Posted on April 14, 2014 at 10:34 am by Dawn Corrigan
On March 27, 2014, Pensacola City Council recognized a team of nine City employees, four of whom work for the Housing Office, with an Award of Merit. This interdepartmental team worked together for more than six months. Its goal: to transition the delivery of Housing Assistance Payments from mailed paper checks to electronic funds transfer (direct deposit).
This was no small undertaking. Approximately 630 landlords have rental units active on the voucher program, and the City disburses more than $1 million in federally-funded Housing Assistance Payments each month.
The direct deposit program went live in January 2014. Four payment cycles have now been successfully completed, with no major issues reported.
In her presentation to Council, City Administrator Colleen Castille said, “This team, working collaboratively for six months, was instrumental in implementing the City’s first large-scale electronic vendor payment process. Conservative estimates put the savings to the City at $7,000 annually, but we know it’s more than that ... This team exemplifies what can be accomplished with a collaborative, can-do attitude, and provides an excellent example of employee dedication.”
The team members who were recognized with the Award of Merit were:
From Housing:
Donna Cash
Ursula Jackson
Dawn Corrigan
Karen Thompson
From Financial Services:
Deanna Lucia
Barbara McWaine
Laura Picklap
Mandy Bills
Former Technology Resources employee Sherry Posey was instrumental to the project as well.
Pictured below, from left to right: Mandy Bills, Deanna Lucia, Barbara McWaine, Laura Picklap, Dawn Corrigan, Ursula Jackson, Donna Cash, and Karen Thompson.
