CONTROLLERS HIGHLIGHT FINANCIAL INNOVATION & COLLABORATION AT SHARED SERVICES CENTER OPEN HOUSE

Today, Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner, in collaboration with the City Controller Michael Lamb’s office, hosts an open house for elected and government officials in the City and County at the Allegheny County Controller’s Shared Services Center.  The Shared Services Center, operated by Controller Wagner’s office and located in the City-County Building, has built and promoted financial management innovation in Allegheny County and the City of Pittsburgh through the shared usage of Oracle’s JDEdwards platform.

“Speaking in the same language – not apples and oranges – is the foundation for effective government collaboration and savings,” Controller Wagner said. “This effort has saved millions of dollars for County residents, including an additional $750,000 annually for City taxpayers on payroll costs and drastically reduced costs from the often exorbitant fees paid by government to private consultants.”

“The results of this collaboration are significant savings and a seamless transition to more advanced financial systems for the City of Pittsburgh,” City Controller Michael Lamb said, “The Shared Services Center has been an extraordinary success.”

The open house will allow any government official and the public to see how the Center’s modern technology is saving millions of dollars through the pooling of costs and sharing of resources and advancing efficiency, transparency, and accountability for both city and county governments. Furthermore, the Open House will show how the Shared Services Center in Controller Wagner’s office will be able to support more government units in the future, including authorities, municipalities, and more.

“Today, we’re not only letting those in government know what the Shared Service Center has and can do – we’re also letting the public know that their concerns about the levels of efficiency, transparency, and accountability in government are being heard,” Wagner said. “This is a historic example of collaboration that utilizes diverse talents and shared innovation to reduce costs, find savings, and increase our ability to provide better oversight of government finances.”

Today’s open house event will feature three sets of presentations on the success and potential of the Shared Services Center and demonstrations of the capabilities of the JDEdwards platform customized and maintained by Service Center employees in the County and City Controller’s offices. The Controller’s Office will host City and County Council members, Department Heads, and administrators, as well as representatives from a wide swath of boards and authorities across both governments, including ALCOSAN, the Allegheny Regional Asset District Board, and the Port Authority, among others.

“The future of financial innovation in government is occurring right here in the Shared Services Center,” Wagner said. “It is my hope that the tools created and lessons learned here can be used to help government entities across Allegheny County become more efficient and transparent.”

A copy of the presentation from today’s open house can be found here.