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1991.04.18_FAB_Minutes_Regular7 TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH f* FINANCIAL ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING - MINUTES Thursday, April 18, 1991 9:30 A.M. There being no Chairman of the Financial Advisory Board at this time, Town Manager Mary Ann Mariano opened the organizational portion of this Regular Meeting at 9:30 A.M., saying that the agenda would be amended to first address Election of Officers so the meeting could proceed properly• Deputy Town Clerk Doris Trinley called the roll. Present were Regular Members Richard Brunton, S. Myron Browner, Fred Firstenburg (reappointed 4/2/91) and newly appointed Regular Members (4/2/91) Victor P. Hadeed and Dennie Freeman. In addition to Town Manager Mariano, Finance Director Michael Seaman was also present. Mayor Joseph A. Boulay was present for certain portions of the meeting. Frank Magarace, a Talent Bank Applicant who is interested in serving on the FAB, was welcomed as an observer. • ELECTION OF OFFICERS Upon MOTION by Mr. Firstenburg/Mr. Brunton, Mr. Browner was nominated as Chairman and Mr. Hadeed as Vice Chairman. The Motion carried with unan- imous favorable vote. Chairman Browner then took over the meeting (9:35 A.M.), noted that the roll had already been called, and asked that each member give a a brief description of his background, which was done (see individual talent bank applications for details). MINUTES Upon MOTION by Mr. Firstenburg/Mr. Brunton, the minutes of the Regular Meeting of January 30 were unanimously approved. NEW BUSINESS Long Report Review The members conducted a lengthy, comprehensive review of the Long Report. Some pertinent areas addressed were as follows: Page 2. When questioned why Police Personnel did not take part in answering Long's Job Task Questionnaire, Mrs. Mariano replied that the Police have duties and responsibilities that relate to State mandates, as well as certain other criteria relating to their F Financial Advisory Board 40 Regular Meeting - Minutes April 18, 1991 Pa e 2 of 7 positions, which they felt did not fit the compo- sition of the questionnaire. She added that since Long used comparatives from 12-14 other municipali- ties, their lack of participation did not affect the outcome of the study. Mr. Firstenburg made note that the Report, as it was now being reviewed, was not the one ultimately approved by the Town Commission. The Town Manager concurred, saying it was approved by the Town Commission with those modifications recommended by the Financial Advisory Board in their Summary Report dated December 11, 1987, a copy of which had been pro- vided to all members. Discussion ensued regarding information contained in the Long Report and the Personnel Rules and Regulations booklet, with Mrs. Mariano saying that both sources were used as administrative tools. The Long Report, she continued, sets maximum salaries for positions; previous to its adoption, pay increases could broaden a salary range, especially when a CPI factor was added into the range each year. Regarding the Police Department, she noted that for the past two years the Department per- sonnel have been satisfied with their salary ranges and have not said • raises were needed. Page 6. Questions were raised regarding the EXCEL concept of compensating in a lump sum those employees who had reached the top of their salary ranges. Mrs. Mariano explained that those employees who qualified for EXCEL status did not automatically receive a 3% - 5% lump sum payment yearly (anniversary date) to compensate for this status; rather an employee in this category still had to be reviewed by his/her Department Head and have it decided by that superior that the employee did indeed merit the EXCEL payment,. as well as what the percentage of the EXCEL would be. A discussion took place regarding merit raises and CPI -based cost -of - living increases, during which Mr. Firstenburg expressed concern that literally followed, a maximum yearly merit increase of 5%, coupled with an approximate 5% CPI -based COLA increase, could eventually lead to a "double" salary. Mrs. Mariano replied that Town policy in this regard compared favorably to other municipalities. She also advised that after checking with other area municipalities and receiving information from Palm Beach County, it would be her recommendation that all merit in- creases, including EXCEL, be frozen for fiscal year 1991/1992. Page 12. Referring to a portion of the Report text at the top of the page, Mr. Browner