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Attached is a draft Comptroller's Memorandum regarding proposed changes for processing salary refunds. Please review this draft memorandum and provide any comments by October 10, 1997, to:

If additional information is needed, please contact Jack Peterson at 850/414-1874, SUNCOM 994-1874 or Steve Isted at 850/414-7822, SUNCOM 994-7822, in the Bureau of State Payrolls.

DRAFT
COMPTROLLERS MEMORANDUM #

SUBJECT: SALARY OVERPAYMENT REFUND PROCESSING

By changing the way we have been processing salary refunds we feel we can provide a better service to each agency served by the Bureau of State Payrolls (BOSP). The proposed changes as discussed in the following paragraphs will allow for a more efficient utilization of staff at the BOSP as well as the agency, reduce significantly the amount of time spent on reconciliations both at BOSP and at the agency, eliminate any risk of loss of payment between the agency and BOSP (no inter-agency mailing of checks), reduce the time between processing transactions and posting transactions, allowing agencies to maintain control when overpayment is repaid on an installment basis. We feel the benefits discussed above far outweigh any transitional problems you might encounter when changing a business process as we are here.

The Office of Comptroller, Cashier's Office, will discontinue accepting deposits for salary refunds effective December 1, 1997. Salary refund checks or money orders received in the Cashier's Office after November 26 will be returned to the submitting agency unprocessed. To ensure proper implementation, agencies should cease mailing separate forms and checks as of November 21, 1997. Agency managers are responsible for establishing procedures to deposit cash, checks, and warrants for refunds of current and prior year(s) salary overpayments into an appropriate account. Agencies must submit journal transfer (JT) forms to the Bureau of State Payrolls' Salary Refund Clearing Trust Account 44-74-2-194001-44100000-00-001800-00. Attach the following items to each JT:

1. Appropriate salary refund forms, DBF–BP–29 or DBF–BP–07,
2. A running proof tape in the same sequence as the attached salary refund form(s), and
3. Any pertinent documents needed to expedite the accounting transactions and to update employee records.

Mail all these materials to:

Salary Refund Processing
Bureau of State Payrolls
Department of Banking & Finance
Room B-23, Fletcher Building
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0350

Bureau of State Payrolls staff will verify that the submitted forms total the same amount as the JT and the agency proof tape. Forms containing incomplete or erroneous information will be returned to the submitting agency and the JT will be adjusted to reflect the returns. Please limit the number of refund forms attached to a single JT to twenty–five (25) to facilitate processing.

Appropriate revisions to Volume V, Section 2, of the Payroll Manual will be distributed separately. Agency managers and personnel should review the new procedures closely as agency requirements and responsibilities have changed considerably in the event of a returned check. There also are new requirements for the agency to maintain a running reconciliation of employee refunds deposited to the agency account and the amounts processed by BOSP.

Agencies are required to hold the salary refund form for an overpayment collected in installments until the full amount adjusting a single warrant is collected. As with other receipts, the individual checks or warrants making up the installments should be deposited as soon as possible. Timeliness is always of the utmost importance to ensure prompt posting to the agency account and employee records. Agencies should exercise particular care to expedite submission when approaching the end of the fiscal or calendar year.

Be aware that funds received by an agency in one calendar or fiscal year must be recorded as refunded in that same year. This requires submission of the refund form and JT (even if the installments are not complete) to the BOSP before the last scheduled cancellation run for the calendar year.

Thank you, in advance, for adhering to this new procedure. Should you encounter any problems or have questions during this transitional period, you may contact Jack Peterson at 850/414-1874, SUNCOM 994-1874 or Steve Isted at 850/414-7822, SUNCOM 994-7822, in the Bureau of State Payrolls.