1 What is your position and how long have you worked for the city?
I process payroll and manage all grant funds and have been here almost 25 years.
2 How has your position changed over the years?
I came to work for the City of Blue Springs in 1983. I wore many hats for the first few months of my employment. I spent many hours in the license bureau, tax department, water department and the legal department, but most of my hours were spent in the finance department processing payroll. We had approximately 185 employees at that time and most of us were in the City Hall building. We now have approximately 300 employees and many departments now have their own facility. We have had many enhancements and changes in benefits and procedures which in turn brings more accountability.
3 You plan to retire soon, aren't you? The city recently announced some new technological advances in payroll they'll be introducing. Can you explain it to us?
I plan to retire in April of 2009. The new technology will be a time clock system, which I must say has come a long way from the old time clocks. We are in the early stages of the software available to us but the presentation appears to have many positive benefits for time keeping. It will be a great time saving factor for those in charge of approving and entering hours for each employee. We will now have the capability of tracking hours internally with the swipe of a thumb or ID card.
4 The finance department has been given much attention – not only by the city administration but by the state auditor's office. Why is that and what do you do differently than other cities?
We have always had a very conscientious finance staff and have taken great pride in the task given us. If it takes all of us to pull together to comply with a request, that is what we do. When asked, “Who performed this task – we will always say, “We did”, because we know we gave it out best. Our biggest asset is our Finance Director, Christine Cates, who keeps us well informed and is willing to pitch in and help if needed.
5 What advice will you give to the person who is replacing you?
I am trying to think if I was given any when I started – I can’t remember! Payroll is a huge responsibility. You have a lot of people depending on their deposit being made timely, you probably don’t want to call them and say their payment is going to be a few days late! I believe in my 25 years, I had one payroll that was processed a day late due to the lack of electricity caused by an ice storm.
