mail is
processed.
7.
When all items for the day have gone through the postage machine a report is
printed daily giving an accounting of the number of items processed and the
amount of postage used for each department.
8.
The amount of postage unspent is monitored on a daily basis. When the unspent
balance reaches $5,000 the meter is replenished (see section titled Replenishing
Postage Meter Funds).
9.
At the end of each month a journal entry is written up to charge postage expense
back to the departments.
For additional information regarding the postage machine see the Ascom Hasler
Operating Guide.
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Monthly Postage Report
Monthly Postage Report - SUMMARY
As postage is being applied to outgoing mail the postage meter is recording the amount
of postage used by each department. At the end of the month a journal entry is written
to charge postage expense to the individual departments.
Monthly Postage Report - DETAIL
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Using reports generated by the postage machine a journal entry is written to
charge postage expense for the month to each department.
Navigate to General Ledger>Ledger Journal>Journal Entries and key the entry to
the accounting system (see General Ledger Operations in the InForum Gold
users manual).
For verification of totals print an edit list by navigating to General Ledger>Ledger
Journal>Journal Entry Edit List. If the entry is correct the first day of the month
ascending balance less the last day of the month ascending balance should
match the amount credited to account number 001.1.710.0000-Prepaid Postage.
If the edit list has no errors and total verification has been done proceed to
General Ledger>Ledger Journal>Post Journal Entries to post the entry to the
General Ledger.
The journal entry is filed in the Adjusting Journal Entries notebook.
146
GENERAL
147
Useful Information
Phone

To place an outgoing call—press the outgoing button then dial your number.

To place an outgoing, long distance call—press the outgoing button then enter
your long distance code. Personal long distance codes are provided by
Information Systems.

To pick up a ringing phone other than your own enter 42001. This will bring the
ringing line onto your console.

To transfer a call—the call needs to be live, not on hold, press the transfer button
on the console then enter the extension number of the person to whom you’re
transferring the call.

To transfer a call to voice mail—the call needs to be live, press the voice mail
button then the party’s extension number.

To retrieve voice mail messages—press the voice mail button, press *, enter your
extension number, enter your password (see reference guide on procedure for
setting password), press the number one.

To forward incoming calls to another extension in the event of your absence press the forward button then enter the extension number. The LCD display will
confirm that the forwarding has taken place.
Copy Machines

The code to access the copier room is 2-5-8. The Finance code for copiers is
72471.

The copy machine in Finance is maintained by IKON. IKON’s phone number is
1-888-456-6457. The machine ID number is B5K5H.
Conference Room Reservation
The Finance Administrative Secretary is responsible for reserving the two conference
rooms located within the Finance building. Reservations are recorded to Outlook
calendars.
148
BUDGET
149
Budget Preparation
Budget Preparation - SUMMARY
The City adopts an Operating and Capital Improvement budget every two years. The
adopted budget appropriates funds and establishes legal expenditure limits for the
upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1. To develop the Operating Budget, departments
are initially asked to make estimates of anticipated revenues. Once revenues are
evaluated, departments submit estimates of anticipated expenses for each budget unit.
Finance staff reviews both revenue and expense estimates. Subsequently,
departments and Finance meet with the City Manager to consider the estimates. At a
point at which projected expenses are equal or less than projected revenues a draft
budget is produced for review by the City Council. After City Council feedback and any
requested revisions have been made a final budget document is prepared for adoption
prior to June 30. Adoption of the budget provides City administrators with the authority
to incur liabilities to provide services. The approved budget is modified throughout the
fiscal year as funding sources and the physical needs of the City change.
Budget Preparation - DETAIL
Under separate cover, the manuals User Budget Manual and Analyst Budget Manual
document detailed budget procedures.
The User Budget Manual is distributed to participants in the budget process at the
beginning of the budget cycle. This document gives the preparers of the budget
direction for the current budget season from the City Manager, instructions on how to
use the accounting system and any other files that may be used in the preparation of
the budget, and a general sense of the type and structure of the information needed to
produce a two-year budget.
The Analyst Budget Manual addresses budget from the view point of the person
managing the process. Preparing the budget is not standardized in the sense that the
process will be conducted in the same way every time. Rather, aspects of the budget
are dictated by circumstances and the period of time in which it is being prepared. The
Analyst Budget Manual begins with a brief overview of the process and a check list that
provides an outline of priorities. Following are sections with instructions for how to do
specific tasks.
Both manuals are saved to the city network. Hard copies are available at the
workstation of the Budget Analyst.
150
Budget Accountability
Budget Accountability - SUMMARY
During the course of the fiscal year it had been the practice that if any individual general
ledger account exceeded its authorized budget a budget transfer was required to adjust
the appropriation to cover expenditures. The memo below of November 2, 2005 was
sent to Department Heads and staff members who prepare the budget detailing a
change in this internal policy. Forward, specific accounts that departments have control
of budgeting for, referred to as “discretionary,” will be “grouped.” The line-item budget
for each of the grouped accounts will be combined and treated as single budget for all.
The result will be that some accounts within the budget may go over-budget as long as
the net of all combined expenditures does not exceed the net appropriation.
Budget Accountability - DETAIL
In an effort to reduce workloads, Finance has proposed a change to the process for
budget accountability; which will require fewer budget transfers. Monitoring budgets
currently requires that a budget transfer be processed when individual budgeted lineitems are insufficient to cover expenditures. In addition, for year end closing, all lines
showing a negative balance must be made whole by transferring amounts between
lines within a budget unit. These processes are time consuming and do not necessarily
improve accountability.
Department Managers are responsible and accountable for insuring that each budget
unit ends the fiscal year with a positive balance. This can usually be accomplished,
under this proposal, without the need for transfers.
Beginning with the FY05-06 budget, Finance will no longer require that all individual
lines be in the positive. Accountability will be at the “bottom-line” level. Managers will
be responsible for ensuring that the total of all lines is kept in the positive. Transfers
will not be required amongst these lines. When making the determination of “total”, the
following accounts are to be excluded:




