Account Clerk

Centrally located in the heart of Iowa, Ames is a vibrant, progressive community with more than 66,000 residents providing an excellent quality of life. Home to Iowa State University, Ames offers year-round recreation opportunities, diverse cultural offerings, a stable economy, safe neighborhoods, and a high-achieving school district.

General Information

The City of Ames is conducting a recruitment to establish a Civil Service eligibility list for this classification. The list will be valid for up to one year from the date of certification by the Ames Civil Service Commission and may be used to fill one or more vacancies in this classification. In addition, City of Ames Civil Service employees who have previously held Civil Service status in this classification and are interested in voluntarily demoting or laterally transferring into the current vacancy must submit their application by the deadline.
Under general supervision, maintains financial records and processes daily transaction documents for billing of outside customers, payment of City obligations, and receipts from utility customers; enters and balances daily input into accounting system; performs related work as required. The work encompassed within this current vacancy focuses primarily on accounts payable.
In order to be considered for this position, all applicants must submit their online application by the deadline listed on this posting. Your application includes complete responses to the supplemental questions. Please keep in mind that submission of a resume in lieu of work history on your application or answering the supplemental questions is not sufficient.
Compensation Philosophy:
The City of Ames has a compensation philosophy that the starting pay for our merit salary ranges establishes the salary for employees who meet minimum requirements of a position. The median of any merit salary range is for an employee who can reasonably meet all expectations of the position responsibilities without initial extensive training. In order for employees to have an opportunity to grow within their position, we may consider a candidate's education, experience, and skills above the minimum requirements when looking at a salary closer to or slightly above the median. The median for this position is $60,339 annualized.
Benefits
Our comprehensive benefits package can be viewed at: City of Ames Benefits
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program: The PSLF Program is a federal program that is intended to encourage individuals to work in public service by forgiving the balance of their federal student loans. To qualify, the individual must have made 120 qualifying payments while employed by a qualifying employer. For more information, please visit:
PSLF Program

Examples of Essential Job Functions

Examples of Essential Job Functions: Receives invoices and distributes to departments; reviews vendor statements for accuracy and to verify payment; follows up with department on discrepancies. Maintains accounts payable database. Groups invoices; runs edit expenditure reports and balances to invoices. Processes monthly payments for housing assistance program. Prepares checks and remittances for mailing. Prepares reports of vendors paid for City Council. Scans documents for record retention.
Prepares invoices for miscellaneous receivable charges; maintains accounts receivable database; runs edits and verifies information. Prepares period statements for customer accounts. Reviews loans due City and contract receivables to assure payment provisions are met; monitors vendors for 1099 information for tax reporting; reviews aged receivables; records property tax receipts/special assessments; initiates collection procedures. Compiles and submits bills to hospital for reimbursement. Prepares attorney and CB accounts for unpaid bills. Reconciles daily cash deposits to book entries.
Responds to inquiries regarding the records, processes and procedures of accounts receivable and accounts payable. Processes payments on utility customers and enters manual parking tickets to system as required. Assists other Account Clerks as needed.
Each employee is expected to continually strive to bring shared values to life through our Excellence Through People organizational culture. ETP values include: committing to continuous improvement; inspiring creativity and innovation; being customer driven; making data-driven decisions; committing to diversity, equity and inclusion; championing employee involvement; striving for excellence; having fiscal stewardship; acting with honesty and integrity; exhibiting leadership; choosing a positive attitude; respecting one another; promoting safety and wellness; and cultivating teamwork. For leaders, this includes creating a work culture that brings these values to life. For all employees, this includes maintaining a Total City Perspective. The purpose of ETP is to deliver exceptional services to the public at the best price, and for employees to experience an enjoyable and stimulating work environment.
Other Job Functions: Acts as back-up to answer department phones; greets and assists persons entering office.

Qualifications

Education and Experience: High school diploma, HiSet, or G.E.D., including course work in bookkeeping and office procedures, and at least two years of clerical accounting experience preferably in accounts payable or bookkeeping; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Preference may be given to those possessing qualifications above the minimum.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: Knowledge of general accounting and bookkeeping procedures; general knowledge of automated accounting and internal control systems.
Skill in rapidly and accurately operating a ten-key adding machine; skill in rapidly and accurately entering information into a computer using a keyboard; skill in verifying the accuracy of, and balancing numerical information.
Ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide; ability to follow written and oral instructions; ability to establish and to maintain effective working relationships with co-workers and vendors; ability to communicate verbally in an effective manner both in person and on the telephone; ability to organize work in order to meet deadlines.

Supplemental Information

Required Physical Activities: Finger dexterity, talking, hearing, repetitive motions, and grasping.
Physical Characteristics of Work: Sedentary work requiring the exertion of up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift or otherwise move objects.
Vision Requirements: The minimum standard for use with those whose work deals largely with preparing and analyzing data and figures, accounting, transcription, computer terminal and extensive reading.
Environmental Conditions: The worker is not substantially exposed to adverse environmental conditions.
Examples of Equipment Used on the Job: Computer keyboard, monitor, printer and related software. General office equipment such as writing utensils, paper fasteners, binders, envelopes, files, file cabinets, etc. Mechanical office equipment such as typewriter, ten-key adding machine, copy machine, microfilm reader/printer, microfiche reader. Communications equipment such as fax machine and telephone. Variety of printed materials such as invoices, correspondence, and reference materials.
Selection Process:
The selection process consists of an evaluation of education and experience; phone interview; on-site interview, which will include a manager meeting and meet and greet with staff; and completion of reference checks and a criminal background check, which includes a sex offender registry check. All candidates will be notified by email of their application status. Depending on the number of qualified candidates the City may forego phone interviews.
E-Verify Process:
The City of Ames participates in E-Verify and will provide the Social Security Administration (SSA) and, if necessary, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with information from each applicant’s Form I-9 to confirm work authorization. All candidates who are offered a position with the City of Ames must complete Section 1 of Form I-9 along with the required proof of their right to work in the United States and proof of their identity on their first day of employment. Please be prepared to provide required documents on your first day of employment. For additional information regarding acceptable documents for this purpose, please contact Human Resources at 515-239-5199 or go to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services web page at: http://www.uscis.gov.
NOTE: Applicants with disabilities may submit requests for ADA testing or interview accommodations to the Human Resources Department prior to the test or interview.
The City of Ames is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, creed, age, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, ancestry, national origin, marital status, disability, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against. Inquiries can be directed to the Human Resources Department at 515-239-5199.
Veteran’s Preference Points
The City of Ames provides Veteran's Preference Points for Civil Service positions. A copy of your DD214 and, if applicable, proof of disability, must be attached with your application (or faxed to 515-239-5297) prior to the close date of the posting in order to receive Veteran's Preference Points.