Finance Committee

Finance Committee Meeting Council Chambers December 18, 2013 8:00 a.m. Call To Order: Meeting opened at 8:00 am Roll Call: Finance Director Neukirch called the roll for Committee members. Committee Members Present: John Johann, Robert Callero, Village Manager Steve Vinezeano and Finance Director Scot Neukirch Committee Members Absent: Chairman Joe LoVerde Non Committee Members Present: Trustee Hanusiak, Legal Secretary Kathy Thake, Asst Finance Director Laurie Nannini, Attorney Joe Annunzio and resident Sajida Ali. Motion made that Bob Callero serve as interim-Chairman in Joe LoVerde’s absence. Motion made and all concurred. Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the November 13, 2013 Finance Committee meeting were up for approval, motion made and all concurred. Accounts Payable Approval: The approval of the Accounts Payable registers for 11/8,11/15,11/22,11/29 and 12/6 were up for approval, motion made and all concurred. New Business Water Bill Appeal 7829 Nordica: Finance Director Neukirch gave an overview of the history of issues with the payment of the water bill for 7829 Nordica. Neukirch introduced Sajida Ali who is the owner of the property. Mrs. Ali explained that she has had many issues with the tenant and that she had a misunderstanding concerning her responsibility to the Village concerning the payment of the water bill. The Committee asked questions and Neukirch provided additional information on the history of the account. In consideration of the issues Mrs. Ali had with her tenant, the Committee agreed to remove the late charges totaling $450 if Mrs. Ali paid the $759.38 balance of the account over 2 payments. Motion made and all concurred. Auditor Contract Renewal: Finance Director Neukirch presented the results of the RFP process that was done in 2010 for auditor services. Sikich was chosen from that process with a 3 year agreement with an option for a 4th and 5th year. Neukirch explained that Sikich has done a good job and even though it can possibly help to have a new firm come in every so often to review the books, changing auditors every 3 years is problematic because of the learning curve involved. . Director Neukirch responded to questions from Committee members and after discussion, the Committee concurred with the Finance Director’s assessment and a motion was made and all concurred to recommend that the Village retain Sikich for the FY 2014 audit. Quarterly Delinquent Water Update: Finance Director Neukirch gave an update on the success of the Village’s increased efforts directed at delinquent water accounts which was previously presented to and supported by the Finance Committee. Neukirch explained the process and how almost $40,000 of the $93,000 outstanding has been collected from the various delinquent customer accounts in 2 months. Neukirch explained how the Family Services Department has been incorporated in to the process and are providing opportunities for Village residents to get additional financial and overall assistance in the process. Public Works has identified a number of buffalo boxes that had issues that are being corrected. Therefore, this process has been an overall success and an example of good cooperation across multiple departments. Quarterly Leak Adjustment Update: Finance Director Neukirch updated the Committee on the requests for leak adjustments received under the new procedure recently approved by the Finance  Committee. So far there have been 6 requests, 3 of which were denied due to lack of supporting documentation and 3 which are still in the process. FY 15 Budget Calendar: Finance Director Neukirch reviewed the FY 2015 budget calendar with the Committee. Neukirch explained that the dates at this point are tentative and therefore subject to change. The Finance Committee is scheduled to review the FY 15 draft budget at the February 19, 2014 Committee meeting. 2030 Plan Budget Requests This item was requested by Chairman LoVerde who was absent. Therefore this item will be held over until the next Committee meeting. Workers Compensation Survey Finance Director Neukirch presented a survey on work-related injuries that was submitted to the Northwest Municipal Conference by Assistant Village Manager Hadley Skeffington-Vos. This survey had previously been requested by John Johann. The survey was discussed and Neukirch pointed out that Niles is not the only community that currently pays 100% for work related injuries for 1 year to all employees. Discussion on what to do moving forward ensued. The Committee noted that the Village Manager and Village Attorney need to discuss the best plan of how to get the Village policies changed to the statutory requirement of 67%. Other Business: Finance Director Neukirch presented the Committee with a schedule of the estimated payment types and associated fees the Village would incur by providing an online payment option to the residents. The cost to the Village if it provides this service for Water billing will be approximately $30,000 or higher if 40% of the customers take advantage of it. There was discussion as to whether the Village should absorb these costs or pass the cost on to the user. The Committee members felt that the fee should be passed on to the user and not factored in to the Village’s water rate to cover the costs. A motion was made and all concurred to proceed with a convenience fee added to cover the cost of providing the online bill payment options. Public Comment: Trustee Hanusiak asked why switching to online billing doesn’t save the Finance Department staff any time. Finance Director Neukirch explained the Village currently utilizes a lock box to collect payments. The Village receives an electronic file from the lock box already. So the file received from on line billing will most likely just replace the file received from the lock box for those customers that do not choose to come in and pay their water bill. There was additional discussion as to the pros and cons of just factoring the charges in to the water rate. Trustee Hanusiak also questioned why the Village Attorney did not provide the Finance Committee with the contract for the new Liquor Commissioner. The Committee members present did not recall the details of what was requested on the issue at a previous meeting. Executive Session: The Committee went in to executive session at 9:00 am. to approve minutes and discuss the release of minutes. Return From Executive Session: The Committee returned from executive session at 9:07 am. A motion was made to release the written minutes from 10-21-2009, 11-18-2009 and 2-18-2010, all concurred. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn was made and all concurred at 9:08 am. Prepared by Scot Neukirch on 12/18/2013