Salaries and Benefits
Utility accounts
Internal Service charge accounts
Capital Outlay
To assist you with tracking the “total” amount for your budget units, we have created a
Crystal Report that can be run as needed to review your balances. See the following
“Expenditure Budget Accountability Report” for instructions.
Prior approval (by the Assistant City Manager or City Manager) will be required if any
individual line will be in the negative due to an expenditure of a “non-budgeted”
151
purchase or where the amount is more than $1,000 or 5% (of the appropriation for that
specific line), whichever is less.
For example, an Expense Report similar to the abbreviated version below would not
require a budget transfer because the net actual expense does not exceed the net
budget. However, a budget transfer would be required for the Office Supply account
because the balance over budget exceeds 5%.
Account
Budget Actual Balance
Office Supplies
1,000
1,100
-100
Employee Training
1,500
1,200
300
Special Department Expense 20,000 20,200
-200
TOTAL
$22,500 $22,500
$0
This does not mean that an expense can be paid from an incorrect account to avoid
making an account appear to be within budget. All expenditures must be made from the
account in which they were budgeted.
It is critical that Managers review all of their budget units at least monthly to ensure
that their budgets are in the black – failure to do so could result in grave consequences,
including, but not limited to returning to the days of budget transfers. Should transfers
between budget units become necessary, they will require prior approval by the
Assistant City Manager or City Manager.
152
Expenditure Budget Accountability Report
The Expenditure Budget Accountability Report has been developed to help you quickly monitor the
condition of your budget and to easily determine whether or not a budget transfer is necessary. The
report has been “linked” to the accounting system for review at any time.
The report is shown in two sections:
 NON-DISCRETIONARY ACCOUNTS and
 DISCRETIONARY ACCOUNTS
You will recall that discretionary accounts are those that
departments specifically budget for. For budget purposes, these accounts have been “grouped” in
the accounting system and will be treated as if a single combined budget existed for these accounts.
Compare the Expenditure Budget Accountability Report’s Adjusted Appropriation and Ending Balance
columns to determine how close you might be to going over-budget on the “grouped” accounts. The
accounting system will not process payments that exceed the net total available in the “grouped”
accounts. If an anticipated purchase will put the net budget for these accounts over-budget, it will
need to be addressed in advance of payment.
To access the Expenditure Budget Accountability Report open the InForum Gold accounting system and
navigate to:
1. General Ledger>Reports>Linked
Reports, highlight the Expenditure
Budget Accountability Report, and
click the print preview icon.
2. To regenerate the report for a
specific budget unit, click the
refresh data icon and click
prompt for new parameter values
on the Refresh Report Data screen
and click OK.
153
3. At the Enter Parameter Values
screen arrow through the
parameter fields to make the
appropriate choices. For this report
it would make sense to set select
the following choices:




