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2013.02.01_FAB_Minutes_Regular • � 16 N (,i �4� �••m TOWN OF HIGHLAND BEACH MINUTES OF THE �h�� f •... • = FINANCIAL ADVISORY BOARD � (oR1o,- REGULAR MEETING Friday, February 01, 2013 9.45 AM Members Present: Chair Gerald Gitner, Board Member Ronald Brooks, Board Member David Buchsbaum, Board Member Bruce Giacoma, and Board Member William Gross. Also Attending: Finance Director Cale Curtis, Deputy Town Clerk Valerie Oakes and members of the public. CALL TO ORDER Chair Gitner called the Regular Meeting to order at 9:49 a.m. in the Commission Chambers followed by a roll call taken by the Town Clerk. ADDITIONS, DELETIONS OR ACCEPTANCE OF AGENDA Chair Gitner called for any additions, deletions to the agenda, hearing none, the agenda was accepted as presented. PUBLIC COMMENTS AND REOUESTS: No public comments. PRESENTATIONS: • Report on the Library By: Mari Suarez, Library Director Mari Suarez, Library Director gave a report on the Library (see attached Exhibit `A'). During and after the presentation, numerous disjointed comments and questions arose as arrayed below: Chair Gitner — How many library card holders are there? Director Suarez — There are 3,543 library card holders. Member Gross — The service is unbelievable. I am currently using the NOOK which is always available, and the people are terrific. Financial Advisory Board Friday, February 01, 2013 Paae 2 of 6 Chair Gitner — If the library is expanded by closing the terraces, will it be done without a tax rate increase? Director Curtis — No, the voters would have to reapprove the tax rate. What she explained is that we have a $2 million bond that the voters approve in 2004, which put a tax rate on the bill until that debt is paid off. Once the debt is paid, that tax rate comes off. Member Buchsbaum — Since there are libraries that are digital, how do you think that will affect the procurement process of books? The Town of Ocean Ridge does not charge late fee; do you have an opinion on their strategy? Director Suarez — I think that a fine should be charged, which was approved by the Commission. It provides $5,000 toward the general fund. We have a yearly contract for eBooks to be downloaded. The demand for books is still there, for example, last year 7,000 items were checked out. Chair Gitner — It is difficult to park when there is an event. Director Suarez — I had two 15 minute parking spaces installed. It is not in my hands. Member Brooks — I brought a world book set for donation and it was denied. Why? How are the donations selected? Director Suarez — It is because you can get any encyclopedia on the internet, which is free. The world book set would take up space on the shelves. Member Brooks — How were the four cities selected that were included in the cost breakdown? Director Suarez — They are our closest neighbors. Library Director Suarez offered a personal tour of the library to the board members. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: • November 01, 2012 — Regular MOTION: Member Giacoma moved to approve the minutes of November 01, 2012, Regular Meeting as presented. Member Gross seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Chair Gitner — In reading the dialogue from the minutes approved, do we want to recommend to the Town Commission to hire a qualified consultant to prepare for hurricane season by hardening the building (referring to the public safety of first responders)? Member Giacoma — I agree entirely as it demands our attention. Chair Gitner — This is to look forward to having a headquarters for first responders, not only the police department. Member Gross — Is there any federal funding available? Chair Gitner — Staff would need to research that information. Financial Advisory Board Friday, February 01, 2013 Page 3 of 6 Member Buchsbaum — There was a town hall renovation project and an architect was hired. The Commission decided not to move forward with the project. When we spoke to the Police Chief, he indicated some serious needs, which was a catalyst for the plan to be in place. It did not seem as though there was a "Plan B" to meet the Chief's needs if the renovation did not occur. Do you agree with my understanding of the background? Chair Gitner — Yes, we need to pay attention to the needs of those that live on the island, and get an expert to provide a recommendation to the Commission. Member Buchsbaum — I agree, and the police chief should be involved. Member Giacoma — I agree. The Board should approach the Commission to discuss the situation that needs a priority. Chair Gitner — I would recommend for the Police Chief, Town Manager and Fire Chief to engage a consultant to not only look at the needs of the police, but for first responders. Kathleen Weiser, Town Manager — I think the direction you are going is to recommend that if and when they do the renovation to harden the building, which is an additional cost because the architect was not asked to harden the building. Let me assure you that we do have measures in place if there was such an incident; we have locations that we would use that are off of the island. My recommendation would be that the Board recommend to staff