Finance Committee

Finance Committee Meeting Council Chambers October 22, 2014 8:00 a.m. Call To Order: Meeting opened at 8:03 am Roll Call: Finance Director Neukirch called the roll for Committee members. Committee Members Present: Chairman LoVerde, John Johann, Al Weel, Robert Callero, Village Manager Steve Vinezeano and Finance Director Scot Neukirch Committee Members Absent: None Non Committee Members Present: Asst Finance Director Laurie Nannini, Attorney Joe Annunzio and Family Services Director Tony Hollenback Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the September 12, 2014 Finance Committee meeting were up for approval, motion made and all concurred. Accounts Payable Approval: The approval of the Accounts Payable registers for 9/5, 9/12, 9/19, 9/26 and 10/3 were up for approval, motion made and all concurred. New Business FY 14 Appropriation Amendment: Finance Director Neukirch presented the FY 14 appropriation amendment. Neukirch explained that the Family Fitness Fund exceeded its appropriations for the year because the DECTRON dehumidification system purchased cost more than was budgeted. Neukirch also explained that if it were not for this item, the Fund would have been under budget. Staff responded to various questions from the Committee. Motion made and all concurred to send the appropriation amendment ordinance to the Village Board for approval. Family Service Fees: Family Services Director Hollenback presented the proposed changes to the fee structure for Niles Family Services. Hollenback gave the Committee some background information as to how the department had previously collected fees for services provided. Hollenback explained how the new fee structure will capture fees for many services that previously were not being billed for. Hollenback explained that the Family Services Department recently transitioned to a Medicare biller that he believes will be more efficient than the previous biller. Hollenback answered various questions from the Committee. Motion made and all concurred to send the proposed fee structure to the Village Board. Published Treasurer’s Report: Finance Director Neukirch presented the annual Treasurer’s Report that is required to be published in the newspaper each year. Neukirch explained that this is a statutory requirement. The report shows the ending cash and investments was $101,288,064, the receipts for the year were $83,986,603 and the ending fund balance was $125,368,648 for all funds. The report also includes a list of total vendor payments listed alphabetically and compensation summary provided with the report. Neukirch explained that the auditor will be at the November Finance Committee to discuss the audit in greater detail. Motion made and all concurred to accept the annual Treasurer’s Report as presented. Pension Actuarial Reports: Finance Director Neukirch presented current Police and Fire Pension Fund actuarial reports, annual required report to the Village Board and the updated pension summary. Neukirch explained that for the second straight year the funding level in the pension funds improved. There was also a discussion concerning the investment rate of returns over the years and the recent transition to a new investment advisor. Motion made and all concurred to send the annual compliance reports to the Village Board. IMET Default: Finance Director Neukirch and the Committee discussed the memo they were provided explaining how certain IMET investments are in default. Neukirch explained that the United States collateralization for these investments was forged. Neukirch explained that IMET is looking to recover as much of the investments that are in default as is possible. The Committee briefly discussed if suing IMET was an option, but no resolution could be reached on this during the meeting. The Village has removed all funds from IMET. The Niles amount that is in default is approximately $228,000. The Committee discussed options moving forward for the Village’s investments. The Finance Department will review options including hiring an investment manager and return to the Finance Committee at a future date to discuss this option further. Motion was made to accept the report and express agreement with the removal of IMET funds was made all concurred except for Village Manager Vinezeano who abstained. Village Property Tax Levy: Finance Director Neukirch provided the Committee with various documents of information concerning the Village’s property tax levy. Some Committee members felt that the amount generated by this increase could be found in other areas of the Village’s budget and that raising property taxes is not necessary. Staff had proposed a 4.9% property tax levy to assist with funding the Village’s Police and Fire Pension Funds $64 million unfunded liability. There was discussion pro and con concerning this issue. Motion was made to increase the Village’s property tax 4.9%: John Johann-no, Chairman LoVerde-no, Bob Callero-yes, Al Weel-no, Village Manager Vinezeano-abstain. A second motion was made to direct staff to bring a property tax levy to the Village Board with no increase: John Johann-yes, Chairman LoVerde-yes, Bob Callero-no, Al Weel-yes, Village Manager Vinezeano-abstain. Other Business: Communications Coordinator Garard presented to the Committee an informational video that will be aired on the Village’s cable channel concerning property taxes and what they are used for. The Committee complimented Garard on her work with the video. Public Comment: None Executive Session: None Return From Executive Session: None Adjournment: Motion to adjourn was made and all concurred at 9:47 am. Prepared by Scot Neukirch on 10/22/2014