STARTING PERIOD: Opening
ENDING PERIOD: Closing 2
FISCAL YEAR: the current fiscal
year
BUDGET UNIT: use the arrow
keys to make the appropriate
selection and click OK
Clicking the No upper Bound box will
result in a report for all budget units.
154
PROJECT ACCOUNTING
155
Project Accounting
Project Accounting - SUMMARY
Project Accounting is used to keep track of activities relating to the City’s capital
improvement projects, the Moonlight and Avo productions, various grants associated
with CDBG, Weed & Seed program, law enforcement, and the red light camera
program. All accounting entries that are entered against a project expenditure string
from all other modules are posted into Project Accounting.
Project Accounting - DETAIL
Each project must be initially setup in Project Accounting. The project number consists
of six alpha/numeric digits and the expenditure/funding strings established for each
project. (NOTE: the project number for all capital projects are “cpXXXX whereas the
XXXX represents the CIP# illustrated in the CIP Budget. The funding and expense
strings are established within a project. Expense strings can be set up at the task or
subtask level, depending on the level of information needed to be captured on a project.
(NOTE: All capital projects are setup at a subtask level (ie: Pre-design, detailed design
or construction)
Setting up a New Project – (Navigate to Project Accounting > Project)
Click on new record to initially enter the project. There are many tabs associated with a
project and these must be filled out as well. All expense and funding strings must be
defined, along with the budget level and description of the project. Account numbers
need to be defined in each expenditure string and this can be accomplished by going to
the Expense tab and drilling down on the specific expense string. This will allow you to
enter the budget and account numbers related to a specific expense string.
After the project is initially setup, all accounting entries entered against a particular
expense or funding string are recorded against the project in Project Accounting.
Reports can be printed to give detail or summary of a project.
156
FIXED ASSETS
157
Fixed Assets and Fixed Asset Reporting
Under Development - SUMMARY
Fixed assets are defined as those assets acquired by the City to be used in the course
of operations and providing services to the general public. The City uses a cost
threshold of $5,000 for the purpose of fixed asset and capital asset reporting. A listing
of assets by location for those assets costing at least $2,000 but less than $5,000 is
maintained for security and safeguarding purposes.
Under Development - DETAIL
The City’s fixed assets and the associated reporting are maintained within the fixed
asset module of the financial software system. Asset may be directly entered into the
fixed asset module or can be created in conjunction with processing and payment of
invoices. When the latter method is used, the accounts payable system creates a
“skeleton” record within the fixed asset module that is then completed based upon
additional information provided.
A summary of the classifications of fixed assets, along with associated depreciation
lives is presented below:
Asset Type
Land
Buildings:
Modular Buildings
General Structures
General Buildings
Furniture:
Office Furniture
Office Fixtures
Other Furniture and Fixtures
Improvements:
General
Recreational Improvements
Paved Improvements
Software Improvements
Infrastructure:
Traffic Signals and Street Lights
Streets and Curbs
Bridges
Storm Drains
Machinery and Equipment:
Information Systems Equipment
158
Estimated Useful Life
Indefinite
15
20
30
5
10
10
15
15
25
5
25
40
50
50
3
Office Machines
Light Duty Equipment
Medium Duty Equipment
Heavy Duty Equipment
Sewer Lines
Vehicles:
Autos and Vans
Emergency Medical Vehicles
General Use Vehicles
Trucks and SUV's
Fire Vehicles
Heavy Duty Vehicles
5
5
10
15
40
7
7
7
7
12
15
These useful lives are set-up as defaults within the fixed asset module. At the time that
assets are added, professional judgment must be used to determine if the default useful
lives need to be adjusted for any reason.
Adding Fixed Assets via Accounts Payable Module
Adding a fixed asset record via the accounts module is very simple and is generally
used to add Machinery and Equipment type assets. The user entering the payment
completes the “fixed asset” box at the time that the invoice is entered for payment.
159
The system has been set up to automatically create a fixed asset skeleton record when
the $2,500 threshold is met for items being paid for out of operational capital outlay
expenditure accounts. The system has been set-up to liberally pick-up items that may
qualify as fixed assets and users are instructed to when in doubt, check the fixed asset
box. All item brought over from the accounts payable module are flagged as “Pending”
within the fixed asset module. The Finance Manager reviews the skeleton records that
are created and deletes those skeleton records that do not qualify as fixed assets.
Adding Fixed Assets Directly Into the Fixed Asset Module
This method for entering fixed assets is generally used for adding those asset that are
more capital in nature, such as land, improvements, buildings, sewer lines, and the like.
It is also the method used to add those fixed assets items that were “missed” during the
accounts payable process.
For detailed procedures for completing the addition of fixed assets into the fixed assets
module, please see the Inforum Gold software documentation manuals for Fixed
Assets.
160
GASB 34 and Reporting Capital Assets
General Information
Capital assets should be reported at historical cost. The cost of a capital asset should
include capitalized interest and ancillary charges necessary to place the asset into its
intended location and condition for use. Ancillary charges include costs that are directly
attributable to asset acquisition. These charges may include, but are not limited to,
freight and transportation charges, site preparation costs, and professional fees.
Donated capital assets should be reported at their estimated fair value at the time of
acquisition plus ancillary charges, it any.
As used in GASB statement 34, the term capital assets includes land, improvements to
land, easements, building, building improvements, vehicles, machinery, equipment,
works of art and historical treasures, infrastructure, and all other tangible or intangible
assets that are used in operations and that have initial useful lives extending beyond a
single year. Infrastructure assets are long-lived capital assets that normally are
stationary in nature and normally can be preserved for a significantly greater number of
years than most capital assets. Examples of infrastructure assets include roads,
bridges, tunnels, drainage systems, water and sewer systems, dams, and lighting
systems. Buildings, except those that are an ancillary part of a network of infrastructure
assets, should not be considered infrastructure assets for the purposes of GASB
statement 34.
Networks and Subsystems
A network of assets is composed of all assets that provide a particular type of service
for a government. A network of infrastructure assets may be only one infrastructure
asset that is composed of many components. For example, a network of infrastructure
assets may be a dam composed of a concrete dam, a concrete spillway, and a series of
locks.
A subsystem of a network of assets is composed of all assets that make up a similar
portion or segment of a network of assets. For example, all the roads of a government
could be considered a network of infrastructure assets. Interstate highways, state
highways, and rural roads could be considered a subsystem of that network.
Beginning with the implementation date, all new infrastructure assets are required to be
recorded and capitalized. In addition, it is desired to record retroactively those major
infrastructure assets that have been put into place beginning with the 1980/1981 fiscal
year.
Major general infrastructure assets are networks or subsystems of
infrastructure assets associated with, and generally arising from,
governmental activities that are “major” as follows:
161