when presenting the Capital Improvement Plan to consider hardening the building. Member Brooks — Is there additional space for construction? Manager Weiser — Not really as we already have problems with parking. We were not looking at a project to expand the building, so we could look into building up, but that would be an expense. Chair Gitner — Do you need authorization from the Commission to spend additional funds on the contracting the architect? Town Manager Weiser — I think what your motion should be is that when the Commission takes up the idea of the renovation that the Commission consider the added expense of hardening the building. MOTION: Member Gross moved to make a recommendation that when the Town Commission reviews the Capital Improvement Plan consider the added expense of hardening the building. Member Giacoma seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. Chair Gitner — Perhaps the emergency plans can be shared with us. Manager Weiser — I will ask the Chief as he is the emergency manager. The Board had a short discussion on the hiring of a coastal engineer, no action taken. Financial Advisory Board Fridav, February 01, 2013 PaEe 4 of 6 OLD BUSINESS: A) General Discussion of Financial Topics Follow -Up: Director Cale Curtis announced that the finance department received its 21 consecutive award for financial reporting. The news release states that the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting has been awarded to the Town of Highland Beach by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). The Certificate of Achievement is the highest form of recognition in the area of governmental accounting and financial reporting, and its attainment represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. • Investment Options/Policy Director Curtis — Due to the holiday schedule, we have not presented the necessary documents to the Commission to open an account. Based on the feedback from the last meeting, there are two options: 1) laddered type CD portfolio with 35 points over one year•, or 2) overnight money market, which fluctuates. Preference is option no. 2. Member Giacoma — Agrees with option no. 2. Member Gross — Why are we not looking at banks nationally? Director Curtis — With a CD, we would get anything that is FDIC insured. As far as local banks, they will offer FDIC insurance, but to invest in a depository in Florida the bank needs to be on the Department of Revenue's list for Qualified Public Depositories. They would have to abide by stringent guidelines that fully collateralize the deposit. I try to work with banks on the list that are local for the one -on -one relationship. Chair Gitner — Is that collateralized versus insured, or both? Director Curtis — I believe is it both. Up to $250,000 is FDIC insured and beyond is collateralized. By consensus, the Board agreed on being insured instead of collateralized. Member Giacoma offered to work with Director Curtis further and report back at the next meeting. • Sale of Surplus Property Director Curtis — The priority of staff and the Town is to revise the RFQ (Request for Qualifications). The goal is to have it published within 90 days. We are going to try to focus our efforts on the Palm Beach Post and the real estate association to gain more exposure and better responses. The Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office recently reassessed the eight acre parcel in Boca and the assessment came in at $2.8 million, which is down from the prior year's assessment of $7.1 million. It has not been Financial Advisory Board Friday, February 01, 2013 Paze 5 of 6 accurately reassessed since 2007. It does not represent a market value. There are no necessary effects on the town's financials or tax roll. The property has been dormant since 2005. The property is not listed on any brokerage site. • Additional Discussion Director Curtis — The audit of the Town's finances are being reviewed for 2012, and the deadline is March 31 which will be met. Chair Gitner — Who approves the report? Director Curtis — There is no action taken on the audit; it is presented to the Town Commission by the lead auditor. Chair Gitner — Would like to receive the monthly financial reports on a flash basis. NEW BUSINESS A) Discussion on Fund Balance Disaster Recovery Director Curtis — An account was established to transfer unassigned funds to the disaster recovery reserve account, which is at $350,000; the cap is $500,000. Is $500,000 appropriate? Chair Gitner — At our last meeting, it was unanimous that the account should be at $500,000 immediately. B) Discussion on Fund Balance Capital Replacement Director Curtis — This will be presented to the Commission. C) Discussion on Outlook 2013 Chair Gitner — What is the Board's role during the budget process? It does seem to be within our purview. Member Giacoma — It would be consistent for the Board to review what has been established, which should be coordinated with the Commission. Chair Gitner — When you create the timetable with the Town Manager, let us know whether there is time for the Board. We do not want to give you extra work; however, given the Board's charter we should be included in the process. I will assist Director Curtis. ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN: Chair Gitner called for a motion to elect a chairman. MOTION: Member Giacoma moved to elect Gerry Gitner as Chairman of the Financial Advisory Board; seconded by Member Gross which passed unanimously. ADJOURNMENT: The Board scheduled their next meeting for Friday, April 12, 2013 at 9:30 a.m. in the Commission Chambers. Financial Advisory Board Friday, February 01, 2013 Pame 6 of 6 There being no further business, Chair Gitner called for a motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:55 AM. MOTION: Member Giacoma moved to adjourn the meeting at 10:55 AM. Member Buchsbaum seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. APPROVED: Gerald Gitner, Chair L /S. R nald Brooks, Board Member TOWN SEAL 'JI -✓ /1' David Buchsbaum, Board Member Bruce G'acom B M mber t William Koss, Board Member Valerie Oakes, CMC Deputy Town Clerk Date: April 12, 2013 Highland Beach Library Report to Financial Services January 2013 i Regan working fur t he TU wtt of Highland Beach in May 1978 to di rect t library, whic at th t i the consisted of a one room 1,200 square feet facility. My goal, with 2 part time staff members and myself, was to transform the library from a small traditional "card catalog" facility to a fully computerized one. After successfully automating and integrating library systems (cataloging, circulation, OPAQ I expanded my vision and proposed the construction of a new library building. In 2000 our town voted to issue a $2 million bond to expand the library. Part of the attraction was our proposal to build a community room, not only to offer library programs, but so that residents could meet for their own activities. We created an Advisory Board to promote the bond approval, and the bond passed with 86% of the town residents voting in favor. In 2004, the Town obtained a promissory - note -in the amount of $2,000,000 to finance construction of the library_ This was a ten year note that matures July 2014 (means that our final loan payment will be July 2014). Outstanding balance on the loan as of 09/30/2012 was approximately $474,000. Loan payments are paid for by a voter - approved pledge of ad valorem taxes. Annual Principal and Interest payments for FY 2013 are $261,739. For the final year, FY 2014 loan payments will be: $211,594. lair( tfi the t-lo Ad>ipl-.)f vat e�� f,che(i. e a f! d ?pf e a t Ls t o f a r� iceit)steiictitlf! Gfr Lilt -C,fo the State of Florida. The grant was awarded the maximum $500,000.00 in June 2002, the largest grant ever received for a Highland Beach project. The current library building is 10,000 square feet which consists of a community room with seating for 99, a small ennferencP ream fnr 12 and two Talon air' terraces fnr 20. The rest cif the building houses the collections (39,000+ materials), a service desk, public computer work stations, a children's library area, staff room with two workstations for staff, a kitchen with two more staff workstations, an IT office, and the director's office. In the last calendar year there were over 100,000 visits to the library. Our residents came to check out books a materials, read newspapers, find inforination, and use t he cot -sp ute rs. Most importantly Llle library has become the community center for the HB residents. This has been achieved with the help of the Friends of the Library who sponsor all art openings, concerts and special presentations. The Friends have a membership of 367 residents, which donated in 2012 a total of $29, 449.00. Through these donations the Library presented 51 programs in 2012, which had an attendance of 2177 residents, hrrl; iiig mild r , `+iii -ir gim iv# =iir. The Library also sponsors weekly programs which include discussion groups, classes, book clubs, games, and movies. These activities are part of our day -to-day work for which over 8,984 persons came to 663 special and ongoing programs throughout the year. In 2006 when the new library building was opened we operated with 2 FTE and 4 PTE and now 6 years later the library operates with 4 FTE and 4 PTE. Personnel expenses are 80% of our total budget, which increased from $228,590 to $450,575.00. The current budget reflects a 2.5% increase in personnel expenses over last budget year. However, the materials and operating budget in 2012 -13 is $115,000.00, which is approximately $79,000 less than in 2006 -07, limiting my ability to build a collection that meets the demands of resident requests. Other area community libraries (Delray and Boca) provide computer literacy instruction and interlibrary loan services. Because of the costs entailed I do not have the flexibility to offer these services. For example, providing weekly and ongoing computer classes would require additional part time staff, networked computer and classroom space. interlibrary loan services require joining library networks including SEFLIN and OCLC and additional staff time to process requests for loaned and borrowed materials. Notwithstanding we have continued our high quality of services at the cost of cutting the library It!= !i•f'il�l�!�. G'�v csi�'fi�l�iiiu t�!� �.r�u3K r!:�� tine, �r!ii �i�i! �r�iit'�; ?i�!'