noted that it should read, • "...gross increase of $42.30 bi-weekly," not, "...gross increase of $42.30 weekly." Financial Advisory Board Regular Meeting - Minutes April 18, 1991 Page 3 of 7 • Page 14. It was determined that a copy of the Department of Labor's "Regulations, Part 778: Interpretative Bulletin on Overtime Compensation" should be obtained for reference. Mr. Seaman will request this informa- tion from the DOL. A side discussion reverting back to merit increase standards took place, with emphasis on the 3% increase category (Satisfactory). The question was posed that if an employee was only doing his/her job and received a "Satisfactory" rating from a Department Head, why then would that em- ployee be entitled to any increase at all? Consideration was given to "business" versus "government" and the fact that the Town staff is small in size, which possibly could create a "closeness" between staff and Department Heads. In reply, Mrs. Mariano said that not only was the Town in line with other municipalities in using this rating as a cate- gory for merit increase, but, its size notwithstanding, Town staff was required to perform all municipal tasks that larger municipalities per- form and, therefore, must "wear more hats" and have a broader range of knowledge. Regarding COLA increases, it was noted that while put in the budget yearly, the Town Commission makes the decision to approve or disapprove. Page 20. Discussion of Involuntary Transfer and Demotion • took place, with the Town Manager giving expla- nations and examples regarding salary/merit in- crease in each case. Page 23. Discussion of the Town's Sick Leave Policy took place, with emphasis on the current conversion policy of 4 to 1. The Chairman requested that Mr. Seaman secure information on the Federal Government's policy regarding conversion of sick leave to annual leave. Page 26. Substantial discussion regarding the Town's Re- tirement Plan took place, during which Mr. Browner said it would be his recommendation that the vesting period for all future employees be changed from the current 3 years to 5 years. The Town Manager noted that the Retirement Plan had undergone a substantial review prior to the Town's Retirement Board4Town Commission implementing the 3-year policy and further review would have to be transmitted to the FAB by one of those bodies. Concluding review, Mrs. Mariano noted that as the report itself was now several years old (1987), Commissioner John Rand had requested the Board to undertake this task to determine if all employee classifications were •correct and all employees were earning what their jobs were worth. She said that in her opinion, all classifications were intact and the jobs were worth today what they were when the report was approved. 1 P • Financial Advisory Board Regular Meeting - Minutes April 18, 1991 Page 4 of 7 After a brief summary, the following MOTION was made by Mr. Firstenburg/ Mr. Hadeed: AFTER COMPREHENSIVE STUDY AND REVIEW [OF THE LONG REPORT] THE BOARD SEES NOTHING THAT PARTICULARLY NEEDS ANY IMMEDIATE CHANGE. Before a vote on the Motion, Mr. Brunton noted that Long Associates had been engaged to do this study because the Financial Advisory Board and the then Town Manager had been unsuccessful in trying to get figures from surrounding communities. In this regard, he questioned the panel's ability to evaluate information provided by an outside source. Roll Call on the Motion resulted in unanimous favorable vote. (Note: A copy of the Long Report and the FAB's summary report dated December 11, 1987 are attached to and made part of these Minutes.) FLORIDA STATE POOL INVESTMENT POLICY REVIEW . In-depth discussion took place in this review of materials transmitted to the Board by Mr. Seaman. Pertinent aspects addressed were as fol- lows: - the members were advised of other participants in the pool investment account. - the Chairman read into the record several definitions of the various investments included in the portfolio. - a breakdown of actual dollar investments in each invest- ment category was reviewed. - in the Certificate of Deposit category, it was advised that 10% was invested in Eurodollars, of which approxi- mately $40,000 was the Town's share. - concern was expressed regarding the amount of money in- vested in the Commercial Paper category. - at the request of Vice Chairman Hadeed, Mr. Seaman will provide the members with the insured amount on pooled investments. E Financial Advisory Board Regular Meeting - Minutes • April 18, 1991 Page 5 of 7 Concluding review, the