10 percent rule for networks of assets. The actual or estimated cost of the
network is expected to be at least 10 percent of the total cost of all general
capital assets reported in the first fiscal year ending after June 15, 1999 (FY
98-99).

5 percent rule for subsystems of networks. The actual or estimated cost of
the subsystem is expected to be at least 5 percent of the total cost of all
general capital assets reported in the first fiscal year ending after June 15,
1999 (FY 98-99).
The dollar amount of all general capital assets reported at June 30, 1999 was
$70,595,400 (see attached). Therefore, using the 10% rule, a network would be
considered major if the actual or estimated cost of the network exceeds $7,059,540.
Using the 5% rule, a subsystem would be considered major if the actual or estimated
cost of the subsystem exceeds $3,529,770. Once again it should be kept in mind that
these thresholds are for retroactive reporting of infrastructure assets only.
It is the City’s intention to minimize as much as possible the extent of retroactive
reporting for infrastructure capital assets. This is in concurrence with GFOA’s “leastcost implementation strategy”. Under this strategy, it is desired to define major
networks and subsystems as narrowly as possible. It is proposed that the City’s
networks be defined into the following categories:







Streets
Bridges
Traffic Signals
Street Lights
Curb, Gutter & Sidewalks
Storm Drains
Trails & Bike Trails (non-street)
All retroactive, as required, and prospective reporting of infrastructure fixed assets will
fall into the above listed network categories. Defined subsystems are not needed and
therefore will not be used. In the future, if additional network definitions are needed,
they may be added at that point.
Only those infrastructure assets that the City is responsible for maintaining should be
included. As an example, if a developer pays for or builds an infrastructure asset, such
as a street or a traffic signal, and the City is responsible for the care and maintenance of
the item, then that item is considered to be an infrastructure asset of the City, even
though we did not pay for its construction. On the other hand, if the City pays
$10,000,000 to construct a freeway overpass, and at the completion of construction it
becomes the responsibility of CalTrans to maintain it, then we do not include the
overpass as one of the City’s infrastructure assets, even though we paid for it.
162
163
SEWER SERVICE BILLING
164
Sewer Service Billing Overview
Sewer Service Billing - SUMMARY
The City of Vista operates two sanitary sewer districts: Vista and Buena. The Vista
district serves approximately 16,250 parcels. The Buena district serves approximately
6,144 parcels, including an unincorporated portion of the County and a small area in the
City of San Marcos.
Sewer service charges are calculated at the beginning of each calendar year for the
upcoming fiscal year (July through June) and are generally levied against each parcel
as an assessment on the property tax bill.
Sewer Service Billing - DETAIL
The current rates and policy for sewer service charges were adopted on January 22,
2008 by the following:
Vista Ordinance No. 2008-04
Buena Ordinance No. 2008-1
The above referenced ordinances establish rates for five fiscal years, beginning with FY
08/09 and ending with FY 12/13.
Residential customers are charged a flat rate per dwelling unit. Notices of the annual
charge are to be mailed to all owners of properties connected to the sewer system on or
before April 30.
Commercial customers are charged a variable rate based on three factors: permitted
EDU (equivalent dwelling unit) capacity, previous calendar year water use, and sewage
strength (low, medium, or high). A notice of the charge is to be mailed to each
commercial customer on or before April 30.
Payment of the annual Sewer Service Charges can be made by either one of two
options offered to property owners: Option 1 is the prepayment of the annual charges by
property owners by June 30; Option 2 is payment via placement of the charges on the
County of San Diego Property Tax as a Fixed Charge Special Assessment (FCSA).
Under separate cover, a SEWER SERVICE CHARGE PROCEDURE MANUAL details
procedures, tables, and reference material. These documents are located in a folder by
the same name on the city network as follows:
City Files on “fs1” (O)\FINANCE\Procedures Manual
Hard copy manuals are available at the workstations of the Accounting Technician and
Account Clerk that manage the sewer billing process.
165
DELINQUENT TRASH BILLING
166
Delinquent Trash Billing
Delinquent Trash Billing - SUMMARY
In accordance with Vista Municipal Code Section 13.16.410 and 13.16.420, delinquent
trash accounts managed by EDCO are transferred to the City once a year for collection
by the City via an assessment levy (lien) on the parcel owner’s property tax bill.
Delinquent Trash Billing - DETAIL
1.
EDCO Disposal provides curbside trash collection to all properties in the City of
Vista. The collection of garbage and refuse is mandatory upon all properties
within the City. Refer to VMC Chapter 13.16 for detail relating to garbage and
refuse collection requirements.
2.
In May of each year, EDCO shall provide to the City an accounting of all unpaid
accounts with balances delinquent more than sixty (60) days. The accounting is
an Excel spreadsheet that should contain the following information: EDCO
customer account number, Property Owner name, Property Owner mailing
address, service address, and amount owed to EDCO.
3.
Copy EDCO’s Excel file and add the following columns: (a) 10% Penalty, (b)
Adjustments, (c) Payments, (d) Revised Amount Due [sum of EDCO original
balance + (a), (b) and (c)], (e) $25 Lien Fee, Final Levy Amount
[(d) + (e)],
and (f) Memo. Delete any miscellaneous EDCO columns not identified in
paragraph 2. Name the worksheet “OPEN”.
Maintain the Excel file by recording all activity on each account. Save the file in
(O):\Finance\Department Only\Admin-Assessments Billing\Delinquent Trash.
Each year should have a separate folder. When accounts are paid in full or
adjusted to zero, move the account record into a separate worksheet named
“CLOSED”. Note: The Closed worksheet does not need columns for Lien Fee or
Levy Amount.
4.
Verify that all properties are located in the City of Vista as many properties
