Finance

Mission

The Finance Department will provide accurate and complete financial information to support the Town departments and citizens. We will also deliver excellent customer service, performing our duties with utmost integrity in an efficient, professional and ethical manner. Finally, we pledge to implement innovative systems that will further our strategic goals and protect Town assets.

Services

The Finance Department is responsible for the Town’s general ledger accounting, utility billing and collections, payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable and employee retirement plan administration.  The Department is also responsible for the preparation and control of the Town’s Budget and providing other departments with financial analysis.  State law requires that all local governments publish a complete set of financial statements presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and have an audit performed by a licensed CPA firm.  To conform with this requirement, our department issues the Town’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).  The Town has received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Governmental Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for the past 22 years.

Utility Billing

To pay your utility bill online, please click here.

Reports

About the Assistant Town Manager/Chief Financial Officer

Melissa Cruz, who had served the Town as Finance Director since 2017, assumed the role of Bay Harbor Islands Assistant Town Manager/Finance Director in April, 2019. 

Melissa has nearly two decades of public  and private accounting experience. She began her career as an auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Los Angeles where she was ranked in the top 3 of her starting class of 65. She then moved into private industry, holding positions at Fox Television in Los Angeles; World Travel Holdings in Boston and Navarro Pharmacy in Miami. 

In 2011, Melissa accepted a position as Director of Finance with the Travis County Auditor’s office in Austin, Texas. In 2013, She returned to South Florida as the Controller for the City of Hallandale Beach. As a direct result of her efforts, the City received its first clean audit report in six years. During her tenure, she was also a key contributor to the success of Hallandale’s new financial software system implementation and awarded the “Rookie of the Year” distinction at the City’s Go-Live celebration in 2014.

Melissa graduated from University of Massachusetts, Boston, with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.