Small Agency Services Bulletin - November 2023
| Important Dates | Important Messages | Small Agency Financial Services News | Travel Tips | Contact Us |
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Important Dates
Dec. 6
- To reflect in your agency's monthly financial statements, all invoices and travel reimbursement requests are due to Accounts Payable.
Dec. 8
- DES Accounts Receivable will transfer Combined Fund Drive (CFD) deposits in fund 525 to the Office of the Secretary of State.
Dec. 13
- 2023 IRS 1099-MISC reporting invoice cutoff. See more details in “Payment Pause – AP IRS FORM 1099 Analysis” section below.
Dec. 20
- Statutory deadline for Governor to release supplemental budget proposals.
Jan. 5
- 2023 IRS 1099-MISC upload deadline
Jan. 8
- 2024 Legislative Session begins.
Jan. 31
- 2023 W-2s will be distributed. They will also be available electronically in MyPortal.
- Annual sick leave buy-out form is due.
Important Messages
Paid Family & Medical Leave premiums to decrease in 2024
Starting Jan. 1, 2024:
The premium rate will be 0.74%. The rate for 2023 is 0.8%.
Employers will pay 28.57% of the total premium and employees will pay 71.43% — a ratio similar to 2023.
OFM Budget Preparations are Under Way
The Office of Financial Management (OFM) is busy reviewing agency requests and preparing recommendations to the Governor's 2024 supplemental budgets. Be sure to contact your DES Budget Analyst should you receive any questions or make subsequent changes to your budget submittal. The Governor's budget proposal is required by statute to be submitted to the Legislature by Dec. 20.
Small Agency Financial Services News
Payment Pause – AP IRS FORM 1099 Analysis
- Send payments by 12/13/23 to guarantee payment before the payment pause
- Last 2023 payment day is 12/20/23
- No payment processed from 12/21/23-1/1/24
- Payments will resume 1/2/24
This payment pause allows the AP team time to accurately analyze for IRS 1099 reporting, thank you for your understanding.
DES presents successful Travel Info Session – October 26!
Our Oct. 26 Travel Info Session had a record 88 attendees representing 26 small agencies. The workshop covered:
State Administrative and Accounting Manual (SAAM) Travel Policy
- Lodging & Meals
- Mileage
- Flights
Miscellaneous Rules
- Prior Approvals
Meals with Meetings & Light Refreshments
- SAAM policy highlights
Travel Expense Management System (TEMS) how-to:
- Create a Trip Walkthrough
- Create a Reimbursement Walkthrough
- Common TEMS challenges
- How to request new TEMS profiles or profile updates
Special thanks to DES Accounts Payable presenters Ian Shelley, Norma Rosado, and Ryan Kirchhof.
The presentation and resources have been updated and posted on our Workshop Materials webpage. Enjoy!
Calendar Year-End 2023 is Approaching
The end of the calendar year is quickly approaching. Our payroll office has a few important reminders:
- Ensure all timesheets and leave slips are submitted timely and accurately by Dec. 15. This will ensure your 2023 W-2s are correct.
- Update your W-4: Only if there are any changes in your financial or marital status. Find your current withholding status in the top right corner of each earnings statement.
- 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.
Payroll Reminders
Annual sick leave buy-out reports should be out in mid-January. The signed form is due back to DES Payroll by Jan. 31 and will be processed on the Feb. 10 paycheck.
Leave donations to/from another agency affect your budget
Often employees have excess leave that they may never use or actually lose on their anniversary date. Donating excess leave to other state employees in need and who qualify for shared leave donations is common.
But did you know... leave donations can affect your budget?
If an employee donates leave, the hours AND the monetary value of those hours transfer.
If an employee is donating to an employee within the same agency, there is no impact on the agency's budget except possibly between the agency's program budgets.
If an employee is donating to another agency's employee, the budget of the giving agency is decreased by the monetary value of the leave being donated -- and the gaining agency's budget is increased.
Before approving an employee's leave donation to an employee at another agency, check with your DES Budget Analyst to see that your agency's budget can afford the decrease/expenditure.
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 |
Ian Shelley |
|
| Budget |
Diann Lewallen |
|
| Payroll |
Rachel Rodgers - new |
We are excited to share that Rachel Rodgers is joining the team as the new Payroll Manager starting on 12/1! Rachel comes from WSDOT where she was a Payroll Assistant Manager and brings many years of experience and knowledge to DES. Please join us in welcoming Rachel! |
| Accounts Receivable |
Betti Bartoldo |
|
| Administrative Assistance |
Danelle Guerin |
|
DES Accounts Payable statistics for Oct. 2023 (34 agencies served)
| Invoices Received from Agency | 1,744 | 69.62% | $16,127,783 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invoices Paid on Delegated Authority | 574 | 22.91% | $1,343,837 |
| Travel Requests Paid through TEMS | 185 | 7.39% | $73,973 |
| Payments Reissued (SOL, Lost Warrant) | 2 | 0.08% | $228 |
| Total Payments Processed | 2,505 | 100% | $17,545,821 |
DES Payroll statistics for Oct. 2023 (42 agencies served)
| Total Employees Paid | 1,579 |
|---|---|
| Appointment Changes | 27 |
| New Hires / Rehires | 29 |
| Transfer In / Transfer Outs | 3 |
| Separations | 21 |
| Supplemental Payments / Walk Throughs | 3 |
| Overpayments | 3 |
Travel Tips
The Oct. 26 Travel Info Session presentation and resources have been posted on our Workshop Materials webpage. Enjoy!
Jingle Bus Schedule
Intercity Transit's Jingle Buses are back and on a route near you! Two festively decorated buses and a Dial-A-Lift van again this year to spread holiday cheer throughout the community. The Jingle Buses will travel on a different route each day through Sunday, Dec. 31.
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.