Salary: $42.01 - $51.07 Hourly
Location : 380 Civic Drive, Galt, CA
Job Type: Regular Full Time
Job Number:
Department: Finance Department
Division: Finance Administration
Opening Date: 09/03/2026
Closing Date: 9/16/2026 5:30 PM Pacific
Max Number of Applicants: 75

ABOUT THE POSITION

The City of Galt is accepting applications for

Senior Accountant - Payroll Specialist.

The ideal candidate will have extensive expertise in public agency accounting,

complex government payroll systems, and statutory regulations, including GASB, GAAP, and FLSA,

as well as a demonstrated ability to maintain absolute fiscal accountability for public funds.

* Please note: this recruitment may close before the advertised date if we receive a sufficient number of qualified applications.

Base Pay Increases:
Effective July 1, 2027: $43.75 - $53.18
ADDITIONAL PAY (UPON ASSIGNMENT AND ELIGIBILITY):

• Incentive Pay - Up to 5% incentive for City-approved educational courses.
• Longevity Pay - Beginning at 10 years of service, 5%; at 15 years of service, 7.5%.
• Bilingual Pay - $100 per month.
• Cell Phone Stipend- $75 per month.
• Medical-in-lieu - Employees who waive the City's medical coverage shall receive $200 per month for employee only, $350 per month for employee plus one, and $500 per month for family.

BENEFITS:

• Home Buying Program - $25,000 interest-free loan to assist with the purchase of a home in Galt city limits.
• Tuition Reimbursement - Up to $4,000 per fiscal year.
• Holiday Pay - Fourteen (14) paid holidays: One (1) floating holiday and thirteen (13) fixed holidays observed: New Year's Day, MLK Jr. Day, Presidents Day, Cesar Chavez Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, Day after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day.
• Vacation Leave- 80 hours per year for the first 4 years of service, 120 hours after 4 years, 160 hours after 10 years, 200 hours after 15 years, and 240 hours after 22 years.
• Vacation Credit - Those with 4+ years of prior public agency experience may request to accrue at a rate of 120 hours.
• Vacation Cash Out- Eligible employees may cash out up to 80 hours per year.
• Sick Leave- 96 hours per year.
• Admin Leave - 70 hours for exempt employees.
• Health Insurance- City pays a generous portion of the CalPERS medical premium (9 options), City pays 100% for dental and vision premiums.
• Life Insurance- City pays a $50,000 policy and a $1,500 policy for dependents.
• Long Term Disability - City-paid policy; benefit is up to 60% of base salary.
• EAP- Confidential employee assistance plan.

Unrepresented/Mid-Management
Non-Exempt

Under direction, performs a variety of advanced level accounting work including recording and reporting of financial transactions within budgetary controls; supports and implements accounting and auditing procedures and standards, reconciles financial activity, participates in audit activities, performs a variety of grant administration duties; prepares financial reports and work papers, performs review and analysis of funds and accounts including balance sheet, revenue and expenditure accounts, and provides highly responsible staff assistance to assigned management staff.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED AND EXERCISED

Receives general direction from the Accounting Manager or higher level management staff. No direct supervision of staff is exercised. May exercise technical and/or direct supervision over other accounting and clerical staff
CLASS CHARACTERISTICS

This is the advanced journey level in the Accountant series; positions at this level perform more complex duties and responsibilities, exercising a significant level of independent judgment in the performance of their duties; work assigned to this advanced level requires a specialized technical or functional expertise beyond the journey level such as diverse accounting systems, extensive labor cost allocations and considerable financial analysis/reporting requirements; positions may also be assigned lead supervisory duties over lower level staff when such assignments are a formal organizational responsibility supervising at least three subordinate staff members.
Example of Duties

The following duties are typical for this classification. Incumbents may not perform all of the listed duties and/or may be required to perform additional or different duties from those set forth below to address business needs and changing business practices. Management reserves the right to add, modify, change or rescind the work assignments of different positions and to make reasonable accommodations so that qualified employees can perform the essential functions of the job.

