Accounting Assistant II -Treasurer-Tax Collector

County of Ventura; United States; Remote; USD 10,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a dynamic team at the County of Ventura as an Accounting Assistant II, where you'll be the first point of contact for the public, assisting with tax payments and inquiries. This role requires strong customer service skills and experience in financial record keeping. You'll thrive in a fast-paced environment, handling various financial transactions and ensuring accurate data entry. The position offers a comprehensive benefits package, including health plans, vacation accrual, and retirement options. If you're looking to make a difference in your community and enjoy working with the public, this opportunity is perfect for you.

Benefits

Health Plans

Vacation Accrual

Sick Leave

Pension Plan

Tuition Reimbursement

Flexible Spending Accounts

Employee Assistance Program

Wellness Program

Qualifications

• Two years of experience in financial record keeping or one year as Accounting Assistant I.
• Experience in high-volume call center or customer service.

Responsibilities

• Act as the first public contact for inquiries and tax payments.
• Perform financial transactions and data entry in a high-volume setting.

Skills

Customer Service

Financial Record Keeping

Problem Solving

Arithmetic Skills

Data Entry

Education

High School Diploma

College-level Accounting Coursework

Tools

10-key Adding Machine

Computers

Job description

What We Offer

The County of Ventura offers an attractive compensation and benefits package that includes:

• New Hire/Retention/Referral Incentive: New hires may be eligible for a one-time New Hire Incentive up to 10% of the current annual base wage. (Subject to the applicable section of the SEIU 721 MOA 2022-2025, Article 38, Secs. 3801 – 3803)
• Educational Incentive: An educational incentive of 2.5% for completion of an associate's degree, 3.5% for completion of a bachelor's degree, OR 5% for completion of a graduate's degree.
• Bilingual Incentive: Based on the agency need, proficiency levels by exam are $.69 per hour (Level I), $1.00 per hour (Level II), or $1.32 per hour (Level III).
• Vacation Accrual: New regular, full-time employees shall accrue approximately 14 days of vacation a year for the first 5 years of service; vacation accruals increase at 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 20 years of service topping out at 26 days a year and 400 hours of vacation hours banked.
• Annual Leave Redemption: After 14,560 hours of continuous County service an employee may elect to cash in or redeem up to 80 hours of vacation accrued in the same year after using 80 hours of vacation in the preceding 12 months.
• Sick Leave: Full time regular employees accrue 3.08 hours of sick leave per pay period with an advance at hire of 40.04 hours which will be balanced at the completion of 13 bi-weekly pay periods.
• Deferred Compensation: Eligible to participate in the County's 401(k) Shared Savings Plan and/or the Section 457 Plan. This position is eligible for up to a 3.00% match on your 401(k) contributions.
• Health Plans: You are afforded an annual flexible credit allowance for purchasing medical, dental, and/or vision insurance from a group of authorized plans.
• Flexible Spending Accounts: Pre-tax benefit towards eligible medical, dental and vision care expenses.
• Pension Plan: Participation in the County's defined pension plan, which has reciprocity with CalPERS.
• Holidays: 12 paid days per year which includes a scheduled floating holiday.
• Additional Benefits: Tuition Reimbursement, Disability Plans, Employee Assistance Program, Life Insurance, Wellness Program.

Treasurer-Tax Collector's Office

The Treasurer-Tax Collector (TTC) of Ventura provides service to the public through two distinct divisions: Treasury and Tax Collection. The Treasury Department is the depository for county agencies, school districts, and special district funds. All banking functions are handled in Treasury, which is in all respects the equivalent of a small business bank processing over $13 billion annually.

The Tax Collector's role is to administer the billing, collection, and reporting of property tax revenues levied annually throughout the county, incorporated cities, county schools and special districts. The Tax Collection division operates with three units of responsibility: Public Service, Accounting and Delinquent Collections. Each unit's duties are integrated and overlap to accommodate workload.

THE POSITION

Under general supervision, the TTC Accounting Assistant II acts as the first public contact and line of service to constituents at the Tax Collector's public facing counter and over the phone, responding to inquiries and performing the full range of duties in the maintenance and processing of financial transactions, and entry/retrieval of data and/or information into manual or technology systems in a high-volume call-center. Functional areas of responsibility include, but are not limited to cash receipts and disbursements, accounts receivable, billing, refunds, accounting, and revenue distribution.

The successful candidate has experience working in a high-volume call center or customer service setting resolving challenging and complex customer problems through established policies, procedures or laws, as well as experience in financial, statistical or fiscal record keeping.

There are currently two (2) Regular vacancies available in the Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office.

Accounting Assistant II’s are represented by the Service Employees' International Union (SEIU) and are eligible for overtime compensation.

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
OPENING DATE: Wednesday, February 12, 2025
CLOSING DATE: Continuous and may close at any time; therefore, the schedule for the remainder of the process will depend upon when we receive a sufficient number of qualified applications to meet business needs.
REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS: Applications will be reviewed on a weekly basis beginning the week of February 24, 2025.

