I recently did an interview with Paul via email. I ask him for some more details on what it is he does for the city. He was willing to answer my questions and here are the interview results. (I appreciate him taking time out of his schedule to answer my questions.)“I truly and sincerely believe that we have the most amazing residents in the state! There are so many examples of how the residents of this city have made it the great place that it is and I hope that we continue to have residents who take ownership of this city and keep it great!”
What is your position and role with the City of Eagle Mountain?
Answer: “I have two roles in Eagle Mountain (and two titles) – Assistant City Administrator and Finance Director.”Can you give us a short summary of your professional experience, and what brought you to Eagle Mountain.
Answer: “My wife and I moved from an apartment in Salt Lake City into a home in Eagle Mountain in early 2001. I joke around that I work for Eagle Mountain because one of the city wells went down in 2007! In August of 2007, the pump at one of the City’s wells went down and consequently, the city was put on water restrictions and posted on the City website when and how long you could water your yard. It was upon me checking the website to find out my neighborhood’s watering times that I noticed the posting for a Senior Accountant position. I applied for the job and got it! Before working for Eagle Mountain, I worked for KUTV Channel 2 as their News Business Manager and Accounting Manager for four years and then for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as a Senior Accountant and Accounts Payable Manager for almost two years. I have a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Utah and a Master of Public Administration degree from Brigham Young University.” Did anyone else notice that? I had to do a followup question. Which team do you cheer for, BYU or Utah? “Now you are going to get me in trouble!!! In full disclosure, my wife and I have purchased 3 BYU Football Season Tickets the past few years up in the nose bleed section (2nd to last row from the top of the stadium as that is about as affordable as it gets). We have three kids, so each kid gets to go to 2 games per year (my wife and I get to go to all 6). But when Utah comes to Lavell Edwards Stadium, I wear red! I tell people that every year I hope BYU goes 11-1 and Utah goes 12-0. But basically, since they are both my alma maters, I feel like I have earned the right to root for whichever I feel like! True diehards tell me that this is impossible, but I make it work!”What are your primary responsibilities in those roles?
Answer: “In my Assistant City Administrator role, I co-manage the city from an administrative perspective. There are several department heads that report to me directly, namely, the Library Director (Michele Graves), Streets & Storm Drain Superintendent (Zac Hilton), as well as the City’s Project Manager (Jeff Weber) – who also is over Fleet, Facilities and serves as our Emergency Manager. Co-managing these departments means weekly meetings to discuss their operational needs, priorities, operational difficulties, problem-solving and strategic resource planning to maintain and increase service levels.” “My primary responsibilities as Finance Director include overseeing the Finance Department Staff and Utility Billing Supervisor (who has her own staff she supervises), overseeing and creating the annual budget, and overseeing the annual audit (which comprises of closing the books, helping to generate financial statements for the city’s CAFR, internal audit processes, etc.).”
Part of your role is the budget, can you give us a brief look into the process the City uses to Create and get the Budget approved? What steps does the budget take to become official?
Answer: “The budget process begins at the first of the calendar year when we begin prepping all of the worksheets and schedules for fund managers (department heads) to begin the request process. By February each year, we are meeting with fund managers and elected officials to identify crucial needs for the city (particularly from an infrastructure standpoint), so that throughout the budgeting process, we can evaluate the feasibility of putting those infrastructure projects into the budget along with regular operations & maintenance costs. In late February and into March, we have meetings between fund managers and the budget committee (comprised of administration, finance staff and analysts) to evaluate their budget requests. By late March, the budget as a whole begins to take shape with the first presented drafts going to Council and then to the public throughout April and into May. After public hearings and council evaluations, the final budget is approved by June 21st each year and goes into effect on July 1.” This is an example of what the budget takes to become approved. It is something that Paul works on most of the year.
I have also heard that you have a way to split out the salary for employees into different funds in the budget. How does that process work?
Answer: “The city budget is split into many different funds. Each fund is treated as a separate business unit and carries its own fund balance (retained earnings). Due to the fact that many employees’ duties support multiple funds, we evaluate each position from a task standpoint and then allocate the resulting percentage of their salary and benefits through the different funds through what is called an “administrative allocation” which shows up as a “due to” and “due from” each fund. We do the same with other operations and maintenance costs within the funds. This ensures that each fund is paying the proper amounts and that no fund is carrying the expense load of any other fund. This is important especially due to the fact that each fund has different revenue sources – from fees to taxes. This has been done for at least 13 years at Eagle Mountain (and maybe longer) and was in place years before the State Auditor’s Office mandated that it be done this way throughout all cities.”
I know you have a fascination with the history of Eagle Mountain. What is one of the most interesting things you have heard about Eagle Mountains history?
Answer: “There is so much history that took place here – and for thousands of years no less! From a railroad that used to go out to the Tintic Mining District, petroglyphs dating back to the archaic period and having an added Pony Express Station near Hidden Hollow Elementary, there is so much to learn about the history of this area! One of my favorite stories is that of Porter Rockwell chasing an outlaw to Joe’s Dugout. The legend goes that the outlaw ran into Joe Dorton’s little house at Joe’s Dugout. Rockwell went to the door and was met by the outlaw with his pistol pointed at Rockwell’s chest and emptied all six cylinders into Rockwell. A companion with Rockwell stated that the fire and smoke from the pistol went right though Rockwell, but he was left unharmed. Alarmed by this, the outlaw threw down his pistol and ran up a nearby hillside. Rockwell sauntered over to his wagon, got a rifle and shot and killed the outlaw and deposited his body in the dry well nearby. I don’t know if any of that story is true, but it is still fun to tell!” With this much responsibility, I wanted to know if there was anything that Eagle Mountain residents could do to help Paul with his job.What do you wish the residents would do that would help make your job easier, and Eagle Mountain a better place?
Answer: “I truly and sincerely believe that we have the most amazing residents in the state! There are so many examples of how the residents of this city have made it the great place that it is and I hope that we continue to have residents who take ownership of this city and keep it great! Only about 7% of the resident’s total property tax payment actually comes to the city. As such, we have to stretch the other revenue sources we have to meet the service levels of our residents. That said, the one thing that I would ask the residents to do is to truly get to know the city budget. The budget document is long (there is so much information to encapsulate within it), but it is so important for the residents to know how their money is being spent. We have a document called the PAFR (Popular Annual Financial Report) which serves to condense some of the information from both the CAFR (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report) and the Budget. Using that document is a good place to start to just familiarize yourself with how tax dollars are being spent.”
Mike Kieffer is an IT geek by hobby and trade, with a BS in Information Systems & Technology. He is a proud father of 10, a grandpa, an author, a journalist, and internet publisher. His motto is to “Elevate, Inspire and Inform”, and he is politically conservative and a Christian. Mike has a passion for technology, writing, and helping others. With a wealth of experience, he is committed to sharing his knowledge with others to help them reach their full potential. He is known for his jackassery or his form of self-expression that encourages boldness, creativity, and risk-taking. It can be a way to push the boundaries and challenge traditional norms, leading to creative solutions and positive change.