• Prepares, maintains, analyzes, verifies, and reconciles complex financial transactions, statements, records, and reports; reconciles assigned accounts and makes adjustments as necessary.
• Maintains and updates records for the City's fixed asset accounts in accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) valuations, quality assessment, and reporting requirements.
• Maintains and updates records for the City's lease accounting records in accordance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) valuations, quality assessment, and reporting requirements.
• Performs a variety of grant administration duties; interprets grant award agreements and monitors for compliance; provides grant accounting and prepares required financial reports; maintains accounting records and documentation related to state, federal, local, and other funding sources; ensures proper billing, collection, and spending of grant funds.
• Provides grant accounting and prepares required annual financial reports.
• Maintains complete accounting record keeping on state, county and other funding sources, including block grants.
• Implements GASB pronouncements for the preparation of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.
• Coordinates, reviews and compiles consolidated State and federal financial statements and reports including the ACFR, State Controller Annual Statement of Transactions, and Department Budget Report of Revenues and Expenditures.
• Reviews and troubleshoots accounting functions and procedures as needed and implements policies and procedures, as assigned.
• Prepares a substantial number of year-end work papers to be used in the annual audits.
• Reviews accounting documents to ensure accuracy of information and calculations and makes correcting entries, and examines supporting documentation to establish proper authorization and conformance with agreements, contracts, and state and federal regulations.
• Prepares journal entries and periodic reconciliations of general ledger, journal, subsidiary accounts and bank statements
• Creates financial reporting templates, procedures and analytical tools used to instruct/train fiscal staff
• Establishes and maintains general and subsidiary accounts and related ledgers including revenue and disbursement; reconciles various accounting reports to the County's general ledger; gathers, compiles, and prepares financial and statistical reports to county, state, and federal agencies
• Compiles and prepares financial statements, general and subsidiary ledgers and supporting schedules.
• Participates in the development and review of department policies and procedures; makes recommendations for changes and improvements to existing standards, policies, and procedures.
• Participates in the preparation of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR) and related year-end financial statements, schedules, and reports; prepares and verifies the accuracy of year-end financial statements for use in preparation of the ACFR
• Prepares schedules and reports for use by external auditors; verifies information and provides documentation as required by auditors.

• Reviews financial documents such as vouchers, purchase orders, and invoices to ensure that proper cost centers are charged, that expenditures and revenues are recorded in the proper classification, and that purchases and other transactions by the department are proper in accordance with their approved budget; determines the level and appropriateness of year-end closing accruals, prepayments, deferrals, depreciation, or adjustments.

• Serves as back-up to payroll, accounts payable, or accounts receivable
• Provides basic fund accounting training to City staff
• Provides responsible staff assistance to management staff; performs special department projects as assigned.
• Provides functional and technical training, direction or work review to lower level accounting staff on a project or day-to-day basis.
• Performs related duties as assigned

Typical Qualifications

Knowledge of:

• Operations, services, and activities of a municipal accounting program.
• Principles and practices of public agency financial management including general and governmental accounting, budgeting, auditing, and reporting functions as well as Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).
• Uses and application of electronic data processing in the maintenance of accounting records, budget preparation.
• Principles and practices of automated financial systems. Principles of municipal budget preparation and control. Grant accounting.
• Principles and procedures of record keeping.
• Principles of business letter writing and report preparation.
• Office procedures, methods, and equipment including computers and applicable software applications such as word processing, spreadsheets, and databases.
• Pertinent federal, state, and local laws, codes, and regulations.
• Principles, practices and terminology of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) applicable to government, including pronouncements of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).
• Applicable federal, state and municipal laws, rules and regulations governing public agency accounting and finance practices, fiscal controls, and financial reporting, including requirements related to the Single Audit Report.
• City and municipal policies and procedures.
• Identification of understanding of the design and implementation of internal controls. Principles and practices of integrated computerized financial systems, particularly related to the processing of accounting information.
• Financial statement and footnote preparation.
• Laws, principles and practices related to the investment of public funds.
• Techniques for providing a high level of customer service by effectively dealing with the public, vendors, contractors, and City staff.
• Modern office practices, methods, and computer equipment and applications related to the work.
• English usage, grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and punctuation.

Ability to:

• Independently perform the most difficult professional accounting assignments. Examine and verify financial documents, reports, and transactions.
• Prepare a variety of budgets, financial statements, reports, and analyses. Analyze, post, balance, and reconcile financial data, ledgers, and accounts. Analyze and draw conclusions from financial data.
• Interpret financial data and recognize accounts that need detailed investigation.
• Understand the organization and operation of the City and of outside agencies as necessary to assume assigned responsibilities.
• Understand, interpret, and apply general and specific administrative and departmental policies and procedures as well as applicable federal, state, and local policies, laws, and regulations.
• Analyze complex issues, evaluate alternatives, and reach sound conclusions.
• Manage multiple projects simultaneously and be sensitive to changing priorities and deadlines.
• Plan and organize work to meet changing priorities and deadlines.
• Work cooperatively with other departments, City officials, and outside agencies.
• Respond tactfully, clearly, concisely, and appropriately to inquiries from the public, City staff, or other agencies on sensitive issues in area of responsibility.
• Operate office equipment including computers and supporting word processing, spreadsheet, and database applications.
• Work independently in the absence of supervision. Communicate clearly and concisely, both orally and in writing.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

Supplemental Information

Education and Experience Guidelines - Any combination of education and experience that would likely provide the required knowledge and abilities is qualifying. A typical way to obtain the knowledge and abilities would be:
Education/Training: A Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or uni