General Description:

The Finance Department is responsible for providing the financial management of all City funds and maintaining the fiscal integrity of the City. Major activities include: Managing the City's investment portfolio; obtaining financing for capital requirements; financial analysis and reporting; budget management; revenue management, including billing and collection for utilities, licenses and other revenues; information services; purchasing; transit operations; and central duplicating and printing.

Operations and Accounting:

The Finance program provides leadership for and plans, coordinates and monitors the activities of the Finance Department in accordance with established fiscal policies. Program goals are to develop and maintain effective and efficient financial planning, reporting, and accounting systems in order to support the operating departments in achieving their program objectives; provide quality service to the City's citizens; and safeguard the City's assets from unauthorized use. The program is responsible for managing the City's investment portfolio, payroll, accounts payable, debt financing and servicing. It also administers revenue billing and collections, including utilities, business and other licenses, transient occupancy tax, utility user's tax, and other miscellaneous receivables. Finance also includes accounting, reporting and purchasing.

Eureka Transit Service (ETS) is a fixed route bus system which operates Monday through Saturday, serving the City of Eureka and surrounding unincorporated areas. Goals are: 1) Provide safe, reliable, high quality and economical public transportation; 2) Coordinate transit system development with community planning, development efforts, land use policy, and other transportation services; and 3) Demonstrate the importance of ETS to the vitality of the community. The City of Eureka also contributes funding, through a joint powers agreement, for operations of the regional Redwood Transit System, which services a sixty-five mile corridor on Highway 101.

Paratransit System:

Dial-a-Ride/Dial-a-Lift is a specialized door-to-door transit system which operates on demand. The service is provided to those individuals who are physically unable to use the regular bus system. Certification with the assistance of physician is required. Service operates Monday through Friday 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. and Saturday 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Information Services:

The Information Services program provides City-wide support for all office automation equipment, including computers, telephones, fax machines, copiers, and other equipment. Program activities include developing, implementing and maintaining long-range policies, standards, equipment inventories, preventive maintenance and repair programs, as well as providing training, on-going user support and day-to-day troubleshooting on all equipment. In addition it provides a funding mechanism for the replacement of computers, printers and related equipment and software. Based on equipment age and type, charges will be assessed to each department and transferred into the Information Technology Operations Fund where those funds will be held in reserve. While the assessments to each operating department began in FY 2001-02, computer equipment replacement purchases from this fund began in FY 2002-03 and will continue into the future.