!3 �t►�r!ir_S'1 tii�l�rfi� s?9'}`Fi,;�'rr`!t3 ���iiiF�� } '�i►}ry have met with the economic constraints the Town has been going through. It is important to note that in order to maintain the quality of our services the monies allocated for collections and materials cannot keep going down. Even though it is difficult to compare servir m- with neighb ring town libraries as Highland Reach is one of the smaller towns in Florida, it is interesting to see how the Library fares. The comparison below highlights the costs to run the local area libraries showing HBL as the lowest in operating expenses white maintaining lowest per library visit cost to the community. An average visit to the HBL costs $1.12 while in Delray the cost is $3.24 per visit and in Boca $5.40 per visit. Although the Library may be speriding rnore per captt, we are providing more services as evidenced by the number of visits per operating expenses. Library Pop. Operating Expenditures/ I Library PC uses Print Children's Video Expenses Pop. Capita I visits Collections Attendance Collection Delray 60,831 $2,070,680 $34.04 638,988 164,338 166,303 9,495 11,432 1 Boca 84,652 $3,663,514 $43.28 677,208 No data 212,278 28,139 40,153 Lantana 10,466 $159,597 $15.25 No data 15,078 23,068 none none H.B. 3,600 $115,000 $31.94 102,354 4,324 21,310 598 8,003 The total budget includes both operating and personnel costs. The yearly total cost of the library is $141.00 per library card holder with 80% going to personnel ($112.00) and 20% ($29.00) for actual operating costs. However, the bottom line question you should be asking is not how much Highland Beach is paying to support the library but is the Town getting their money's worth. The attached chart _ illustrates that the value of serv received by residents was $ compared to $569;e3 -. - y 1n tot� i bu dst tee expend% U re'J. 1n addit1 V r �, to a brar� Co n t1h b uteS VVLr $✓, 0 �7 pC year Ir VIII collected fees and fines to the Town's general fund. The Library's policy is to accommodate Highland Beach residents' requests for room use for activities as scheduling and space permits. This scheduling has become a juggling act to meet the increasing U n fortunate l y, this past -�uaar we have had }^ -rake difficult choices resulting in 53 %p ng o ne" on several occasions. We just don't have the space! When the building was constructed, room was intentionally left for an expansion. We need to start working on this goal now so that in three years' time we will be able to provide spaces for increased activities, classes, and meetings. In this past year we have experienced a huge demand for a -books available on personal computing devices, such as Nooks, Kindles, iPads, iPhones and tablets. With this demand comes the need for ongoing training and instruction. Currently, we provide very limited instruction at the front desk and by appointment only. Due to staff constraints we can rarely offer simple one- to-one instruction at our computer work stations. One short term solution would be to enclose the two terraces (984 total square feet) to give the library the urgently needed spaces for meetings and discussion groups. This project could be planned this year and budgeted for next fiscal year. Preliminary quotes for enclosing both terraces range from $50,000.00 to $122,000.00. The difference between the quotes is the inclusion of air conditioning, solar shades with control devices, light controls, computer data connections. These estimates do not account for increased toss for furniture or electritlri_ Value of Services provided by Highland Beach Library 2012 Estimated value of services provided by the Highland Beach Library. Adapted from the Florida State Library Services and Massachusetts Library Association. Library Library Services Retail Value Value of Services Quantity of Use 21076 Books Borrowed $15.00 $316,140 1279 Magazines Borrowed $5.00 $6,395 21176 Videos Borrowed (e.g., Blockbuster) $4.00 $84,704 1126 Books on Tape Borrowed $10.00 $11,260 293 Music CDs $10.00 $2,930 801 Magazine Use in Library $5.00 $4,005 1095 Meeting Room Use $50.00 $54,750 2177 Auditorium Use $250.00 $544,250 4516 Adult Programs Attended $10.00 $45,160 698 Children's Programs Attended $10.00 $5,980 4000 Hours of Computer Use $10.00 $40,000 3000 Wireless Network Access /hour * ** $5.00 $15,000 1153 a -books (Lib Consortia, Library Nooks)* $11.37 $13,110 12 Months of Use Database Searching $200.00 $2,400 (Ancestry.com and Byki.com)* 1240 Reference Questions Asked ** $7.00 $8,680 Total Value $1,154,414 * e -book circulation statistics represent two sources —e -books purchased and placed on library owned e- readers and online via the SEFLIN (Southeast Florida Municipal Libraries Digital Consortium). SEFLIN services started in May 2012. * * Reference questions do not include in -depth individual instruction on computer use or technology assistance on diverse computer devices such as computers and laptops (Mac or PC), mobile devices (iPads, Androids, Tablets, Whones), eBook Readers (Nook, Kindle, etc). These sessions are at least 60 minutes and by appointment only. * ** Number of hours the library wireless network was accessed by 465 registered users.