outside the City boundaries have a Vista address. Use a property data search
system such as Parcel Quest or HDL Property Tax to check that the tax rate area
(TRA) of each parcel begins with 012. Any properties with a TRA beginning with
numbers other than 012 (usually 013) are not in the City of Vista. Adjust any non
TRA 012 accounts to zero ($0), and advise EDCO accordingly.
5.
In the Excel spreadsheet, calculate a ten percent (10%) penalty on each account.
Send a notice to each account (use mail merge) to advise them that their account
has been turned over to the City and the amount due now includes the penalty.
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Provide a payment due date that coincides with the first council meeting in June
as noted in paragraph 6.
6.
The Finance Manager will prepare a council agenda report (consent calendar
item) for the first meeting in June to set a public hearing date. A printout of the
Excel spreadsheet that itemizes each unpaid account and the current balance
should be included with the report.
7.
The day after the council meeting, send a final notice to each unpaid account
stating that a public hearing will be held (provide date and time) for Council
action to approve submittal of all unpaid balances to the County for levy on the
property tax bill, and that a $25 levy fee will be added to each parcel if payment
is not received on or before the public hearing date.
8.
The Finance Manager will prepare a council agenda report (public hearing item)
for the second meeting in June. A brief notice will also be prepared for the City
Clerk to publish in the local paper ten days before the public hearing date.
9.
All unpaid accounts remaining after the public hearing will be increased by the
$25 levy fee. Update the Excel spreadsheet accordingly.
10.
Processing account payments:
(a) Payments received at City:
On a daily basis, update the Excel file with all payments. If paid in full,
move the account line from the OPEN worksheet to the CLOSED worksheet.
Give payment to cashier (payments are credited to Munis account
0010036.438165 named “Delinquent Refuse Collections”). Be sure to reference
the EDCO account number on the check & cash receipt. Obtain a copy of the
cash receipt and reference the cash receipt number and date in the Memo
column of the Excel file. Email a copy of the Excel file to EDCO.
(b) Payments received at City but returned unpaid by the Bank:
The A/R Account Technician (Eva) records checks returned unpaid from
the City’s bank. She will provide a copy of the Bank’s “Advice Letter” and the
check. She will record a JE to debit the revenue account credited with the original
payment (0010036.438165).
Move the account line from the CLOSED file to the OPEN file. Add $5 in
the adjustment column for the returned check fee. Send a letter to the customer
requesting new payment along with the additional $5 fee. Notify EDCO via
email. When payment is received, process as noted in paragraph 10 (a).
(c) Payments received by EDCO:
Customers may inadvertently send their payment to EDCO instead of the
City. EDCO will notify the City of these payments. In the Excel spreadsheet,
note the payment received by EDCO in the Adjustment column, not the Payment
column. Only record the amount due EDCO, which will leave a negative amount
in the Amount Due To (From) EDCO column equal to the 10% penalty. Move the
account line to the CLOSED worksheet.
(d) Payments received via the property tax roll:
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These accounts will remain on the OPEN worksheet. Once a file of
delinquent trash accounts has been submitted to the County for collection on the
property roll, any payments made to the City can not be processed and need to
be returned to the customer.
Delinquent trash amounts collected via the County are remitted to the City
monthly along with the City’s property tax apportionments. The Account
Technician responsible for recording property tax revenues will process the
revenue and any payment due to EDCO for amounts collected (refer to the Cash
Receipts section “Recording Property Tax/Revenue” paragraph 3 “Trash
Collection”).
The County does not provide detail of the accounts collected and remitted.
Therefore, no further entries are made to the EXCEL file.
11.
Payment to EDCO:
(a) Accounts collected prior to property tax levy:
Once all payments have been updated to the Excel file, print out a copy of
the CLOSED worksheet. The total amount shown in the “Amount Due to (from)
EDCO” column is the amount due to EDCO. Prepare a payment request to
EDCO from account number 0010450.531500 named “Special Department
Expense” and submit to Accounts Payable for processing. Attach two copies of
the CLOSED worksheet – one to mail with the check and one as backup
documentation.
(b) Accounts collected via the property tax levy:
Prepare a purchase requisition to EDCO for their share of the amounts
submitted to the County for collection on the property tax roll. This amount
should be the total in the “EDCO AMOUNT DUE” column of the spreadsheet.
Attach a copy of the OPEN worksheet to the purchase requisition and submit to
Accounts Payable for processing.
Monies collected by the County from property tax bills are remitted once a
month to the City. This part of the process is handled by the A/R Account
Technician (Eva). Refer to the Cash Receipts section “Recording Property
Tax/Revenue” paragraph 3 “Trash Collection” for more detail.
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ASSESSMENT DISTRICTS
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Assessment Districts
Assessment Districts - SUMMARY
Currently, there are five perpetual assessment districts, four CFD-Community Facility
Districts, and four one-time assessment districts within the City of Vista that represent
special services or facilities that benefit each parcel within the district. The districts
were formed to provide a revenue source for the cost of the special service or facility.
Annually, charges are assessed to each parcel by a levy on the parcel’s property tax
bill, also known as a Fixed Charge Special Assessment (FCSA), to pay for the current
fiscal year costs of maintaining the district or facility bonded debt service.
Management of three districts is outsourced to NBS: Landscaping/Lighting, Street
