City seeks resident experts to serve on Finance Committee

On the heels of appointing 10 citizens to council, commission and committee positions at its Dec. 18 meeting, the Maricopa City Council is looking to extend another opportunity to tap the expertise of its citizenry.

A new Finance Committee is being formed to help develop the city’s budget, which is $94 million this year, provide input on the city’s investments and give advice on the department’s policies and procedures. The city hopes to fill five seats on the committee – two council members and three citizens.

The volunteer committee members “would directly affect the direction of finance matters for the city and its future,” according to Budget Manager Corrine Wilcox-Cornn. “In the near future, all budgets will be reviewed by this committee and discussion and recommendations will be coming from this committee.”

The Finance Committee will likely meet monthly and be charged with the following tasks:
• Operating and CIP Budgets – Oversee the preparation of the city’s annual operating and CIP budgets.
• Investment Activities – Serve as the “sounding board” for the city’s investment activities, receiving regular reports on the investment portfolio and making suggestions for changes in the investment strategy.
• Internal Control/Policies and Procedures – Provide input on internal control policies and procedures
• Audit Committee – Develop a sub-committee that would (a) participate in the selection of the city’s external auditors, (b) receive direct communication from the auditors regarding financial and internal control issues within the city and (c) oversee the city’s annual financial statement audit.

“We are looking for citizens with some business, accounting and/or finance experience,” Wilcox-Cornn stated.

The Finance Committee was originally slated to go in front of City Council in October 2006, but it was pulled from the agenda by then-City Manager Rick Buss. Wilcox-Cornn said the finance department opted to bring the issue up again this year to generate “more public input in the process of creating our budgets for the future of our community… as well as a fresh look at our processes and internal financial procedures.”

For more information, contact Wilcox-Cornn at [email protected] or (520) 568-9098 ext. 241. Or click here to download an application.