Money Action Event
Money Action Event

The mission of the City of Saint Paul Office of Financial Services (OFS) is to champion the financial health of the City and its residents and facilitate organizational effectiveness. Furthermore, the department seeks to:

  • Ensure effective stewardship of the financial and physical assets of the City and its residents.
  • Provide excellent service to internal and external customers, collaborating to deliver quality public services.
  • Foster a caring, supportive, and anti-racist workplace that reflects and honors the community we serve.

Service to the Community

Financial Services is a predominantly internal department. Most external customers come in contact with the department at the administration office on the 7th floor of City Hall. The public can access the administration building to make payments on assessment bills or other invoices. The public and vendors also contact the main phone line to ask for assistance with invoices and Accounts Payable.  The public may also interact with the department or department information via the website which has information for the public on payments, assessments, investments, the budget, and many other issues the department handles.

Services Offered

Plan Assessment Process

Facilities

AreaAccess IssueSolutionComments Est. CostGoal DateStatus
CH700Lack of electronic door for people with mobility issuesInstalling a door opener – Work collaboratively with the County to address accessibility issuesThis is a County-managed building.   Collaborate with the County to implement a solution for the whole building.Unknown. Requires further review with the County12/2027In Progress
CH700Building Signage /wayfinding for visually impairedWork collaboratively with Ramsey County to affect a solution
  • Some signs not in braille are not accessible to those with visual impairment.
  • New signs made and whenever a sign is replaced should have a braille option if the sign is in reaching distance.
  • If printed, make sure large enough font to be legible.
Unknown. Requires further review with the County12/2026In progress
CHA 1000Can’t be accessed from Skyway because of stairs from skyway level to Elevator Lobby level.Signage directing people to an accessible routeAlready in process – design in house$200May 1, 2024Complete

Services

ServiceWho is ServedAccommodations / ConsiderationsComments / Ideas for ImprovementGoal DateStatus
Solid Waste Payments (trash and recycling) Residents and businesses
  • Ease of payments and tracking payments.
  • Making sure service is as accessible as possible for people with disabilities.
  • Add recurring payment options for solid waste (in process)
  • ACH recurring payment option only for checking and savings
  • Recurring Credit Card payment will be future process improvement
  • For credit card: Assessment Division and City Treasurer, Bremer Bank for this project, OTC, Solid Waste (PW), Business Support Manager, and AP Manager.
  • Tentatively goes live April 1 2025 and billing starts in July 1. (Quarterly billing)
  • Credit Card Payment system is contingent on Merchant Card RFP – timeline TBD

In Progress

Vendor Management and ACH PaymentsVendors doing business with the City Accessibility for people with cognitive or visual impairments.
  • Vendors will be able to submit new vendor request forms themselves.
  • Rolling out new portal where vendors will be able to manage their own vendor accounts including ACH payment information online.
May 2025  
Payments from Customers (Accounts Receivable)Residents, businesses, city billing staff
  • Computer use is easier than reading and sending mail for some people
  • An electronic payments/ AR billing portal would make it easier and provide additional options for customers to make payments.  
  • Should work to make the portal easy for people with disabilities to navigate
  • Provide electronic payment options. 

  • New AR billing portal coming.  Likely AR Manager, Business Support Manager with help from 

    (OTC) and Senior Business Analyst, Infor Consultant, Paya/Nuvei (payment consultant) 

    May 2025

    In testing phase.

  
Printing/mailing Invoices for MerchantsMerchants/Vendors
  • Ease of access to invoices.
  • Efficiency for City employees.
  • Should work to make this system easy for people with disabilities to navigate

  • Create AR invoices in Infor to allow users to print invoices independently. OTC for templates and AR Manager. 

  • Timeline is OTC. 

End of 2026

Meetings starting in March 2024. Meeting Monthly

Budget GamesResidents  The Mayor’s Office has not included languages or accessibility info for meetings in written materials
  • Mostly a Mayor’s Office initiative.
  • Collaborate with MO to address the issue for subsequent years
Ongoing/Mayor’s Office dependent. 
Assessment FAQsResidents and businessesShould be screen readable, plain language, and be easy to navigate
  • Add FAQs to provide more complete information to customers.
  • Add language or ADA accessibility information if missing)
  • Assessments Manager and Assessments Tech will work on this. 
End of 2024Complete
Central Payments PageResidentsCentralize information for all payment types onto a single page for all departments to streamline navigation, processes, and make more user friendly.
  • Should be on the City’s homepage
  • Could also be on the OFS homepage
  • Is part of the Website Optimization Project in OTC
Kickoff 2026 
ADA Inquiries and ComplaintsResidents by equipping employeesSet expectations and create clarity for all involved by posting information about the process  to submit ADA inquiries and complaints in accessible formats on webpages for folks with disabilities or other barriers 
  • Establish a committee to write and post SOPs
  • Add ADA Grievance and Complaint Information and include a link or QR code to the City ADA Portal on our webpages and invoices, and optionally on signature blocks
  • SOP Committee by June 2025
  • OTC Dependent for Webpages, possibly a few years out for invoices because of the way they need to be formatted
 
Invoicing the City/APVendorsShould be accessible/screen-readableInvoicing guidance is currently buried in City Policy language and needs to be clearly documented for vendors and staff on the website. AP Manager, OTC, Business SupportEarly 2026 
General Departmental InformationResidents, Vendors and StaffOur landing page could be better organized to make it more navigable for people with cognitive and visual impairments and the public in general.Collaborate with OTC to assess and address accessibility and navigability for those with visual and cognitive impairments..OTC dependent 
(Real Estate) Information on Vacating Right of Way, Leasing and purchase of City Property and ADA related requests ResidentsContact information is non-specific and there is not an easy way to submit requests 
  • Establish a Real Estate-specific email account for leasing and city property purchase inquiries.
  • List 651-266-8850 phone number with no specific role.
  • Real Estate-specific information o leasing etc. is missing besides the address and phone number at the bottom of the landing page.
December 2025 

Programs

ProgramWho is ServedAccommodations / ConsiderationsComments / Ideas for Improvement
Guaranteed IncomeResidents The two programs in the Programs assessments sections are both in OFE who is doing their own ADA Plan. Should include additional OFS programs as developed if they are relevant
College Bound Saint PaulResidents  

Information

Information AvenueWhat Information is Conveyed Here?How Is It Accessible?Potential Barriers Between the Public and This Information?