following MOTION was made by Mr. Hadeed/ Mr. Firstenburg: THE BOARD RECOMMENDS THAT THE TOWN CONTINUE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FUND INVESTMENT ACCOUNT AND THAT THE FAB MONITOR INVEST- MENTS AND RATE OF RETURN ON A QUARTERLY BASIS. The Motion met with unanimous favorable vote. (Note: All review materials are attached to and made part of these Minutes.) Mr. Brunton asked to be excused from the meeting in approximately 15 minutes; therefore, the Town Manager asked if the Board would consider rearranging the order of the agenda so she could speak to the following pertinent issues at this time. There was no objection from the panel. WATER RATES Mrs. Mariano advised that it was the feeling of the Town Commission that the FAB should be prepared to review water rates and make a recommenda- tion for an increase, based on a probable recommendation to be forth- coming from the Water Resources Advisory Board (example: improvements to existing water plant). She expressed the importance of having whatever increase is recommended built into the Enterprise Budget for the coming fiscal year. AUDITING CONTRACT It was noted that auditing firms for the Town's auditing contract were being recommended for review by the FAB as follows: Coopers & Lybrand Presas & Haas Hutchinson, Brown, Caler & Levine, P.A. Grant Thornton Mrs. Mariano asked for a subcommittee of members to meet with her and Mr. Seaman to go over the submittals. The Chairman volunteered his services and asked Mr. Hadeed and Mr. Brunton to join him. A meeting was set for Tuesday, April 23 at 10:30 AM. ORGANIZATIONAL CHART Mrs. Mariano said there were few changes in the updated organizational chart provided to the members; however, one change that she would be recommending for the next fiscal year would be for the full-time Admini- strative Secretary position in the Town Clerk's Department to be reduced . to part-time status. Financial Advisory Board Regular Meeting - Minutes April 18, 1991 Page 6 of 7 CHECK SIGNING PROCEDURE Mr. Firstenburg advised that at the present time the two signatories on all Town checks are required to be those of Town Commission members. Because she is the most knowledgeable regarding Town business, he sug- gested that the policy be changed to allow for the Town Manager's sig- nature and one elected official's signature. It was further suggested that perhaps the Finance Director could be a signatory, along with an elected official, if the Town Manager were unavailable. Mrs. Mariano replied that the Code of Ordinances states all checks are to be signed by the Mayor, or in his absence the Vice Mayor, and counter -signed by one other Commissioner; in their absence, signatures of two Commissioners would suffice. (Sec. 2.6 Rules of Procedure; #7. Copy attached to and made part of these minutes.) Information on sig- natory requirements from neighboring communities was presented for the members' information (Attached to and made part of these Minutes). After some further discussion, the following MOTION was made by Mr. Hadeed/Mr. Freeman: The FAB recommends that the Town check -signing policy require • two signatories on every check, one of which should be the Town Manager or the Finance Director, and one of which should be an elected official. In the event neither the Town Manager nor the Finance Director is available for signature, then two elected officials' signatures would be required. The Motion carried unanimously. TOWN MILEAGE AND PER DIEM RATES A request by the Town Manager that the Board consider a recommendation to bring the Town's per diem rates per city (overnight stay) and auto mileage rate into conformance with IRS allowances was favorably met and the following MOTION was made by Mr. Freeman/Mr. Hadded: THE FAB RECOMMENDS THAT THE TOWN CONFORM WITH IRS PER DIEM RATES PER CITY AND AUTO MILEAGE ALLOWANCES. The Motion carried unanimously. In the interest of time, it was the CONSENSUS of the members to defer review of the March Financial Statement until their next meeting, which was scheduled for Thursday, May 9 at 9:30 A.M. For their information, Mrs. Mariano gave all members a copy of the pro- posed 1991/1992 Fiscal Year Budget Calendar. 40 Financial Advisory Board Regular Meeting - Minutes April 18, 1991 Page 7 of 7 There being no further business to come before the Board at this time, the meeting was adjourned upon MOTION by Mr. Freeman/Mr. Hadeed at 11:35 A.M. dmt APPROVE: S. Myron rowner, Chairman ATTEST: DATE: ctor4P. Hadeed%Vice Chairit�n cnara--4runton r-rea r'irstennurg Dennie Freeman