Maintenance, and South Melrose Landscape Maintenance. Management of all other
districts is performed by the City.
Assessment Districts Billing - DETAIL
1. List of active assessment districts.
A. Perpeptual Assessments:
a. County Fund # 609509, Landscaping & Lighting District
b. County Fund # 609512, Vista Sewer District
c. County Fund # 609516, South Melrose Landscape Maintenance District
d. County Fund # 609519, Street Maintenance District
e. County Fund # 694001, Buena Sanitation District
B. CFD (Community Facility District) Assessments:
a. County Fund # 609521, Hacienda Drive District No 90-2
b. County Fund # 609522, South Santa Fe District No 90-01
c. County Fund # 609523, North County Square District No 92-1
d. County Fund # 609527, Hacienda Gateway District No 2000-01
C. One Time Assessments:
a. County Fund # 609504, Delinquent Weed Abatement
b. County Fund # 609515, Delinquent Trash Collection
c. County Fund # 609526, Delinquent Sewer-Vista Sewer
d. County Fund # 694071, Delinquent Sewer-Buena Sanitation
2.
Summarized below are brief descriptions of the assessment districts
currently active in the City of Vista:
A. Perpeptual Districts:
a. Landscaping & Lighting District (20,885 parcels)
Provides for city wide traffic signals, street lighting and landscaping along
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major roadways, intersection lighting, and safety lighting on dangerous curves
throughout the city. Most residential parcels have an annual charge of $27.56.
Those parcels that receive an additional service, such as lighting on their
neighborhood streets, pay a slightly higher annual charge.
b. Street Maintenance District (20,851 parcels)
Provides for the maintenance and service of approximately 257 miles of public
streets, roads and highways within the City of Vista. Most residential parcels
have an annual charge of $7.38. Services provided include slurry sealing and
pavement replacement.
c. Vista Sewer District and Buena Sanitation District (22,390 parcels)
The City of Vista operates and manages two separate sewer districts. Vista
Sewer provides service to 15,350 residential properties and 895 commercial
properties. Buena Sanitation provides service to 5,755 residential properties
and 390 commercial properties, including parcels in the unincorporated area of
Vista and also a small portion of the city of San Marcos. Residential properties
are charged a flat rate per unit; Commercial charges are a combination of a
flow charge that uses water use times a strength charge plus a fixed rate per
EDU (equivalent dwelling unit). Rates are adopted by Council action, and
have increased yearly since 2001.
d. South Melrose Landscape Maintenance District (1,060 parcels)
Provides for landscape maintenance of medians, parkways, and slopes along
portions of South Melrose Drive, Green Oak Road, Sycamore Avenue, and
certain connecting streets. The average annual charge for residential parcels
in this district is $95.
B. CFD-Community Facility Districts
a. Hacienda Drive District No. 90-2 (4 parcels, final assessment is due in 2020)
b. South Santa Fe District No. 90-01 (5 parcels, final assessment is due in 2012)
c. North County Square District No. 92-1 (36 parcels, final assessment due in 2021)
d. Hacienda Gateway District No. 2000-1 (195 parcels, final assessment due in 2016)
These four districts were formed, by approval of the property owners, to provide
bond financing for construction of major infrastructure improvements benefiting
the parcels within the district. The improvements funded with the bond proceeds
include streets and improvements, sewers, storm drains, and flood channels.
Generally, the annual cost to repay the debt (principal and interest) is allocated to
each parcel within the districts on the basis of the special benefits to be derived
by each parcel from the improvements. The annual assessment will end when
the bonds are paid in full.
C. One-Time Districts
a. Delinquent Weed Abatement
Weed abatement assessments result when weed clearing ordered by the Fire
Department is not completed by the property owner. The city contracts to have
the weed clearing done, and the charge is passed on to the property owner in the
form of an invoice completed by the Finance Department in the Munis Accounts
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Receivable Program. When these invoices go unpaid as of June 30, the
delinquent amount is placed as an assessment on the next property tax bill.
b. Delinquent Sewer-Vista Sewer
c. Delinquent Sewer-Buena Sanitation
The two delinquent sewer assessment districts are used to place unpaid
invoiced sewer charges onto the property tax bill of the owner. While almost all
sewer charges are assessed on the yearly property tax bill, there are a
small number of property owners who are invoiced in the City’s accounts
receivable program. Reasons for invoicing include: new construction finaled
mid-billing period, missed parcels, account balances of those billed customers
who have chosen to have charges placed on the tax bill, corrections of prior
charges, etc. When an invoice goes unpaid as of June 30, it may be considered
delinquent and placed on the property tax bill under these special assessment
fund numbers. The billed party must be the current property owner or the
delinquent charges can not be placed on the tax bill. The number of parcels for
these funds varies year to year.
d. Delinquent Trash
Trash collection is mandatory in the City of Vista, and is ultimately the
responsibility of the property owner. EDCO Disposal Company is the franchise
waste hauler under contract to the city. EDCO turns delinquent accounts over to
the city for final collection. If the trash accounts go unpaid as of June 30, the
delinquent charge is placed on the property tax bill. The number of parcels for this
fund varies year to year.
3. Special Assessment Processing Calendar
[procedures will be documented for each task noted in the Assessment District
Processing Calendar shown below]
January
 Sewer Districts: Sewer Admin obtains previous calendar year water data for
commercial, industrial, and government sewer accounts.
 CFDs: Issue past due notices for delinquent CFD parcels (December 10th
payment due date)
February
 Request current property information from HDL Company to prepare mailing list
for sewer notices.
March
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





