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What is the controllers function in the government of Lancaster County?  We will first explain to you what the legislatively mandated function of the county controller is, and then we will describe the particular function and responsibilities of our office.

Briefly stated, as outlined in Title 16, Counties, of Purdons Pennsylvania Statutes Annotated, the controller supervises "the fiscal affairs of the county including the accounts and official acts relating thereto of all officers or other persons who shall collect, receive, hold, or disburse the public monies of the county".

The Lancaster County Controllers Office is the business office of the County.  The accounts payable staff reviews all invoices and other county obligations for reasonableness and legality, and then processes those obligations for payment.  The payroll section handles the entire County payroll.  Other staff members are responsible for handling all aspects of our pension program.  Additionally, a small staff group is responsible for maintaining and upgrading, and assuring the reliability of, the County’s robust web-based Human Resource/Payroll/Pension and Financial/Budget accounting computer systems.

Our award-winning accounting and auditing staff is responsible for maintaining the financial records of the county as well as preparing all of the financial statements including the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.  Assistance with the preparation of the preliminary annual budget for the county commissioners is another important responsibility.  The staff is also responsible for auditing various County departments and agencies that receive county, state, or federal funds to assure conformance with all governmental regulations and procedures.

We hope that this gives you an appreciation for the county controller's function in general, and the function and responsibilities of our office in particular.