Finance Department
The Finance Department is responsible for administration of all financial activities of the City and Board of Lights and Water. The department provides the services necessary to effectively and efficiently conduct the City/BLW's fiscal affairs, as well as, providing direction, coordination, and implementation of major financial and administrative policy decisions in accordance with applicable state law and local code. The Finance Department collects, projects, acquires, and controls the City's financial resources in a way that promotes stability and integrity.
The centralized financial accounting center of the City lies with the Accounting Division. Its functions include: maintaining fund accounting systems according to generally accepted accounting principles; administering cash management/investment programs; reviewing, evaluating, and prescribing internal controls for safeguarding City assets; and administering financial accounting of grants and contracts and assuring financial compliance.
2007 CAFR Report
Finance Divisions
The primary responsibility of the Budget Division is the preparation and yearly management of the City’s operating budgets. This includes preparation and distribution of budget forms, reviewing budget requests, balancing projected revenues with proposed expenditures and formatting the budget to provide as much useful information as possible. After the Mayor and Council review and adopt the annual budget, this division administers the Budget by monitoring revenues and expenditures, including readjustments if proposed revenues and expenditures vary from projected figures.
The Business License Division is responsible for issuing business licenses for all classes of business allowed under the City Code. In addition to the enforcement of the business license regulations, other areas of revenue include the collection and administration of franchise fees for natural gas, telephone service, electric power, fiber optic service, and cable TV, and the receipt and processing of all hotel tax revenue.
The Purchasing Division is responsible for: awarding purchase orders, service and labor contracts; and issuing and evaluating requests for bid proposals for all City requirements. Additional Purchasing functions include vendor performance, quality assurance, price/cost analysis, value analysis, reorder point analysis, and performing ongoing contract administration. Purchasing is also responsible for the disposal of scrap and surplus materials.
The major responsibility of the Tax Division is to ensure effective management of all taxes levied by the City which includes: real estate, personal property, Downtown Marietta Development Authority (DMDA), and public utilities. Assessed values are established by the Cobb County Tax Assessor’s Office and are currently calculated at 40 percent of the fair market value. The public utility assessments are supplied to the County by the State Revenue Department. Taxes on all the above categories are levied in the fall of each year on the assessed valuation of property of the preceding January 1 and are due sixty (60) days from the date of billing. Ad Valorem taxes on motor vehicles and mobile homes are collected by the Cobb County Tax Commissioner and remitted to the City. The Tax Division maintains a monthly ledger on these tax payments as they are received.