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May 3, 2012 of Harrisburg City Controller Dan Miller after Judge Lawrence Clark articulated a Resolution between the Controller's Office and the Mayor's Office on the issue of payroll oversight and direct deposit.

Judge Clark issued his Order on June 7, 2012. City Controller Dan Miller's Response to it: DIRECT DEPOSIT DISPUTE OFFICIALLY RESOLVED______JUDGE'S ORDER CONFIRMS RIGHT of CONTROLLER and TREASURER to AUTHORIZE ELECTRONIC PAYROLL

Checks and Balances to Be Restored to City Payroll Disbursements. HARRISBURG:

Judge Lawrence F. Clark, Jr. yesterday signed a court order finally ending a two and one-half year dispute regarding Harrisburg City payroll disbursements.

In a victory for transparency and good government Judge. Clark Jr. made perfectly clear that the Controller's office was right all along and that the Mayor's resistance was a foolish use of the city's scarce financial resources. The Mayor had waged a long, futile and wasteful legal battle to prevent the Controller's office from determining whether city employees were appropriately budgeted and paid.

"The ruling acknowledges the City Controller has authority over the disbursement of electronic payroll payments commonly referred to as direct deposit.

Internal financial controls that have been absent in the city payroll processing since July 2011 will now be restored.

This is a victory for good government and the citizens of Harrisburg, remarked City Controller, Dan Miller.

The order will take effect in 20 days and will again allow the Controller to stop unbudgeted, fraudulent and incorrect payroll disbursements.

It allows, for the first time, the Controller to approve or suspend individual direct deposit payments. This important function means that inappropriate payments can be singled out while allowing all other employees to continue to receive their direct deposit payment.

The temporary agreement, reached between the Treasurer/Controller and the Mayor last July, as the two sides began arbitration, has been replace with this new order.

State and City Codes have been clear on the power of the Controller and Treasurer to authorize disbursements.

It is unfortunate that so much time, energy and expense has been spent on this issue; an issue that should have been crystal clear from the start.

The current solution is the same one put in place by the City Controller and Treasurer with payroll processor, ADP, in March 2010 before direct deposit was suspended.

Mayor Thompson revoked that solution and prohibited the Treasurer and Controller from speaking with ADP. After her action, the only choice remaining for the Controller and Treasurer was to stop direct deposit for all employees.

In May of 2011 Mayor Thompson sued the Controller and Treasurer in an attempt to resolve this issue in the courts.

" Now that a ruling has been issued I will do what the City Code requires of me and implement the appropriate controls to protect taxpayers. Initiating good fiscal management was a matter of common sense and should have been done long ago. The Mayor's resistance has been disappointing."

Photo/Natalie Cake