Finalize updated parcel data as most current information available from Vista
Engineering, SD County, and from HDL Company (new parcels, new
construction, land & building improvements, land use change, etc.)
Update inventory of traffic signals and street lights
Begin sewer charge calculations for commercial properties.
Mail Notice of Sewer Charge to all residential property owners.
Council agenda item to order preparation of annual Engineer’s Report for districts
governed by specific California Code sections
Initiate action for delinquent CFD parcels (order delinquent report from County)
April
 Prepare upcoming fiscal year budget estimates (July 1 through June 30)
 Calculate assessment amounts for upcoming fiscal year
 Prepare annual Engineer’s Reports (projected actual expenditures and revenues
for current year and estimate for upcoming year)
 Notify all sewer customers (residential and commercial) of next fiscal year charge
 Notify delinquent trash, sewer and weed abatement accounts of pending
collection by assessment on upcoming property tax bill
May


Issue past due notices for delinquent CFD parcels (April 10th payment)
File FCSA Questionnaire with the County
June
 Council Agenda item (first meeting of month) to approve annual Engineer’s
Reports
 Council Agenda item and public hearing (second meeting of month) to order levy
of assessments on the tax roll for lighting & landscaping, street maintenance, and
South Melrose landscape districts, and for delinquent sewer, trash, and weed
abatement charges.
 Council Agenda item (second meeting of month) to order levy of special taxes for
CFD parcels.
 Prepare final lists for sewer assessment levy.
 Prepare final lists for delinquent sewer, trash, and weed assessment levies.
July




