Job Posting - Chief Financial Officer (City Clerk/Treasurer)

Chief Financial Officer (City Clerk/Treasurer)

Organization: Panama City, Florida
Salary: Beginning pay will be competitive and negotiable.
Close Date: The position will remain open until filled. A first review of resumes is scheduled for October 13, 2020.

Job Description:

The City of Panama City has a population of 36,900. It covers approximately 34 square miles and is the county seat of Bay County. The City is located on the north shores of the Gulf of Mexico in the heart of the Florida Panhandle. It is the largest city between Pensacola and Tallahassee.

Protected by an uninhabited barrier island, the calm waters and constant breezes of St. Andrews Bay have made Panama City an attractive living environment since its founding in the early 1800s. Panama City retains the charm and beauty of a sleepy fishing village while still enjoying the amenities of a busy metropolis. The City has a median household income of $41,161 and a median home price of $153,600.

Panama City has a commission-manager form of government that provides a full range of municipal services including general government, public safety, public improvements, planning and zoning, and related general and administrative services. In addition, the City operates three enterprise activities — water and sewer, solid waste, and marina. The City’s 2020 Fiscal Year total budget is $118,250,732 of which $45,808,555 comprises the General Fund.

Policy-making and legislative authority are vested in a City Commission comprised of the mayor and four commission members. The City Commission is responsible for passing ordinances, adopting the budget, appointing committees, and hiring the City's Manager, City Clerk/Treasurer and City Attorney. The Mayor and City Commissioners are elected on a nonpartisan basis. The Mayor is elected at-large to a two-year term and the Commissioners are elected from wards and serve four-year staggered terms.

The City Clerk/Treasurer is a Charter-established position which is appointed by the Mayor and City Commission and reports to the City Manager day-to-day. The position functions as the City’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO). In this capacity, the CFO is responsible for directing the functions of City Clerk, Finance, and Utility Billing. The Fiscal Year 2020 budget for the CFO is $1,017,543. The Office has 20 authorized full-time positions.
Specific responsibilities include ensuring that the finances of the City are audit-ready at all times, that information in financial reports is credible and correct, and that proper money-handling procedures are in place; developing various financial reports as required by statutes, grants, regulatory bodies, etc. and/or otherwise as directed; managing investments, bonds, debt, and pensions; serving as the liaison for all pension boards; consulting with financial advisors and bond council, recommending best courses of action for the City’s fiscal future, acting as the Public Records Custodian and maintaining public records of the City; providing clerical support for the City Commission as well as to several appointed boards, commissions, and committees; administering the oath of office to new City officers and employees; working with the Bay County Supervisor of Elections, preparing City issues for the ballot; providing administrative support including information, various financial and other reports and communications, meeting support, telephone and travel support, etc., as necessary to ensure that the Commission members are kept informed and advised relating to their roles on the City Commission.

The ideal candidate has a master’s degree in finance, accounting or related field and has one of the following certifications: Certified Public Accountant, Certified Government Finance Officer, Certified Public Finance Officer, or Certified Government Financial Manager. Certified Municipal Clerk status is desired but can be acquired on the job. The minimum requirements are a bachelor degree, the experience described below, and appropriate certification(s).

Candidates must have a minimum of ten (10) years of progressively responsible experience in government finance with five (5) years in a management position. Candidates must possess excellent communication skills and a proven record of impeccable integrity.

Beginning pay for the new CFO will be competitive and negotiable. An excellent benefits package is provided which includes the City’s six-year vesting retirement program as well as an additional six-year vesting senior management pension program. City residency is not required and the Commission is prepared to pay reasonable and customary moving expenses.

This recruitment will remain open until filled. The City is anxious to fill the position. Interested parties are encouraged to e-mail a detailed resume with a cover letter and current salary immediately to:

Robert E. Slavin or Barbara Lipscomb
SLAVIN MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS
3040 Holcomb Bridge Road, A1
Norcross. Georgia 30071
Phone: (770) 449-4656
Fax: (770) 416-0848
E-mail slavin@bellsouth.net

Panama City, Florida is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, or disability in employment or in the provision of services.

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