Small Agency Services Bulletin - Dec. 2025
| Important Dates | Important Messages | Small Agency Financial Services News | Travel Tips | Contact Us |
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Important Dates
Dec. 31
- Timesheets for the Dec. 16-31 pay period are due. Questions – email despayroll@des.wa.gov or submit a Payroll Request form.
Jan. 8
- To reflect in your agency's Dec. monthly financial statements, all invoices and travel reimbursement requests are due to Accounts Payable.
Jan. 12
- The 2026 regular session begins on Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. It is a short session, lasting up to 60-days, with an expected end date of Thursday, March 12, 2026 (see details below).
Jan. 15
- Payroll timesheets due
Jan. 30
- 2027-29 Compensation Impact Model (CIM) due to OFM
Feb. 2
- Payroll timesheets due
Important Messages
Fiscal Year End and purchases over $40,000
The DES Procurement Consulting team would like to remind agencies that a competitive solicitation (required for most purchases over $40,000) can take four-eight months to complete. Consider starting any procurement actions for those purchases now!
If any small agency has questions or needs help with the procurement process, they can email DESProcurementConsulting@des.wa.gov.
Compensation Impact Model (CIM) - update of agency compensation data for 2027-29 for collective bargaining and budget development is due Jan. 30, 2026
With the start of a new biennium, the Office of Financial Management (OFM) State Human Resources and Budget divisions are gearing up to collect compensation data for the 2027-29 collective bargaining process that begins in March 2026 and for budget development later that year.
Please review OFM's instructions.
Your DES Small Agency Budget Analyst will send you a Salary Projection System (SPS) report for your review and updates. Once you've provided the updates, we will submit them through SPS by OFM's deadline.
Small Agency Financial Services News
Legislative session basics and how SAFS supports your agency
Legislative session
The legislative session is the period during which the state legislature convenes to introduce, debate, and pass laws. Sessions typically last 105 days in odd-numbered years and 60 days in even-numbered years. During this time, legislators consider policy issues, introduce bills, and vote on legislation that may become state law. The session plays a critical role in allocating funding and shaping policies that affect the state and its residents.
Fiscal Notes
A fiscal note is a statement estimating the fiscal impact of proposed legislation or a legislative proposal. Each fiscal note request is tied to a specific version of a bill, draft bill, or bill amendment. The primary purpose of a fiscal note is to provide the most accurate estimate possible of the expenditure and cash receipt impacts of proposed legislation.
Agencies are generally given 72 hours to submit fiscal impact information in response to a fiscal note request. The legislature relies on the fiscal impact information available when reviewing a bill prior to a scheduled hearing.
Initiative 960 (I-960)
Initiative 960 (I-960) requires the Office of Financial Management (OFM) to determine the 10-year cost to taxpayers and fee payers of any proposed legislation that would raise taxes or impose new or increased fees. Agencies will be asked to develop the cost estimates used to create these projections. Requests related to I-960 are considered high priority.
Fiscal Note System (FNS)
The Fiscal Note System (FNS) is used to request, prepare, transmit, approve, distribute, and track the status of fiscal notes.
How SAFS Budget supports your agency
SAFS Budget assists your agency by:
- Updating FNS access: Ensuring your agency's fiscal staff contact information is entered into FNS so you receive notifications for fiscal notes assigned to your agency.
- Partnering on estimates: Collaborating with your agency to calculate expenditure and cash receipt impacts of proposed legislation.
- Submitting fiscal notes: Entering your agency's fiscal note response into FNS and submitting completed fiscal notes to OFM.
- Coordinated responses: Drafting collaborative responses to fiscal notes that impact multiple customer agencies.
Your agency's role
Your agency is responsible for providing the most reasonable estimate of the expenditure and cash receipt impacts of proposed legislation on your agency, as well as on state and local governments. Fiscal notes must be factual, objective, and non-biased. Agencies are also required to share assumptions with other agencies preparing fiscal notes for the same legislation.
SAFS requests of agencies
- Be available: Monitor your email for fiscal note notifications.
- Review: Read and analyze fiscal notes assigned to your agency.
- Draft the narrative: Prepare the narrative response for assigned fiscal notes. As the subject-matter expert on your agency's operations, you are best positioned to explain how proposed legislation may fiscally impact your agency.
