DATE: April 11, 2008
Members present: Tommy Lee Bychinski, William F. Wenzel, Marty Krueger, Joan Fordham, Tom Kriegl
Others present: Kerry Beghin, Carol Herwig, Kathy Schauf, Pat Carignan, Alene Kleczek, Lowell Haugen, Karyle Johnson, Media
The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Bychinski at 9:50 AM. Certification of open meeting compliance was given. Motion by Fordham, second by Wenzel to adopt the agenda. Motion carried.
Kriegl raised questions about the amendments he had requested to be made to the minutes of the February 12, 2008 meeting, as well as the wording of a motion he made at the meeting on March 11, 2008. Kleczek advised the Committee on what information is required to be included in meeting minutes and recommended that the lengthy changes requested by Kriegl not be included in the minutes because it appeared to be an attempt to subvert the minute taking process by including politics in the form of a motion. Motion by Kriegl to amend the minutes of the March 11th meeting to replace the line "State inmates began entering the jail in February to fill available beds in Pod B" with "State inmates began entering the jail in February to occupy some of the available beds in Pod B." Motion failed due to lack of a second. Motion by Fordham, second by Wenzel to adopt the minutes of the meeting dated March 11, 2008. Motion carried with Kriegl opposed.
Public Comment: None.
Communications: None.
Clarification of instructions to County Board Chair and Administrative Coordinator from March 11 meeting regarding jail reporting, and presentation of jail unit A update.
Krueger explained that he and staff met and discussed with the Sheriff what the Finance Committee was looking for. The Controller presented the Sheriff's department staff with sample reports that would make a more complete view of jail performance. The meeting focused on working together as a team and putting together reports that will meet everyone's needs. The Sheriff has requested time to gather the information and think about adjustments he may want to make to the reports. Kriegl stated that he believes there is a financial policy that requires departments to report to their oversight committee and the Finance Committee as soon as they know that their department's revenues are going to fall below budgeted levels. He wants to know why the Sheriff's department is not reporting to either their oversight committee or the Finance Committee that their revenues are short so far this year. Fordham agreed that all departments should be required to follow the reporting policies and she believes that if the Sheriff's department reaches the point where they believe their budget will be exceeded, they will report it properly.
Consideration of March 20, 2008 letter to the Mailbag.
Krueger expressed his displeasure over some of the comments made in a letter written by Kriegl to the editor of the Baraboo News Republic published on March 20, 2008. Krueger believes that the letter misstates a motion passed by the Finance Committee and pointed out that the minutes of the meeting say something different. Other members of the Committee agreed that the meeting minutes accurately state the motion and the true intent of the actions of the Committee. Wenzel indicated that he is upset that the March 20th letter implied that the other members of the Committee all agreed that the revenue projections for the jail were overly optimistic for Pod A and Pod B. He and other members of the Committee denied that they agreed with Kriegl on this, and they are upset that the public now believes that statement to be true. Krueger clearly requested that Kriegl not publish in a public venue what he believes the other members of the Committee might be thinking.
Discussion of budgetary impact of Child Support birth payment reimbursement suspension.
Karyle Johnson explained that as of March 24th, they are no longer able to request reimbursement for costs of birth expenses. The federal government is suspending this program until the State of Wisconsin changes their policy. They collected $54,000of incentives in 2007 so to lose a large part of that amount in 2008 will be a big hit to their budget. Johnson is making the Committee aware of a probable loss of budgeted revenues.
Consider reallocation of 2007 budget for 3rd Avenue rental property demolition.
Beghin explained that $8,444 remains in the rental property fund from the 3rd Avenue apartments. The cost to demolish that building was $25,505. Beghin requested that the Building Services department assume the cost of the demolition and the remaining $8,444 be left in the rental property fund to cover unforeseen expenses that may develop with the rental properties located at the Health Care Center. Motion by Krueger, second by Wenzel to reallocate utilities dollars from the EMBS department to cover the costs of demolishing the 3rd Avenue apartment building and leave the remaining dollars in the rental property fund. Motion carried.
Discussion and possible resolution Designating Unreserved Funds as of December 31, 2007.
Motion by Krueger, second by Fordham to designate unreserved funds for projects continuing from 2007 into 2008. Motion carried.
Discussion of payment approval and processing.
Beghin reported that there have been no vendor complaints received over the past month and informed the Committee of the general nature of the Friday checks that have been written. The Committee agreed that the process is working well at this time and there does not appear to be any reason to make any changes to the process right now. Kleczek suggested that contracts be reviewed carefully to make sure that we are not agreeing to a shorter turn around time for payments. The Accounting Department also will include correspondence to new vendors describing the County's payment cycle.
Discussion of draft revised quarterly financial report for the County Board.
At last month's meeting, a reporting structure was reviewed that focused on big picture analysis of the County's finances and key economic indicators. Beghin and Schauf agreed to continue to improve this report. Motion by Krueger, second by Fordham to postpone the discussion of these reports until the June meeting. Motion carried.
Discussion of Financial Policy 15-95, Appropriations.
Supervisor Kriegl requested that this financial policy be amended to require reporting of departments exceeding their budgets by the lesser of 10% or more than $50,000. Discussion followed about the exact definition of "exceeding their budget" and what would actually trigger a department head to have to report their activity to the County Board. Motion by Wenzel, second by Fordham to keep Financial Policy 15-95 as it is currently written. Motion carried with Kriegl opposed.
Discussion of internal audits.
Financial policy 9-95 regarding internal audits was discussed. Due to staff and time constraints, internal audits have historically been performed as needed and not according to a predetermined schedule.
Treasurer's Department Update:
Carignan updated the committee of recent Treasurer's department activity. Motion by Krueger, second by Fordham to approve payment of the invoices from the Treasurer's department in the amount of $5,430.77. Motion carried.
Accounting Department Update:
Beghin pointed out the highlights of the Accounting Department's activity for March 2008. Staff have been working towards the audit which will occur next week. Work has already begun on the 2009 budget. Schauf and Beghin have been working with Corporation Counsel to develop a structure for fund raising for the HCC. Sauk County has closed on the $10,000,000 bond anticipation notes as planned. Motion by Krueger, second by Wenzel to approve payment of the vouchers from the Accounting department in the amount of $26,205.00 and to approve payment of the County vouchers in the amount of $3,327,529.22. Motion carried.
Finance will meet again on April 15, 2008 prior to the County Board meeting. The next regular Finance meeting will be held on May 13, 2008 at 8:30.
Motion by Wenzel, second by Fordham to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried.
Respectfully submitted,
William F. Wenzel, Finance Committee Secretary