Target Date

Status

OFS City WebsiteBudget, ACFR, assessments, etc.Webpage, PDFs, links
  • Documents should be reviewed for accessibility
  • Rearrange the buttons in order of importance and need for the public.
  • Perhaps assign issues to 3 main buckets and house buttons or topics in larger areas. ( e.g. Fees and Assessments, E Pay, etc. in  “Make a Payment”)  “Saint Paul Budget and Tax Information”
December 2025 
OFS City WebsiteReal Estate InformationWebpageThis information needs to be developed and put on webpage in collaboration with OTC to make sure it is accessible and well-organized from the outset. December 2025 
OFS City WebsiteAmerican Rescue Plan (ARP) InformationWebpage, links and PDFs
  • PDF Documents and tables may be hard to read with screen reader.
  • Collaborate with OTC to assess and address accessibility and navigability for those with visual
December 2025 
OFS City WebsitePublic Art Ordinance Needs to be moved to PED and updated. December 2025 
OFS City WebsiteInnovations Team Information 

  • Information needs to be updated and potentially moved to internal Saint Paul Connect. 

  • PDF Documents may be hard to read with screen reader.

December 2025

OFS City WebsiteTicket and Fine InformationOnline links to relevant departments and agencies.

  • Make clear that Tickets and Fines are managed by the Courts, and that the link is taking user to a District Court site

  • Keep the links current

December 2025 
OFS City WebsiteAudited Comprehensive Financial ReportsOnline PDFs
  • PDFs, especially portions with tables may be hard to read with a screen reader for those with visual impairment.
  • Collaborate with OTC to assess and address accessibility and navigability for those with visual
December 2025 
OFS City WebsiteCurrent and Past BudgetsOnline PDFs
  • PDFs, especially portions with tables may be hard to read with a screen reader for those with visual impairment.
  • Collaborate with OTC to assess and address accessibility and navigability for those with visual
December 2025 
OFS City WebsiteTax EstimatorOnline tool
  • Needs to be updated; online tool may be hard to use for those with visual impairment or cognitive issues
  • Collaborate with OTC to assess and address accessibility and navigability for those with visual

December 2025

OTC Schedule Dependent

 
OFS City WebsiteInvestor Relations InformationOnline tool(s)Collaborate with OTC to assess and address accessibility and navigability for those with visual and cognitive impairments.

December 2025

OTC Schedule Dependent

 
OFS City WebsiteAssessment and Fee Payment InformationAssessments for individual properties can be searched and paid online; links to other city fee payment pagesCollaborate with OTC to assess and address accessibility and navigability for those with visual and cognitive impairments including links and PDF content.

December 2025

OTC Schedule Dependent

 
Direct MailAssessment NoticesDelivered directly to home or business.
  • We hope to implement a paperless/digitally accessible option. Assessments Manager and OTC and possibly Treasury Manager.
  • Embed accommodation request form links or QR codes on direct mails. 
Early 2026 -OTC Schedule-Dependent 
Direct MailInvoices Delivered directly to home or business.
  • We hope to implement a paperless/digitally accessible option. Staff: Assessments Manager,  Treasury Manager, OTC and Maybe Business Support.
  • Embed accommodation request form links or QR codes on direct mails.. 
Early 2026 -OTC Schedule-Dependent 
Direct MailPast-Due/Late Payment NoticesDelivered directly to home or business.
  • We hope to implement a paperless/digitally accessible option.
  • Embed accommodation request form links or QR codes on direct mails.
  • (Payment Option dependent)
Early 2026 -OTC Schedule-Dependent 
Direct MailAP Checks/Vendor PaymentsDelivered directly to home or business.
  • We hope to implement a paperless/digitally accessible option.
  • Embed accommodation request form links or QR codes on direct mails.
Early 2026 -OTC Schedule-Dependent 
Direct MailAnnual 1099Delivered directly to home or business.
  • We hope to implement a paperless/digitally accessible option.
  • Embed accommodation request form links or QR codes on direct mails. 
Early 2026 -OTC Schedule-Dependent 
Email     
BondLink (website)Investor relationsWe can ensure what we post is accessible, but not the accessibility of the (external) site functionalityCollaborate with OTC to assess and address accessibility and navigability of City-specific content for those with visual and cognitive impairments.December 2025 
EMMA (website)Debt disclosuresThe materials we post are accessible but the (External) site itself is likely not accessible, but small improvements have been made. Unknown about site overall.Very dense material; geared for finance professionals, investors and regulators Complete to the extent it can be.

Policy

Name of PolicyWhat Information Is Conveyed Here?How Is It Accessible?
Cash Handling PolicyHow to appropriately handle cash
  • The document meets accessibility standards.
  • Also have a video for cash handling training.
 OFS will continue to review other policies to see if they need to be included and addressed in the context of ADA issues. 

Last Edited: April 15, 2025