Job Description

Purpose

Responsible for the recording of City revenue receipts, the tabulation and posting of collections to individual accounts, the investigation of discrepancies and, at the discretion of the supervisor, perform essential tasks for department.

Essential Elements

• Collects and posts revenue receipts and delinquent taxes from taxpayers and City departments.
• Proofs, balances and reconciles daily receipts.
• Prepares bank deposits.
• Answers phones and manages department voicemails
• Provide customer service to residents in person and over phone with clear, succinct answers to questions and clear explanation of city bills and procedures
• Posts betterment payments, deferral tax accounts and notifies Assessor's Office of receipts.
• Posts lock box receipts from banks
• May balance cash drawers.
• Maintains required transaction records.
• Creates and reconciles monthly balance reports of revenue totals.
• Handles customer transactions and assists in customer account balance verifications, the processing of payments for various tax bills, water and sewer use fees. Maintains customer confidentiality.
• Ensures coordination and receipt of signed warrants, proper funding, proper bank notification and timely mailing of live checks.
• May be required to open, sort and distribute department mail. Records mail payments and sends out mail receipts as well as check return letters.
• Follows and adheres to department, City and government rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.

Secondary Elements

• Performs other duties as required.

QUALIFICATIONS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

EDUCATION and/or EXPERIENCE: Bachelor degree preferred and one to three years related experience and/or training or equivalent combination of education and experience. Knowledge of cash receipts, basic accounting, clerical practices, office procedures, and proficient in MS Office products. Must be well organized with attention to detail and have the ability to problem solve. Team player with ability to multi-task in fast-paced environment. Ability to provide excellent customer service skills in person and over phone.

LANGUAGE SKILLS:Excellent verbal communication skills and ability to provide outstanding customer service in a person-to-person environment. Ability to read and interpret documents, such as reports and procedures manual. Ability to write reports and correspondence. Ability to present information effectively, which may be controversial in nature, one-on-one, or in small groups, to citizens or employees of the City.

MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide in all units of measure,using whole numbers, common fractions, decimals. Ability to calculate figures and amounts such as discounts, interest, commissions, proportions and percentages. Ability to apply concepts of basic algebra.

REASONING ABILITY: Ability to apply common sense understanding to carry out detailed written or oral instructions. Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where prescribed standard practices exist.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here represent those requirements that must be metby an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable ac

Company Description

THE CITY:

The City of Newton is a wonderful place to live and work. Newton has safe and attractive neighborhoods, an excellent public school system, an active community life, multiple transportation systems, proximity to Boston and a well-managed and financially strong City government. The City of Newton has a population of approximately 88,900, with 32,600 housing units and occupies a land area of 18.3 square miles. Newton is principally suburban-residential in character. Unlike many other communities that are established around a single Main Street or downtown, Newton is comprised of thirteen distinctive villages. Newton has a diversified economic base with approximately 4,700 establishments employing approximately 79,500 people. Newton is special in many ways. It is home to a variety of private secondary and post-secondary schools including a portion of Boston College, Lasell University, William James College, Hebrew College, and the UMass Amherst – Mount Ida Campus. The longest stretch of the Boston Marathon runs through the City, including the well-known Heartbreak Hill. Newton-Wellesley Hospital, part of the Mass General Brigham health care system, serves as an important partner to the City. In September 2018, Newton was again ranked #1 in Massachusetts as the best place to live and #12 in the U.S.

OUR GOVERNMENT:

Newton has what is known as a “strong Mayor” form of government with the Mayor having the executive and administrative powers of the City. The legislative branch is comprised of 24 City Councilors. Mayor Ruthanne Fuller was sworn in on January 1, 2018 after serving on the City Council. She ran on a platform of providing Newton’s children with a top-notch education in an inclusive environment where empty nesters, seniors, young families, and people of diverse incomes can live together in vibrant villages and neighborhoods. Mayor Fuller is committed to keeping Newton safe, improving the city’s infrastructure, addressing climate change, providing excellent and responsive city services, and fostering art, culture and community life. The first female Mayor of Newton, she is a tireless advocate for all the city’s residents and is committed to making sure the city is welcoming, inclusive and diverse. The City of Newton was evaluated by Moody’s Investors Services in February 2020 and assigned its highest rating of AAA. Newton was thus well-positioned to weather the pandemic and economic downturn.

AS AN EMPLOYER:

The City of Newton believes that its employees are its greatest asset. To that end, we are committed to supporting our employees by providing competitive wages and growth, a comprehensive benefits package which includes a defined municipal pension plan, quality health and dental insurance plans, generous paid leave benefits, paid holidays, and access to supplemental benefits such as deferred compensation, short term disability plans, flexible spending accounts, and other employee benefits. We also provide access to an Employee Assistance Program and access to employee training and professional development opportunities. We continuously work to review and expand upon our benefit offerings. We encourage you to visit our Human Resources Department website to learn more about our organization and benefits which are available to our employees. And as always, you are encouraged to reach out to our dynamic HR Team by emailing hr@newtonma.gov.

Human Resources Diversity Statement

We recognize our workforce is a source of strength that is vital to our ability to effectively serve the City of Newton’s diverse community. We will:

• Actively recruit, develop, and retain a diverse and talented workforce.
• Proactively address discrimination through education and in partnership with other departments and leaders.
• Serve as a role model to celebrate and nurture diversity.
• Foster inclusion by staying curious and clarifying assumptions.
• Evaluate and develop policies and practices that reflect the diverse nature of our workforce.
• Build and strengthen accountability at all levels to support diversity efforts.

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Dental insurance
• Tuition Reimbursement
• Flexible Spending Accounts
• 457 Deferred Compensation plans
• Metro Credit Union
• Verizon Wireless discount
• Employee Assistance Program
• Generous paid leave time benefits and paid holidays.
• City Retirement (Mandatory)
• Direct Deposit
• Opportunity to serve the public and join a dynamic team of dedicated employees