Duties may include but are not limited to the following:

• Acts as the first public contact person for callers and/or visitors which may include processing tax payments, answering inquiries on status or payment history, or providing payoff demands as requested.
• Performs simple arithmetical computations to verify money collected, claims amounts, refunds, discrepancies, etc.
• Compares data on the documents with back-up information in order to substantiate claims.
• Receives cash, warrants and checks from individuals or revenue sources; applies credit to the proper subsidiary ledger account; balances the cash register and forwards deposits to the proper accounting area for deposit with County Treasurer.
• Ability to negotiate under pressure. De-escalate interactions with disgruntled parties to resolve conflict. Refers unresolved issues to the lead Senior Accounting Assistant.
• Sorts, batches and files financial, statistical, or fiscal data/records.
• Logs and codes data according to prescribed accounting procedures; retrieves documents from the property tax system to credit accounts accordingly.
• Receives, reviews and verifies affidavits, bills, and other related documentation to support claims, accuracy of amounts and accounts charged, and conformance to rules and procedures.
• Performs posting functions by hand or on the computer by inputting accounting data to appropriate accounts, journals, or ledgers.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

EDUCATION, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE

Any combination of education and experience which has led to the acquisition of the required knowledge, skills and abilities. An example of qualifying education and experience includes:

• Two (2) years of financial, statistical or fiscal record keeping; or one (1) year as an Accounting Assistant I with the County of Ventura.

NECESSARY SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS

• One (1) year of experience working in a high-volume call center or customer service setting resolving challenging and complex customer problems through established policies, procedures or laws.

Education/Experience Substitution
Three (3) units of college-level accounting coursework OR twelve (12) units of college-level general coursework may be substituted for up to one (1) year of the required experience.

If you are substituting education for experience (up to one year), verification of a degree, or transcripts/grade reports from an accredited college or university which reflect passing grades in the required subject areas must be submitted with your application or within three (3) business days of the recruitment closing.

You may submit transcripts using one of the following options:

• Attach the transcripts to your application
• Email the transcripts to [e-mail]
• Mail to Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L#1970, Ventura, CA 93009

If transcripts or grade reports are not submitted, your application may be screened out and you will not be allowed to continue in the process. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.

Degree(s) or coursework from a foreign institution require an academic credential evaluation to determine the U.S. equivalency.

If the name on this documentation is different from the name on your application, include documents that show the name change.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES

Knowledge of: principles and processes for providing customer services including needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and customer satisfaction; techniques for dealing with challenging/difficult situations with the public, in person and/or over the telephone; operations, services and activities of a comprehensive fiscal program; fiscal and record keeping principles, practices, and techniques; the operating financial accounting system; the codes, forms, procedures, rules and regulations applicable to the processing and recording of fiscal transactions; the department/agency account structure and operational requirements; pre-audit methods and procedures; electronic data processing equipment uses and limitations.

Skill in: the operation of a 10-key adding machine or calculator, use of computers and related technology including software applications specific to the work performed.

Ability to: listen and understand information and ideas presented by callers and/or visitors, communicate information so that callers and/or visitors understand; make arithmetic calculations with speed and accuracy; apply codes and classifications used in account maintenance; use computer printouts and prepare data in the proper format; understand and apply rules and regulations related to fiscal record keeping and accounting functions; understand the relationship among accounting records and documents; recognize discrepancies or problems in accounts and make corrections; research a problem or question to a successful conclusion; communicate effectively both verbally and in writing; and establish and maintain effective working relationships with those contacted in the course of work.

FINAL FILING DATE: This is a continuous recruitment and may close at any time; therefore, apply as soon as possible if you are interested. Your application must be received by County of Ventura Human Resources in Ventura, California, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the closing date.

To apply online, please refer to our website at www.ventura.org/jobs. If you prefer to fill out a paper application form, please call [phone] for application materials and submit them to County of Ventura Human Resources, 800 South Victoria Avenue, L-1970, Ventura, CA 93009.

Applicants must provide sufficient information under the Education/Work experience portion of the application and supplemental questionnaire to determine eligibility. A resume may be attached to supplement your responses in the above-referenced sections; however, it may not be submitted in lieu of the application.

NOTE: If presently permanently employed in another merit or civil service public agency/entity in the same or substantively similar position as is advertised, and if appointed to that position by successful performance in a merit or civil service style examination, then appointment by Lateral Transfer may be possible. If interested, please click here (Download PDF reader) for additional information.

SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONNAIRE – qualifying

All applicants are required to complete and submit the questionnaire for this examination at the time of filing. The questionnaire may be used throughout the exam process to assist in determining qualifications for the position. Failure to complete and submit the questionnaire may result in the removal of the application from further consideration.

APPLICATION EVALUATION–qualifying

All applications will be reviewed to determine whether the stated requirements are met. Those individuals meeting the stated requirements will be invited to the written examination.

WRITTEN EXAMINATION –100%: An un-proctored, internet-based, job-related written examination will be conducted to evaluate participating applicants' knowledge of accounting principles, financial accounting and reporting, budgeting for successful performance on the job. Examinees must earn a score of seventy percent (70%) or higher to qualify for placement on the eligible list.

ELIGIBLE LIST

Applicants successfully completing the examination process may be placed on an eligible list for a period of one (1) year. The eligible list established from this recruitment may be used to fill current and future Regular (including Temporary and Fixed-term), Intermittent, and Extra Help vacancies.

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION: A thorough pre-employment, post offer background investigation which may include inquiry into past employment, education, credit history, criminal background information and driving record is required for this position.

For further information about this recruitment, please contact Melissa Rodriguez by e-mail at [e-mail] or by telephone at: [phone].