Loading...
1997.04.30_FAB_Minutes_Regular• TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH FINANCIAL ADVISORY BOARD REGULAR MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, April 30 1997 1 30 P.M. Chairman Victor P. Hadeed called the Regular Meeting to order in Commission Chambers at 1:30 P.M. Deputy Town Clerk Jane Dillon called the roll. Present were Chairman Victor P. Hadeed, Felix R. Goldenson and Byron R. McKinley. Vice Chair John R. DeMarco and William Wm. Rothenberg were absent. Also present were Town Manager Mary Ann Mariano, Finance Director Stan Novak and Commissioner Thomas J. Reid, as consultant to the Board, as well as members of the general public. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Upon MOTION by MR. GOLDENSON/MR. MCKINLEY, the Minutes of the March 31, 1997 Regular Meeting were unanimously approved. NEW BUSINESS • Review of Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for We September 30, 1996 Wendy Wells of Haas Diaz was present to address any questions or concerns the Board had regarding the Audit. Several items were addressed, of which she clarified for the members. Upon MOTION by MR. MCKINLEY/MR. GOLDENSON, the following Motion was unanimously approved. THE FINANCIAL ADVISORY BOARD APPROVES THE COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT FOR Y/E SEPTEMBER 30, 1996, AND RECOMMENDS APPROVAL BY THE TOWN COMMISSION OF SUBJECT AUDIT. Review Current Year Financial Status There was discussion on subject report, of which Mr. Novak clarified any concerns from the Board. All were in approval of the report. OTHER BUSINESS As this was the last day of Mr. Hadeed's 6 year term, he thanked the Board, Ms. Mariano and Mr. Novak for his tenure and expressed his enjoyment of serving on the Board. Mr. Reid stated his • appreciation of Mr. Hadeed's service on the Board both as a Member and as Chairman. • Financial Advisory Board April 30, 1997 Paae 2 of 2 Mr. Mariano read into the record a memorandum from Stan Novak regarding accomplishments over the past six months within the Finance Department (attached hereto and made a part of these minutes.) With no further business to come before the Board, MOTION to adjourn was made at 2:15 p.m. by MR. MCKINLEY/MR. GOLDENSON. APPROVE: Victor P. Hadeed, Chairman absent John R. Demarco, Vice Chairman absent Werner Wm. Rothenberg Bryan R. McKinley Felix R. Goldenson ATTEST: DATE: • - M E M O R A N D U M Date: April 29, 1997 To: Mary Ann Mariano From: Stan Novak RE: Town of Highland Beach Finance Department Highlights of Major Accomplishments over the Past Six Month Period Mary Ann, per your request, I have outlined below a listing of major accomplishments of the Finance Department over the past six months: • Staff: In March 1997, we made a staffing change and replaced a weak full- time person with one full-time and one part-time person. Our new team is strong, and has a solid sense of team work. These changes have allowed us • to catch up on areas where we were behind, as well as to move forward. Additionally, we have completely transitioned the utility billing function to the Finance Department, which is the major focus of our part-time person. While each member of the Finance Department has specific roles and responsibilities, we all work together and back each other up to reach common goals. • Implementation of New Accounting System — Fund Balance: Starting in December 1996, we began the change over from our old accounting system to Fund Balance. This new system allows us to track our General Ledger, Accounts Payable, Purchase Order and Utility Billing functions in one package. This project has been ongoing since December 1996, and in late March 1997, we completed setting up the Utility Billing module. This was a very detailed process which took several weeks to complete, and involved manually entering data on over 500 accounts from the old stand-alone system. We finished in time to use the system for the April 1997 utility billing. We are now getting started in adding the Fixed Assets modules and getting that up to date in the near term. • Computer System: Over the past year, we have upgraded the Town's entire computer system, including both hardware and software. We are now using the Window's 95 operating system, and have put the Town Hall on a network to enable employees to share files easily and avoid the redundancies of re- doing someone else's work. Once the construction is complete and we are all "under one roof', we will be bringing the other departments up on the network. • Creation of Electronic Standardized Forms:. We have created and implemented use of several electronic forms, such as Purchase Requisitions. These forms are on the shared drive on our computer network and are available to all employees for use. Employee Benefits: In February 1997, we established a true Cafeteria Plan (Section 125 Plan) for our employees, giving them choices to suit their own personal situation. This has resulted in the expansion from one to three different health insurance plans for employees to choose from, and a significant savings in premium to both the employees and the Town. The estimated annual savings to the Town will be $25,800. • Accounts Receivables: We are now utilizing Quick Books software to process accounts receivable billings, such as pass -through billings from Harvel Utility Construction. This has eliminated using pre-printed carbonized forms that had to be manually typed on a typewriter. • Town of Highland Beach Municipal Building Authority: We are also utilizing Quick Books to track all financial transactions for the Building Authority. This allows us to keep control while keeping these transactions separate and distinct from the Town's regular accounts. • Sweep Account: We have established an overnight sweep repo account with Barnett Bank. This has allowed for an increase in yield from approximately 1.4% to 4.6%, resulting in an increase in interest earnings of approximately $13,700 annually based on last years bank balances. • Town of Highland Beach Building Authority Fund: We negotiated with Barnett Bank to allow us to earn 5% interest on the Building Authority Fund. The interest earned for the period January 27 through March 31 is $4,453.96. This fund of $1,000,000 was originally set up as non -interest bearing. Mary Ann, I am confident that, with the accomplishments listed above behind us and our new staff in place, the Finance Department stands ready to move forward and continue to meet the challenges presented to us. If you would like to discuss any of the above with me in more detail, please let me know.