Finance


The Finance Department

The Northlake Finance Department is committed to providing responsive, transparent, and strategic stewardship solutions that align with the Town’s Vision, Mission, and Values. The four Town Council Goals that most closely align with Finance Department’s operational purview are: ensuring effective management of public resources, diversifying the tax base, operating efficiently and effectively, and promoting public involvement. The primary areas of responsibility for the department are accounting, utility billing, payroll, accounts payable, financial reporting, and preparation of the annual budget.

FY 2021 Accomplishments

  1. GFOA Distinguished Budget Award
  2. GFOA COA Award Submitted
  3. Increased Utilization of Online Payments
  4. Created Digital Utility Billing Application
  5. Implemented Check Scanners

FY 2022 Goals

  1. Move to OpenGov Cloud
  2. Submit the 2022 budget & 2021 Audit for GFOA Award Consideration
  3. Create a 5-Year forecast for primary operating funds

FY 2022 Changes

The Finance Department was separated from the Town Manager's Office in FY2021. Data for the Finance Department as an individual operating entity before this separation does not exist. The Finance department has added no new personnel this fiscal year. However, as the number of utility accounts grows, so will the staffing needed to handle the workload.

The Finance Department was separated from the Administration Department starting in Fiscal Year 2021. Total expenditures for the Fiscal Year 2022 are $610,260. The Finance Department draws its funding from the funds: the General Fund (56%), the Water/Wastewater Fund (43%), and the Debt Service Fund (1%).


Personnel is Finance’s largest expenditure category making up 63% or $384,535 of the department’s budget. Outside services make up 26% or $158,390 of the department’s budget. This includes auditing and tax collections services. The remaining 11% or $65,360 is composed of internal services, supplies, and maintenance. The primary decrease in expenses between FY2021 to FY2022 is due to a $50,000 decrease in Financial Consulting Services.


The Finance Department has four budgeted positions for FY 2022: Finance Director, Accountant, Accounting Clerk, and Utility Billing Clerk. A position has not been added to Finance since 2019.

Utility Accounts


The Town's Water & Wastewater services are increasing at an expeditious rate. Over the past six years, accounts have increased four-fold. To keep up with growth, the department added one additional position to utility billing in 2017. The Town has also been utilizing technology improvements to improve processing speeds.

Workload Measure


The most time-consuming aspect of processing for the Finance department is processing payments. The department's workload has tripled since 2015. This has increased the amount of administrative review time as well. In 2019 the department added an Accountant position to take on daily review and monthly reconciliations to help ensure accuracy and reliability.

Performance Measure

Payment type is a performance indicator for the Finance department due to the efficiency it adds to processing time. Manually entering each payment is time consuming, increases human error, and requires a more intensive review process. In 2021, the department set a goal of increasing the utilization of electronic payments. The Finance Department increased electronic payments by 15% from 50% in FY2020 to 65% in FY2021.