Finance Utility Committee

The City Manager, Chief Financial Officer, and the City Clerk/Treasurer/ Finance Director, financial advisor to the CFO, are responsible for alerting the Finance Committee to any existing or financial problems the City is facing or is expected to face. The role of the Finance Committee is primarily to provide financial oversight for the City Council. Typical task areas include budgeting and financial planning and reporting and accountability to help increase City Council’s efficiency for decision making. The Finance/Utility Committee is responsible for monitoring and communicating to the Council the overall financial health and the implementation of safeguards to protect the City’s assets. The Finance Committee members should do more than look at reports, they should use a financial lens to consider the organization’s plans and challenges and help the City Council think through financial questions and develop options. Without a Finance Committee, the City Council risks having important financial decisions made without sufficient governance-level input. A Finance Committee without clear goals will get stuck on reviewing financial reports- focusing on details rather than the big picture. Although the Finance Committee may serve in a leadership role in the areas discussed above, the entire City Council has fiduciary responsibilities and remains accountable for protecting the City of St. Ignace's financial well-being. Therefore, it is the policy of the City of St. Ignace City Council, prior to action by City Council, to have the Finance Committee review all major expense requests not included in the currently approved budget, to avoid potential financial implications. Accordingly, the Finance Committee will continue to review monthly information to further strengthen its internal control structure by requiring as much independent review, reconciliation, and approval of accounting functions by qualified members of management as possible.