PAYROLL SPECIALIST - City of Helena, MT : Job Details

Required Application Materials: Resume Cover Letter

Job Purpose:

The City of Helena needs a reliable Payroll Specialist, under general direction of the City Controller, to perform a variety of confidential and complex technical, accounting, reporting, payroll and administrative duties. This position administers the City's payroll processes, being the primary contact for all payroll related functions within the City of Helena. The position assists Human Resources with tracking Family Medical Leave. The position is responsible for and participates in a variety of special projects and assists with various accounting, budget and finance tasks as assigned. This position will cross-train with other accounting staff in order to provide excellent coverage in the Finance Department.

Essential Duties: These job functions are the essential duties of the position and are not all-inclusive of all the duties the incumbent may be assigned.

45% Payroll Administration

This position manages the city payroll processes in accordance with law, negotiated labor agreements and City policy. This includes preparing bi-weekly payroll for over 370 regular employees increasing with seasonal employees and reconciling and depositing the relevant pension contributions to MPERA. The incumbent reviews and verifies employee master files, payroll related information, and personnel action forms including changes, new hires, terminations, transfers, and salary adjustments in order to process payroll accurately.

The incumbent is responsible to maintain and update a payroll desk manual with detailed steps and processes for performing job responsibilities. The position maintains and updates payroll system applications. The incumbent trains assigned department users for payroll entry and reviews input for accuracy. The position audits department payroll records and documentation to ensure reported time and pay is correct and in accordance with applicable State and Federal laws, Personnel Policy, various Union contracts, and FLSA, which includes ensuring special deductions are taken correctly from employee paychecks in accordance with State and Federal laws.

The position responds to employee questions about their timesheets or payroll distributions and resolves problems and discrepancies in a timely manner and/or in accordance with personnel policies. The incumbent directs all questions of application of policy to Human Resources. Assists Human Resources with capturing and reporting FMLA and Workers Compensation.

The position performs closing duties for the bi-weekly payroll periods and prepares forms for withdrawal of retirement contributions; and calculates, processes, and prepares payment on leave earnings.

Administers payroll software to review and maintain accurate insurance and benefit rates, contributions, departmental account number distributions, tax withholdings, tax periods, and pay periods, etc.

Reconciles 3rd party vendor (e.g., MMIA, PERS, etc.) invoices with payroll records.

5% Tax filing and Reporting.

Prepares and reconciles detailed monthly, quarterly and annual payroll tax reports and submits required reports and payments to the appropriate tax agencies by strict regulatory deadlines (i.e., Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration, Montana Department of Revenue, and Unemployment Insurance.), ensuring compliance with tax and other reporting requirements.

Maintains tax rate tables to comply with federal and state mandated regulations.

The incumbent prepares a variety of financial and statistical reports for State and Federal agencies.

Compiles, analyzes, and audits W-2 and applicable 1099 information.

10% Analyze and reconcile payroll transactions.

Examine and verify all transactions created with each payroll generation to ensure that correct allocation of salaries, deductions and fringes have been made to the general ledger fund accounts and reconciled.

Book adjusting entries to reflect accurate reporting of financial information. (i.e. accrued salaries and fringes, vacation accrual, tax accruals, deferrals, etc.)

Analyze and reconcile all payroll liability accounts monthly.

15% Assist in the City's annual budget and audit processes.

Serve as the primary contact for the payroll portion for the annual city audit. Compile, evaluate, and prepare information to submit for review by the auditors.

Prepare information to be included in the City's financial statements and budget documents as applicable.

Initiate, prepare, and organize necessary payroll reports for the annual Workers Compensation audit and serve as the primary contact for the audit.

Facilitate Human Resources and Payroll Information to report to Other Post Employment Benefits.

25% Miscellaneous

The incumbent will also coordinate with Human Resources to appropriately manage sick leave donations for the City.

Assist the Accounting Department with various projects and reconciliations as assigned.

Essential Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Related to this Position:

Knowledge of:

* Generally accepted accounting and bookkeeping principles and practices, their application to payroll and budgeting and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

* Principles and practices of office management, payroll administration, record keeping and reporting.

* Federal and state laws, legal code, precedents, government regulations, reporting requirements and agency rules as they apply to payroll processing including Family Medical Leave Act, worker's compensation laws.

* Time management and organizational practices.

* Computer software operation including intermediate levels of excel and word Microsoft office products. Also, the ability to administer and maintain the current City payroll software module.

Skill or ability to:

* Exercise a great deal of confidentiality.

* Identify, analyze, and solve complex problems.

* Exercise sound independent judgment to make good decisions

* Communicate and present information and ideas in writing and speaking so others will understand.

* Maintain a high degree of ability with the payroll accounting software.

* Ability to manage and multi-task responsibilities with competing deadlines.

* Stay current with policies, procedures, laws, codes and regulations pertaining to assigned programs and functions.

* Perform a full range of difficult and complex technical analysis under minimal supervision.

* Establish and maintain positive working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

* Ability to learn and implement new software programs and navigate cloud-based software.

* Utilize mathematical, budgetary, and accounting principles to solve problems, make decisions and to answer questions.

Physical Demands:

This position requires the ability to work in a standard office environment with ability to travel to different building locations. Incumbent must possess the ability to see, hear, and speak to interact with public and city staff. The position involves work of a general office nature usually performed sitting or standing, such as answering the phone, operating a computer and other office equipment.

Minimum Qualifications (Education, Experience and Training):

This position prefers a bachelor's degree in accounting, finance, business administration, or a related field. The position requires a minimum of three or more years of increasingly responsible job-related work experience in payroll administration, FMLA administration. Payroll experience should be complex in nature and with a larger employer, preferably in a governmental agency. Other relevant combinations of education and work experience may be evaluated on an individual basis.

License or Certificate:

Must possess a valid driver's license with acceptable driving record at the time of hire and have the ability to obtain a valid MT driver's license within six months of hire.

Supervision Received:

General direction of the City Controller

Supervision Exercised:

None