Small Agency Services Bulletin – August 2024

August 2024

Important Dates Important Messages Small Agency Financial Services News Travel Tips Contact Us

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Important Dates

Sept. 6

  • Phase 2 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) Close. Please note that during year-end close, payment batch processing may be delayed. Contact DES Accounts Payable if there are any items that require priority processing to ensure batches are paid on time.
  • Phase 2 State Disclosure forms are due to OFM Accounting. Your DES budget analyst will prepare and submit these forms in the system.

Sept. 9

  • To reflect in your agency’s August monthly financial statements, all invoices and travel reimbursement requests are due to Accounts Payable.

Sept. 10

  • Biennial budget requests are due to the Office of Financial Management (OFM) on Sept. 10. Please submit all decision package narratives to your DES budget analyst. We will work closely with you to review and complete the decision packages to meet OFM's deadline.

Sept. 18

  • Signed State Discloser certificate form is due. Your DES budget analyst will require your agency's signature on the certification a week before the due date. Please notify us if you will be unavailable during this time.

Sept. 24

Oct. 1

  • New travel reimbursement rates for per diem and lodging go into effect.

Oct. 31

  • Performance Measure actuals for quarter ending Sept. 30, to be entered into the Results through Performance Management (RPM) system.

Nov. 1 - 30

  • Healthcare Benefits Open Enrollment

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Important Messages

Pension Contribution Rates

Employer contribution rates increase effective September 1, 2024.

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What to include in your FY25 supplemental budget requests due to OFM on Sept. 24

The 2025 supplemental operating and transportation budget requests should be limited to:

  • Required updates and changes due to legally mandated caseloads, workloads or other legally required changes.
  • Necessary technical corrections to the enacted 2023-25 budget.

Small Agency Financial Services News

DES SAFS Payroll – now using Zendesk!

We have moved to Zendesk – a complete customer service solution.

Now when you email our Payroll team at DESPayroll@des.wa.gov, your inquiry is assigned a Support Request number. Emailed responses or clarifying questions will use the Support Request number. Once your Support Request has been resolved or payroll action processed, you will receive notification and a request to rate the support you received.

Zendesk enhances productivity and processes along with offering an innovative customer experience. We look forward to hearing from you on the new feature and our service delivery.

SAFS (Small Agency Financial Services) Team Updates

Did you know? Your DES financial support team consists of ALL of our SAFS team members. Even though you may work with specific SAFS members regularly, other SAFS members often step in to assist and provide continuity of services. We would like you to know about our whole SAFS team. Below is a list of each work group within SAFS, the members you may hear from, and recent news or a message from each team.

Team Members News / Message
Accounts Payable

Megan Finger
Diana Huynh
Bryn Parker
Kaler Zoucha
Diana Dikhamindzhiya
Forest Pope
Kyler Oblad (new)

We are excited to share that:

  • Bryn was promoted into a lead Fiscal Analyst position within AP.
  • Kyler joined our team Aug 1. He comes with private sector and state experience, and specializes in tax accounting.

Please help us congratulate Bryn and welcome Kyler!

Budget

Diann Lewallen
Seth Flory
Ian Shelley
Christina Shearer
Annis Jones

 
Payroll

Molly Guinan
Kayla Preble
Nichole Dahlin
Vanno Non
Erica Williamson
Treyson Ramos
Phuong Luong (left)

Phuong accepted a promotion with another agency. She will be missed. We hope to fill her position mid-September.

Rachel – Manger
Molly – Supervisor
Kayla – Lead
Nichole – Processor
Molly covering for Vanno – Processor
Erica – Out of State Taxes
Treyson – Retirement Specialist
Vacant – Benefits Specialist

Accounts Receivable

Betti Bartoldo
Jenifer Mobley
Sarah Palazzo

 
Administrative Assistance

Danelle Guerin
Robin Fleskes (new)

We are excited to share that Robin joined our the team in July. She comes with 10+ years of administrative support experience. Please help us welcome Robin!

DES Accounts Payable statistics for June 2024 (34 agencies served)

Invoices Received from Agency 2,566 76.53% $23,716,053
Invoices Paid on Delegated Authority 554 16.52% $1,533,453
Travel Requests Paid through TEMS 227 6.77% $87,534
Payments Reissued (SOL, Lost Warrant) 6 0.18% $5,978
Total Payments Processed 3,353 100% $25,343,018
Turnaround days 2.66    

DES Accounts Payable statistics for July 2024 (34 agencies served)

Invoices Received from Agency 2,237 90.53% $38,847,311
Invoices Paid on Delegated Authority 57 2.31% $194,694
Travel Requests Paid through TEMS 172 6.96% $89,021
Payments Reissued (SOL, Lost Warrant) 5 0.20% $32,878
Total Payments Processed 2,471 100% $39,163,904
Turnaround days 1.85    

DES Payroll statistics for Quarter 2 (Monthly Average) (42 agencies served)

Total Employees Paid 1,611
Appointment Changes 12
New Hires / Rehires 35
Transfer In / Transfer Outs 4
Separations 19
Supplemental Payments / Walk Throughs 6
Overpayments 4

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Travel Tips

Stay tuned for an upcoming SAAM travel rules refresher offered by the SAFS AP team later this fall.

As always, if you have any questions regarding travel: call SAFS AP at 360-407-8183 or email travel.safs@des.wa.gov.

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Contact Us

If you would like to know what budget analyst, payroll analyst and HR business partner is assigned to your agency, see our Agency Assignments webpage.

If you would like to get contact information for DES SAFS and HR staff, see our Contacts webpage.

If you have suggestions or feedback about the Small Agency Services Bulletin, please send your comments to SmallAgencyBulletin@des.wa.gov.

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