Department of Finance

The mission of the Department of Finance is to preserve the financial integrity of the City of Wilmington through excellence in accounting services, customer service, and financial management.

The Department of Finance is...

The City's 4th largest department with a total FY 2025 Budget of $19,296,061.

It accounts for 8.9% of the Water/Sewer Fund

And 5.9% of the General Fund.

About the Finance Department

Mission Statement:

The Finance Department preserves the financial integrity of the City of Wilmington through excellence in accounting services, customer service, and financial management.

Vision Statement: Engaging with Excellence

We provide excellent customer service through courteous customer engagement and ease of transactions.
We practice financial policies and practices that ensure a financially strong and effective city government.
We maintain the financial integrity of the City and its related agencies through world-class accounting practices.

Priorities:

Improve customer service throughout the Department of Finance while preserving its fiduciary responsibilities to constituents.
Ensure the financial integrity of the City through generally accepted accounting practices.
Maximize revenues through improved billing and collections processes.
Improve our business processes and decision-making through continuous improvement, enhanced data management, improved technology, and quality control/quality assurance.

Year-to-Date Expenditures by Division*

*Move the slider at the bottom of the graph to see budget and prior-year data.

Year-to-Date Expenditures by Category*

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How Many People Work in the Finance Department?

Citywide Goal: Enhance Fiscal Prudence

Objective: Improve Delinquent Account Collections

Finance Department FY 2025 Annual Budget

Total FY 2025 General Fund Budget: $11,017,799

Total FY 2024 General Fund Budget: $10,705,020

Total Increase from FY 2024: $312,779

Major General Fund Changes from Prior Year:

Personal Services, an account group that includes salaries and benefits, increased by a net $29,496, largely because of the following:

Staffing decreased by a net 1.80 FTE for a savings of $154,156. An Administrative Clerk position (100% General Fund) was eliminated. A Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Analyst position (100% General Fund) was transferred to the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development. Finally, a split-funded Billing Clerk position (20% General Fund and 80% Water/Sewer Fund) was created in part to assist with billing for extra duty work provided by Police and Fire for third-party functions.
Regular Salaries rose by a net $94,456 due the position changes listed above as well as the implementation of the mid-FY 2024 compensation and classification study, which resulted in revised salary and anniversary step matrices for all employees in the Department.

The Materials Supplies & Equipment (MS&E) account group increased by a net $280,058, largely due to the following changes:

Collection Expense-Parking Citation Commissions rose by $127,345 to cover an increase in the Conduent on-street parking management and citation contract.
Temporary Agencies increased by $65,000 primarily to acquire accounting expertise and assistance during the preparation of the Annual Financial Report.
Collection Expense-Wage & Head Audit increased by $47,000 to fund increased charges from external law and accounting firms used to assist in the collection of Wage and Head taxes.

Click here to read more about the Finance Department's FY 2025 Budget.

Total FY 2025 Water/Sewer Fund Budget: $8,278,262

Total FY 2024 Water/Sewer Fund Budget: $7,500,875

Total Increase from FY 2024: $777,387

Major Water/Sewer Fund Changes from Prior Year:

Personal Services increased by a net $183,333 largely due to the following:

Staffing increased by a net 0.80 FTE at a cost of $76,315. Three new positions were created: A Senior Accountant (100% Water/Sewer Fund), A Senior Billing Analyst (100% Water/Sewer Fund) and a split-funded Billing Clerk (80% Water/Sewer Fund and 20% General Fund). In an additional offsetting action, two lower-graded Billing Analyst positions were eliminated.
Regular Salaries rose by a net $142,910 due the position changes listed above as well as the implementation of the mid-FY 2024 compensation and classification study that resulted in revised salary and anniversary step matrices for all employees in the Department.

The Materials Supplies & Equipment (MS&E) account group increased by a net $584,602, largely due to the following changes:

Miscellaneous Charges-N.O.C rose by a net $212,000. Funding of $200,000 was added to perform a thorough review of the current financial ERP software, with an eye toward replacing it. In addition, the Utility Assistance Program was increased $100,000 (from $250,000 to $350,000) to help low-income Wilmington residence with their delinquent water bills. Partially offsetting that increase was the removal of $88,000 in one-time funding in last year’s budget related to the Wilmington 311 customer service system.
Indirect Cost Charges increased by $297,102, reflecting a budgeted increase in supporting services provided to the Water/Sewer Fund’s utility functions by the General Fund.
Temporary Agencies increased by $65,000 primarily to acquire accounting expertise and assistance during the preparation of the Annual Financial Report.