Finance Advisory Committee

MINUTES FINANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE CITY OF DEKALB JULY 12, 2016 A. CALL TO ORDER The Finance Advisory Committee meeting of July 12, 2016, was called to order at 5:31 p.m. by Chair Peddle. B. ROLL CALL Committee members present were Connie Golden, Lynn Neeley, Mike Verbic, David Conlin, Ron Partch, and Chairman Mike Peddle. Others present: City Manager Anne Marie Gaura, Finance Director Cathy Haley, Interim Fire Chief Jeff McMaster, Police Chief Eugene Lowery, Assistant City Manager Patty Hoppenstedt, Public Works Director Tim Holdeman, Community Development Director Ellen Divita (arrived at 5:32 p.m.), and Deputy City Clerk Carri Parker. Committee member not present was Tom Teresinski. Chair Peddle made a statement to the Committee, Executive Team and the Public concerning the Open Meetings Act (see Attachment A). C. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION Mr. Dwayne Brown made comments on previous meetings. He stated that he liked maintaining the staffing levels of 2015, freeze on hiring, and lowering the sales tax 1%, discussed in the FY16.5 budget meetings. He did not like that none of these suggestions were approved. He claimed that there are three things that Staff does not want to admit: the Police Station was unaffordable; do not want a hiring freeze and do not want to make any budget cuts. Mr. Brown stated that raising fees are only going to hurt the individuals that cannot afford it. D. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Minutes of the Finance Advisory Committee Meeting of April 5, 2016. 2. Minutes of the Joint City Council and Finance Advisory Committee Meeting of May 11, 2016. 3. Minutes of the Joint City Council and Finance Advisory Committee Meeting of May 25, 2016. These minutes were approved by the Finance Advisory Committee on May 2, 2017. Finance Advisory Committee Meeting July 12, 2016 Page 2 of 4 4. Minutes of the Joint City Council and Finance Advisory Committee Meeting of June 1, 2016. MOTION Committee Member Golden moved to approve the minutes; seconded by Committee Partch. VOTE Motion carried on an omnibus vote. Chair Peddle declared motion passed. Chair Peddle requested that when looking at the next three items that discussion be at a high level. He suggested providing guidance on how we should choose comparable municipalities and benchmarks. E. COMPREHENSIVE COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS (Including Comparable Municipalities and Benchmarking Criteria) Finance Director Haley provided an overview of the Comprehensive Comparative Analysis based on recommendations from the Finance Advisory Committee. She added that there are two parts: comparable communities and the criteria and metrics to be used. She introduced Dr. Greg Kuhn and Dr. Shannon Sol from the Northern Illinois University (NIU) Center for Governmental Studies. Dr. Greg Kuhn explained the main points of the comparables is to locate who looks most like DeKalb. He added that it needs to be determined what you are aiming to do with the data. He mentioned that the City would use empirical data and apply it to that source, and decide which communities are similar to the City of DeKalb. He suggested looking at the comparables and applying distinguishing characteristic when defining a university/college. He explained the steps taken to eliminate cities that do not compare to DeKalb. He suggested that staff takes the list and compare it over time. Dr. Shannon Sohl added that when you are capturing this information (data point) that you need to take into consideration, the costs/services may vary between communities. Chair Peddle stated that there are concerns on how the City of DeKalb compares to other University towns (Large Public Universities). He stated that the Evanston’s of the world would not be a comparable. He added that Macomb and Charleston would not pass, but Champaign-Urbana, Bloomington-Normal, and Carbondale are more likely a better comparable. He suggested having a consistent set of communities to be benchmarked would be helpful to see how things are changing over time. The Finance Advisory Committee and Staff discussed the information provided about the financial impact, how it would be used, and how it would affect the community. These minutes were approved by the Finance Advisory Committee on May 2, 2017. Finance Advisory Committee Meeting July 12, 2016 Page 3 of 4 Public Works Director Holdeman out 6:45 p.m. Public Works Director Holdeman in 6:47 p.m. F. FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST ASSUMPTIONS Chair Peddle stated that the assumptions are not something the Committee wants to debate tonight. He added that the information provided are conservative assumptions. G. FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL PLAN Chair Peddle stated that the Five-Year Financial Plan is a response to the Five-Year Financial Forecast. He questioned how Staff would combine the strategic plan with the financial plan. Police Chief Lowery out 7:12 p.m. Chair Peddle questioned what we are trying to do. He added that the goal is to be transparent and to have taxpayers have faith in the fiscal process, understanding there is a direction the City is going and that each year is moving forward in the Five-Year Plan. Committee Member Neeley stated that the Five-Year Financial Plan would be one of the means that would be used to put the Strategic Plan in action. City Manager Gaura asked the Committee to find examples of a Five-Year Financial Plan that they would like us to model after. She added that from the research done it’s hard to find Five-Year Financial Plan within other municipalities. Police Chief Lowery in 7:15 p.m. Chair Peddle agreed that finding another Five-Year Financial Plan from another Municipality is feasible. He added that this would assure the community that the City and elected/appointed officials are all moving in the same direction in a responsible and accountable way. H. ACCOUNTING STATUS OF THE BALANCE OF THE WATER CAPITAL FUND Chair Peddle requested the status of the segregation of the Water rate increase. He explained that those funds were to be segregated and not to be used for operational use. Finance Director Haley explained that there are two separate funds now: Operational and Capital. Chair Peddle acknowledged the two funds, and he wanted to make sure that Staff did do a segregation and chose a timeline for the water improvements. Finance Director Haley stated that a revenue line item showing this revenue has been incorporated in to the Water Capital Fund. These minutes were approved by the Finance Advisory Committee on May 2, 2017. Finance Advisory Committee Meeting July 12, 2016 Page 4 of 4 I. APPROVAL OF RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING E, F, G AND H Chair Peddle stated that the Committee is not at the point to make any recommendations. J. OTHER ITEMS Chair Peddle asked if the Library had received their funds from the State of Illinois. Finance Director Haley added that the stop gap budget was not enough to release those funds. Assistant City Manager Hoppenstedt stated that the library was assured by the State the money was there, but the money will not be released until a budget is passed. Chair Peddled discussed the Library levy stating the levy would need to be passed in late December. He added that there could be an abatement up to one month before the property taxes are mailed. K. ADJOURNMENT Chair Peddle requested a motion to adjourn, moved by Committee Member Verbic and seconded by Alderman Noreiko. The motion passed by an omnibus vote. Meeting adjourned at 8:54 p.m. __________________________________________ CARRI PARKER, Deputy City Clerk These minutes were approved by the Finance Advisory Committee on May 2, 2017.