Mission

 The mission of the Finance Bureau is to promote the allocation of resources   to increase the safety and economic welfare of the City of Fort Lauderdale.

  Overview

 The Finance Bureau is responsible for the planning, design, development,     
  preparation and administration of the Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue budget and financial management systems, including financial reporting and internal controls. The office is comprised of seven interconnected elements: fiscal strategies, accounts payable, accounts receivable, timekeeping, employee records payroll and records management.

The purpose of the Finance Bureau is to meet the higher expectations of the citizens served by Fire-Rescue with greater accountability of the use of public resources and to improve the overall efficiency of programs and services. The challenge is to satisfy the requirement for fiscal prudence, while managing the community’s service delivery expectations with a tax effort that is acceptable.

The fiscal strategy also must be able to cope with financial pressures imposed by various environmental factors and trends. These factors can put enormous strain on present and future budgets.

Aukela Holloway
Public Safety Administrator
Phone:954-828-6807

 General Duties/Responsibilities

The Office of Financial Management is responsible for the planning, design, development, preparation and administration of the Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue budget and financial management systems, including financial reporting and internal controls.

The Office is comprised of seven interconnected elements: fiscal strategies, accounts payable, accounts receivable, timekeeping, employee records payroll and records management.

In addition to the Financial Management of the Fire Department, this office performs additional assignments relative to performance management and statistical reporting to Stakeholders within the City, State and Federal government entities.

Budget Development

The Office of Financial Management is responsible for the development of a well-organized budget to coordinate the activities of Fire-Rescue. Funding is a critical issue in fire and emergency medical services, since the Fire-Rescue operational budget does not depend on a single revenue source. The department must consider a range of opportunities and local or state constraints in shaping its funding policy and determining its budget.

Budget Process

The budget process consists of five stages: forecasting, requesting, reviewing, adopting and monitoring.

Financial Management

This activity focuses on strategic resource allocation and management. It strengthens the link between budgeting and planning and ensures that funding decisions made with the attention to cost and the appropriateness, efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery.

Financial Analysis & Projections

This function includes accounting for expenditures against state, federal and private funds; accessing federal grant funds and funding via inter-agency transfer; reporting expenditures against federal grants development of the financial portions of various federal grant applications and allocation plans; and various reports and analyses requested by internal and external customers. Development of fiscal impact statements to provide concise, relevant information to the decision making process and effective and efficient management for future planning or proposed legislation and regulations to ensure successful implementation.

Command/Essential Support Functions, Finance Division

Office of Financial Management approves all expenditures, forms and authorizations, and maintains accurate records to receive reimbursement.