Office of the CFO (OFCFO)

What Do They Do?

The charter mandated Finance and Budget Departments are under the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. This office was created by state law, Public Act 182 of 2014, which established Chief Financial Officers for all cities with populations over 600,000.  Additionally, when the City was under emergency management, the Emergency Manager required centralized financial management in the OFCFO.  The OCFO is responsible for the financial management of the city and all finance related functions.  This office oversees, controls and directs all existing finance personnel within all City departments, divisions and agencies. A chief duty of this office is to, along with the Mayor, prepare the annual city budget which is presented to City Council for approval.

How Is It Organized?

There are many finance related functions within a city, especially a large, urban city.  Those functions are divided into divisions that the Chief Financial Officer supervises and each division has staff leading the work of that division.

• Office of the Assessor-conducts property assessments which determine property value
• Office of the Treasury-collects taxes and other fees owed to the city
• Office of the Controller-manages city accounting 
• Office of Contracting and Procurement-oversees vendors and city purchases
• Office of Grants Management-manages grants applied for and received by the city (see page XX lesson 3)
• Office of Budget-supports development of the city budget
• Office of Financial Planning and Analysis-conducts strategic planning and analysis to support budget development

How Can I Get Involved?

The OFCFO works closely with the City Council Budget, Finance, and Audit Committee. You can find out their schedule of meetings and attend them to learn more about the City’s finances.  You also learned in lesson 3 that there are budget hearings every year so the public can provide input on the city’s plan to collect and spend money in the upcoming year.  Attend those hearings and hear the budget plan, then give your input on the City’s finances. Contact the City Council office or the OFCO for information about those meetings and other ways to submit your input.