- Be responsive: Monitor and respond to emails from SAFS requesting questions or clarifications as we assist in estimating expenditure and cash receipt impacts. Please respond even if only to concur with a “No Fiscal Impact” determination.
- Provide justification: If a "No Fiscal Impact" is identified, clearly explain the rationale for that determination.
FNS training
Training is available for individuals that may assist SAFS staff and perform entry in the system.
Virtual training sessions are coming in January 2026. Representatives from OFM provide an introduction to FNS in a large audience webinar format, including explanations of fiscal note best practices, a live demonstration of FNS, and an open forum for FNS-related questions.
If you would like to attend the FNS training, please register in the Learning Center. The course name is OFM Introduction to Fiscal Notes System (FNS) Virtual Training. Two classes are scheduled:
- Wed., Jan. 7, 2026 from 9 - 11 a.m.
- Thurs., Jan. 8, 2026 from 1 - 3 p.m.
Payroll Information
- We recommend that all correspondence and forms are sent using the Payroll Request form or to the despayroll@des.wa.gov inbox. Items sent via these methods are ticketed and monitored for completion.
- Reminder that payroll journals need to be signed prior to payday per SAAM 25.20.30 & RCW 41.06.270 and returned by the due date mentioned in the email that is sent with the journal.
- Once the payroll journals are signed, they should be sent back to DES Payroll for retention.
- Review & Update W-4 form, if necessary, find your current withholding status in the top right corner of each earnings statement. The 2026 W-4 forms are now available.
- Update your address: Have you moved? Now is a good time to update your address. Please send an email to the Human Resources (HR) office.
- Review Beneficiary: Now is a good time to review your beneficiary information for your life insurance, retirement, deferred compensation program, and your Health Savings Account.
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.
Accounts Payable
Team members:
- Diana Huynh - Supervisor
- Riley Hyland - Senior lead
- Kaler Pearson - Senior lead
- Bryn Parker - Lead
- Forest Pope - Accounting analyst
- Kyler Oblad - Accounting analyst
Accounts Receivable
Team members:
- Betti Bartoldo - Supervisor
- Stacey Millsap - Senior lead
- Jenifer Mobley - Accounting analyst
- Brandy Leitgeb - Accounting analyst
- Sarah Palazzo - Cash receipts specialist
- Sean Garcia - Cash receipts specialist
Budget
Team members:
- Diann Lewallen
- Seth Flory
- Ian Shelley
- Christina Shearer
- Annis Jones
Payroll
Team members:
- Rachel Rodgers – Manager
- Molly Guinan – Supervisor
- Kayla Preble – Lead
- Nichole Dahlin – Processor
- Amber Roberts – Processor
- Vanno Non - Garnishments
- Adam Oskvig – Out of state taxes
- Treyson Ramos – Retirement specialist
- Brandy Butterfield – Benefits specialist
- Malachi Riedl - Time and attendance processor
Team message: "It doesn't take strength to win, it takes the true heart of the team to win." - Emily Voyles
Administrative Assistance
Team members:
- Makaila Barbella
DES Accounts Payable statistics for Nov. 2025 (34 agencies served)
| Invoices received from agency | 1,819 | 74.86% | $14,763,490 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoices paid on delegated authority | 463 | 19.05% | $1,383,304 |
| Travel requests paid through TEMS | 141 | 5.80% | $62,842 |
| Payments reissued (SOL, Lost Warrant) | 7 | 0.29% | $2,179 |
| Total payments processed | 2,430 | 100% | $16,211,815 |
DES Payroll statistics for Nov. 2025 (42 agencies served)
| Total employees paid | 1,172 |
|---|---|
| Appointment changes | 3 |
| New hires/rehires | 13 |
| Separations | 5 |
| Supplemental payments/walk throughs | 0 |
| Overpayments | 5 |
Travel Tips
State vehicle frequently asked questions
Ever had the unexpected happen while driving a state vehicle – such a flat tire, an accident, or windshield damage? Visit DES' Frequently Asked Questions webpage for answers to these situations and many more topics related to traveling in a state vehicle.
As always, if you have any questions regarding travel: call SAFS AP at 360-407-8183 or email travel.safs@des.wa.gov.
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.