Payroll Technician

Why Join Team SB

Are you a detail-oriented payroll professional who takes pride in accuracy, accountability, and service? Do you enjoy ensuring employees are paid correctly and on time? The City of San Bernardino is seeking a knowledgeable and dependable Payroll Technician to join our Finance Department.

Responsibilities include auditing and processing payroll transactions; verifying timesheets and pay adjustments; managing deductions, garnishments, and benefit enrollments; reconciling payroll reports; and supporting year-end processes, including W-2 preparation and distribution. This role requires strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and the ability to interpret Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), Personnel Rules, and payroll tax regulations.

This is an exciting opportunity to contribute to the operations of a dynamic municipal organization serving one of Southern California’s largest cities. If you take pride in precision, value confidentiality, and have experience in payroll processing and compliance, we invite you to apply.

What You'll Be Doing Here

Ideal Candidate:
The ideal candidate is a detail-oriented and highly organized payroll professional who understands that accuracy, confidentiality, and timeliness are critical in public sector payroll operations. You are someone who takes pride in getting the details right the first time and can confidently navigate complex payroll scenarios involving multiple bargaining units, deductions, and compliance requirements.

You thrive in a structured environment where policies, labor agreements, and regulations guide decision-making. You have experience processing payroll from start to finish, reconciling discrepancies, and resolving issues independently while maintaining exceptional customer service.

Successful candidates will demonstrate:

• Strong knowledge of payroll processing, payroll taxes, and wage and hour regulations
• Experience interpreting Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) or labor agreements
• Ability to reconcile payroll reports and identify discrepancies quickly and accurately
• Proficiency in payroll systems and spreadsheet applications
• Sound judgment when handling confidential employee and financial information
• Clear and professional communication skills when responding to employee and departmental inquiries
• The ability to manage competing deadlines, especially during payroll cycles and year-end reporting

Your morning may begin with reviewing timesheets and auditing reported hours, ensuring pay codes, leave balances, and special compensation entries are accurate before payroll processing. You may reconcile payroll registers, verify benefit deductions, and confirm changes related to promotions, step increases, or tax elections.

Midday, you might collaborate with Human Resources to confirm employee status updates, coordinate benefit enrollment deductions, or resolve a discrepancy identified in a payroll report. You may also process garnishments or wage assignments, ensuring compliance with court orders and federal regulations.

Throughout the day, you respond to employee inquiries regarding paycheck details, tax withholdings, or leave balances—providing clear, professional guidance while maintaining confidentiality.

During payroll close, your focus sharpens on final audits, trial register reviews, electronic deposit verification, and ensuring accurate posting to the City’s financial system. At year-end, you play a key role in preparing and reviewing W-2 forms and ensuring compliance reporting is completed accurately and on time.

Your work directly impacts every City employee, making reliability, attention to detail, and accountability essential to your success.

What You Need to Qualify

Education and Experience: High School Diploma or G.E.D.; and at least three (3) years of experience performing bookkeeping or elementary accounting, financial or statistical recordkeeping duties, at least two (2) years of which involved timekeeping and payroll duties and functions; or an equivalent combination of training and experience.

Licenses, Certifications, and Equipment: A valid State driver’s license is required.

Desirable Qualifications:

• College-level coursework in bookkeeping or accounting
• Experience processing payroll in a public agency or government setting, including familiarity with Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs)
• Familiarity with public sector retirement reporting, including the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS)
• Experience interpreting labor agreements or personnel rules
• Knowledge of multi-cycle payroll processing and year-end reporting requirements

• Federal, state and local laws, regulations, rules, and guidelines applicable to timekeeping, payroll preparation, and pay reporting.
• Methods, practices, documents, and terminology used in processing payroll transactions and in payroll recordkeeping.
• The City's payroll system and associated practices and procedures for processing payroll information and interpreting input and output data.
• Operation of computers and standard business software, including word processing and spreadsheet applications.
• Standard office practices and procedures, including filing and maintaining records.
• Customer service practices and telephone etiquette
• City human resources policies, Personnel Rules, and provisions of the City's Memoranda of Understanding with various bargaining units.

• Entering and verifying data.
• Operating a computer, calculator, and other standard office equipment.
• Organizing, setting priorities, and exercising sound judgment within established guidelines.
• Interpreting, applying, and reaching sound decisions in accordance with City payroll rules, policies, and procedures.
• Making calculations and tabulations.
• Reviewing payroll and related documents and information accurately and rapidly.
• Understanding and carrying out written and oral instructions.
• Preparing clear and accurate payroll records and files.
• Communicating clearly and effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Maintaining confidentiality of City documents and records.
• Exercising tact and diplomacy in interpersonal dealings with sensitive situations.
• Establishing and maintaining effective working relationships.

Recruitment Timeline

Interview/ Written Assessment: Week of May 17, 2026, or agreed upon date by both HR recruiter & Dept (TENTATIVE)

How to Apply and What to Expect Next

All applicants are required to submit an online application through the City’s official website at www.sbcity.org. This recruitment will remain open until a sufficient number of qualified applications have been received.

Applications must be fully completed and clearly demonstrate that the minimum qualifications for the position are met. All information provided is subject to review, investigation, and verification. While resumes may be uploaded as supplemental documentation, they will not be accepted in place of a fully completed City application.

Following the initial screening, the most qualified candidates whose backgrounds best match the needs of the City will be invited to continue in the selection process. Meeting the minimum qualifications does not guarantee advancement. Candidates will remain under consideration until a final selection is made and an offer is accepted. The City of San Bernardino reserves the right to close the recruitment at any time and may determine that none of the applicants, including those who meet the minimum qualifications, are suitable for the position.

Successful candidates shall be required to:

• Pass a reference and background verification. References will not be contacted until mutual interest has been established.
• Degree verification
• Pass a pre-employment medical exam, which includes a Drug screen.
• Starting salary based on education and/or experience and internal equity.

E-Verify Participation

The City of San Bernardino participates in the E-Verify program. In compliance with federal law, all employers are required to verify the identity and employment eligibility of individuals hired to work in the United States.

Accordingly, the City will provide information from each new employee’s Form I-9 to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Social Security Administration to confirm authorization to work in the United States.

For more information about E-Verify, please visit the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website at www.uscis.gov

Disclaimers

The City of San Bernardino is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The City follows a nepotism policy, which may impact hiring decisions if an applicant has relatives currently employed by the City.

In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the City provides reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. Each request is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. To request an accommodation, please contact the Human Resources Department directly at (909) 998-2060.

This bulletin is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute a contract, expressed or implied. Its contents may be modified or withdrawn without prior notice.

For questions regarding this recruitment, contact Human Resources at 909-998-2060 or email Janet Sirob at Sirob_Ja@sbcity.org.

Additional information is available at www.sbcity.org.