DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLASS:  Directs the Fiscal affairs of the County.  Receives and serves as custodian of all monies administered by the County. Works under the general direction of the County Executive. Exercises direct supervision over the Deputy Commissioner of Finance and indirectly over a number of accounting, technical, and clerical personnel. Performs related work as required.

TYPICAL WORK ACTIVITIES: (Illustrative only).

• Formulates fiscal policies in coordination with the County Executive and County Legislature;
• Collects, receives, has custody of deposits, invests and disburses all fees, revenues, and other funds of the County or for which the County is responsible;
• Assists the County Executive in the preparation and administration of the County budget;
• Plans, directs and controls the fiscal accounting and auditing procedures for the County;
• Directs the accounting and control procedures of all County expenditures and the audit procedures for expenditures;
• Borrows money in the name of the County as authorized by the County Legislature;
• Maintains the books of accounts of the County;
• Directs preparation and compilation of fiscal statements and reports;
• Prescribes approved methods and forms for financial accounting and record keeping for all County departments and administrative agencies;
• Procures statements from all depositories of County funds and funds for which the County is responsible and reconciles such statements with the County accounts;
• Certifies the correctness of payrolls for the payment of salaries of officers and employees paid from County funds subject to the requirements of the Civil Service Law;
• Designates, subject to the approval of the Legislative body, the official County banks of deposit; ensures that all deposits of County funds are protected by securities put up by the various banks;
• Maintains control over financing of projects, studying and renewing reports noting that appropriations and revenues are in order to avoid borrowing;
• Directs the drawing, signing, disbursing and reconciling of checks.
• Performs a variety of related activities as required.

Typical Work Activities are intended only as illustrations of possible types of work that might be appropriately assigned to an incumbent of this title. Work activities that do not appear above are not excluded as appropriate work assignments, as long as they can be reasonably understood to be within the logical limits of the job.

FULL PERFORMANCE KNOWLEDGES, SKILLS, ABILITIES & PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: Thorough knowledge of fiscal, accounting and financial affairs, practices and procedures; thorough knowledge of legal provisions relating to fiscal affairs, accounting and auditing; good knowledge of the methods of office management; administration ability; ability to prepare reports; ability to deal with the public; tact, resourcefulness and initiative.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

1. Licensure as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or certification by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) as a Certified Public Finance Officer (CPFO) in New York State, and two (2) years of governmental accounting experience; or
2. Master's degree in Accounting, Public Administration, or Business Administration and three (3) years of governmental accounting experience; or
3. Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Public Administration, or Business Administration and five (5) years of governmental accounting experience; or
4. An equivalent combination of training and experience as indicated in (a), (b) and (c) above.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT: The Commissioner of Finance shall not engage in any private practice nor be employed in their field of expertise with the County by any private or other governmental entity.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT*: This position is considered to be a public officer. The holder of this position must be a United States citizen and a resident of Putnam County, and maintain residency for the duration of employment.

PLEASE NOTE:  Your degree must have been awarded by a college or university accredited by a regional, national, or specialized agency recognized as an accrediting agency by the U.S. Department of Education/U.S. Secretary of Education.

*Pursuant to Public Officers Law Article 2, Section 3

12/84; 12/90; 9/97; 4/23; 10/24

Unclassified Service