Department Functions / Responsibilities:

The Finance Department is responsible for the oversight of all of the City of Decatur’s accounting functions and financial support to all of the city's departments. 
Departmental responsibilities include:

• External audit compliance
• Preparation of the Annual Consolidated Financial Reports (ACFR)
• Accounts Payable
• Accounts Receivable
• Budget Preparation
• Debt Management
• Investment Administration

The City's Budget Process

The City maintains budgetary controls to ensure compliance with legal provisions in the annually appropriated budgets adopted by the City Council. Activities of the general fund and special revenue funds are included in the budget process. Project length financial plans are adopted for all capital project funds. The City Council also approves operating budgets for the Decatur-Morgan Landfill enterprise fund and the Cemetery permanent fund. The legal level of budgetary control is the department level. The Council reviews and approves changes throughout the year when formal amendments to the original budget are adopted.

The budget is a financial plan for the city's fiscal year (October 1-September 30) that contains both the projected revenues to be received during the year and the proposed expenditures to be incurred to achieve stated objectives. With the exception of project length budgets, all annual appropriations lapse at the end of the fiscal year.

The budget season begins annually in June or July, engaging Department Directors, key departmental personnel and Finance liaisons in the preparation of preliminary budgets.   These proposed departmental budgets are presented by Department Directors to Mayor, Chief Financial Officer and Finance Manager for review.  Once finalized at the Mayor level, ensuring proposed budgets are balanced in accordance with state law, the departmental budgets are consolidated and presented by fund to the City Council and to the Mayor providing ample time to review.  The proposed budgets are then presented for public discussion at a council work session or meeting. The City Council may then require changes to the proposed budgets which amend the proposed budget. The City Council then schedules a date to vote on the final budget where the final version of the proposed budget is published on the agenda. With passage of the budget, the budget is generally posted on the first day of the new fiscal year.

The budget is not a static document. It is a dynamic plan, which requires continuous monitoring and periodic revisions due to a department's change in operations.  Where changes require more funding than the original approved budget, City Council is required to approve amendments to council approved budgets.