Verify parcel numbers with County’s certified tax roll released early July
Update assessment data with any changes identified in County’s roll
Remit preliminary assessment levy data to County
Update levy data with any corrections or changes identified by County
August
 Remit final assessment levy data to County by August 10th
 Initiate action for delinquent CFD (90-2, 92-1,90-01) parcels (request report from
County) via memo from Finance Director to City Attorney
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
Prepare journal entry to record assessment charges on City owned parcels:
1. AD 90-1 South Santa Fe: APN 180-210-34
2. CFD 92-1 North County Square: APN 217-073-30
October
 Issue invoices for current period assessments on properties not levied on the
property tax roll (primarily government agencies and commercial condominium
complexes); the invoices are payable in two equal installments on December 10
and April 10 (due dates coincide with property tax due dates):
1. Sewer Service Charges
2. CFD possessor interest parcels owned by government agencies:
CFD 90-2: City owned parcel used by CostCo
 Prepare and file to State of California Investment Advisory Commission by Oct
30 a Yearly Fiscal Status Report for the following districts in accordance with
Government Code Section 53359.5(b):
1. CFD 92-1 North County Square (Mello-Roos Issue)
2. CFD 90-2 Hacienda Drive (Marks-Roos Authority Issue)
 Prepare by Oct 30, if requested by a member of the community, an Annual
Report for the following districts in accordance with Government Code Section
53343.1:
1. CFD 2000-1 Hacienda Gateway
2. CFD 92-1 North County Square
3. CFD 90-2 Hacienda Drive
Note: These reports are not required to be filed with Council or any agency – they just need to be
available to the public. Refer to the GC for required information to include in the report.

Prepare and file to the County Assessor an annual Improvement Bond Act
Assessment Lien Report in accordance with Revenue & Taxation Code Section
163 (currently only applies to South Santa Fe No. 90-1)
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