Logo courtesy of the City of Biggs

BIGGS, CA (MPG) – The Biggs City Council has adopted its first formal cash-handling policy, putting written controls around how city money is received, secured, deposited and accounted for.

City Administrator Nicolas Gauthier said the city previously relied on procedures that had never been formally documented.

“We had never had one,” Gauthier said. “We’ve had a procedure that was passed on word from mouth to ear for who knows how many generations.”

The policy, which took effect Oct. 1, covers money collected from utility customers, business licenses, development and permit fees, facility rentals, franchise payments, grants and donations. It also applies to anyone who receives, transports, records, reconciles or has access to city money.

The council designated the city administrator as finance officer and established approval levels for refunds, account corrections, penalty waivers and write-offs. No one may approve a transaction they originated, and the duties of authorizing, recording and reviewing the same transaction cannot be handled by one person, the new policy states.

The policy also requires monthly bank reconciliations and periodic independent review of receipts and authorized transactions. Because Biggs has only three positions within its finance operation, the city’s contract accountant will provide an outside review rather than attempting to divide all of those responsibilities internally.

Any shortage of $50 or more, or a pattern of recurring shortages, must be reviewed. Suspected theft must be reported immediately to the finance officer and law enforcement, while confirmed losses require City Council action before being written off, the policy states.

In another financial matter, the council considered but took no action on increasing its own compensation.

Biggs councilmembers currently receive $300 per month, an amount unchanged since 2000. State law would allow the city to raise that amount to as much as about $690 per month based on the length of time since the last adjustment. An alternative inflation-based calculation would allow an increase to about $330 per month. Cities the size of Biggs are capped at $950 per month.

The larger increase would raise the city’s annual council compensation cost from $18,000 to $41,400, while the smaller adjustment would increase the annual cost to $19,800.

Gauthier recommended leaving the compensation unchanged while the city addresses deficits in its utility operations and prepares for potential increases in costs to residents. Council members agreed that raising their pay while residents could face higher utility charges would send the wrong message.

“None of us do this for the money, obviously,” Mayor Bo Sheppard said.

With no motion offered, council compensation remained unchanged.

The council also authorized Gauthier to begin contract negotiations with Badawi & Associates for professional auditing services. The firm was selected over Rogers, Anderson, Malody & Scott LLP after the city sought a new auditor following approximately seven years with its previous firm. Any negotiated agreement will return to the council for final approval before a contract is executed.

Gauthier said that since becoming city administrator, he has been reviewing the city’s policies and identifying areas where formal policies are lacking.