Function of Staff Services

 
Develops and maintains program planning and control systems; provides coordination and liaison services for federal-aid and legislative matters; coordinates, reviews, and prepares the Highways Division budget; provides project management, management, fiscal, personnel and clerical support services; provides public information services.

Coordinates the divisional legislation program; reviews legislation for its impact on the divisional program areas; coordinates and assists in researching relevant economic, legal, social and other factors; provides recommendations on the legislation; coordinates and assists in drafting legislation and legislative testimonies; recommends changes in the law.

Coordinates and maintains the divisional Administrative Rules; provides assistance to branches and district offices as the divisional liaison with the Office of Information Practices concerning release of information requests; develops, implements and maintains the divisional records management program.

Analyses and evaluates a variety of subject matters which pertain to organizational structure, work simplification and forms revisions and provides recommendations for problem resolution. Prepares reorganization proposals for the Division. Develops and establishes new divisional procedures. Reviews, interprets and enforces departmental procedures and rules and regulations. Prepares and revises the division's organizational charts, position organization charts and functional statements. Provides technical assistance regarding organizational structure, work simplification and forms design to the divisional branches, district offices and staff offices.

Provides a comprehensive personnel management and technical assistance program for the division; advises and assists all levels of management and employees on statutory provisions, rules and regulations, collective bargaining agreements and principles of good personnel management to include position classification and pay, recruitment and placement, employee-management-labor relations, EEO/civil rights, workers' compensation and employee development; provides staff support and assistance in the administration of employee benefit/services programs and in accomplishing all personnel actions; provides managers with advice and assistance in alternative actions and to determine which action can best serve management's needs while maintaining fundamental merit principles and employee rights.

Establishes and maintains a project control system and a project programming system; acts as divisional liaison with Federal Highway Administration, counties and others to obtain funding, concurrences and agreements.

Project Control Section

Establishes and maintains a project control system which provides current

Develops and maintains program funding for the construction of federal-aid projects such as the interstate, primary, secondary, urban, highway planning and research, new programs and other State improvement projects.

Provides divisional stenographic and typing support services; prepares and assists with implementation of specifications for bids being advertised as well as bid tabulations, contracts and statistical reports; assigns and maintains a correspondence control system.

Prepares and executes the Highways Division's operating and maintenance budget and expenditure plan. Acts as the divisional liaison with the department's PPB Office and Department of Budget and Finance staff on the operating and maintenance budget. Reviews and analyzes the status of funds and financial implications associated with program changes in organizational functions and activities; compiles and analyzes cost, revenue and related data used by management in carrying out its operations; provides position and expenditure control. Compiles, reviews, and analyzes data for long range planning needs. Reviews, analyzes and prepares program measures of effectiveness and variance reports. Prepares budget reports, general work activity reports, correspondence, legislative budget testimonies and other studies.

Directs and coordinates the fiscal activities of the Highways Division to meet program objectives; manages a comprehensive system of accounting for the division's appropriations, allotments, receipts, expenditures and a cost accounting system; prepares required financial statements and statistical reports covering the divisional fiscal operations; collects and accounts for damage claims, rentals, government agencies' charges, etc.; conducts audits of consultants and contractors; prepares audit findings; implements and monitors purchasing and internal control procedures; maintains inventory of equipment, supplies and materials; provides payroll transactional services for the division.

Accounting Systems and Procedures Section

Conducts analysis and participates in the development, implementation, improvement, maintenance and control of the highways accounting systems consistent with fiscal control, record keeping reporting needs and statewide accounting;

Audit and Compliance Review Section

Performs financial audits of consultants, construction contractors, utility companies, governmental agencies, universities, non-profit organizations and others under contract or proposed contract with the Highways Division; provides assistance to branches and district offices on evaluation of cost segregation, cost and overhead allocation, internal control and timekeeping procedures; reviews cost assumptions; verifies cost claimed or billed to the State; prepares report of audit findings.

Procurement and Inventory Section

Purchases goods and services for the branches and staff offices; provides assistance for the purchase of goods and services related to highways expenditures for the Attorney General's Office; coordinates the division's inventory management of real and personal property; maintains storeroom of office and drafting supplies for the division and departmental staff offices.

Accounting and Reporting Section

Maintains and controls the appropriation and project accounting; processes reimbursement of federal funds for cost incurred on federal-aid projects and maintains accounting of these federal-aid projects; processes all expenditures for payment; maintains accounts receivable system which includes the billing for highway receivables and the subsidiary accounting of these accounts; deposits all highway receipts to the State Treasury; prepares financial statements and other fiscal reports; prepares divisional payroll.

Transactions Processing Unit

Reviews and processes labor and equipment distribution reports; reviews all source documents for proper batching; logs all batched data; reconciles and controls daily transaction input; reviews computer runs and coordinates error correction activities; maintains highways accounting system tables and files.

Provides divisional payroll transactional services; examines and performs computations for payroll; handles all payroll changes and corrects any discrepancies; prepares Turnaround Payroll Change Schedules reports, fringe reports and disability worksheets; prepares and submits required reports to Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) and/or Department of Human Resources Development (DHRD); coordinates and provides payroll information to divisional branches, districts, employees, DAGS, DHRD and other authorized requesting parties; maintains the divisional payroll files and records.

Financial Reporting Unit

Prepares current billing vouchers for reimbursement of costs incurred on federal-aid highway projects by analyzing and compiling financial data and/or documents; reviews pertinent project data and documents to ensure that all necessary information is provided to close federal-aid projects; reconciles final project costs; prepares final vouchers to close federal-aid projects.

Maintains and reconciles the general ledger and other control accounts of the State Highways (Special) Fund; maintains and controls the accounting for all operating appropriations; prepares financial statements and other special fiscal reports.

Appropriation and Disbursement Unit

Process all Highways Division and some Attorney General expenditures for payment; prepares damage claims and other highway billings; maintains the subsidiary accounting of the division's accounts and notes receivables and trust accounts; reconciles the highway accounting system's expenditures, claim and contract encumbrances to the statewide accounting system.