MINUTES OF THE FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
CITY OF COUNTRYSIDE – CITY HALL
JULY 23, 2012 – 6:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBER ROOM

1. The meeting called to order at 6:00 P.M. Present: Chairman Steven Jasinski, Alderman Karen Michalczyk, Alderman Sean McDermott, Alderman Scott Musillami.

Also present: City Clerk Sharon Sweeney; Alderman James Jasinski;

Alderman Bob Pondelicek, Alderman John Von Drasek; City Administrator Gail Paul; Assistant Administrator Sharon Peterson; Finance Director Steven Drazner; City Attorney Erik Peck.

Also present: Dan Berg of Sikich LLP and Tom Warda of Midwest Computer Products.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES

2. The minutes of May 21, 2012 were approved as submitted.

PRESENTATION BY SIKICH LLP OF FLAGG CREEK GOLF COURSE FY11 AUDIT

3. Mr. Dan Berg of Sikich LLP presented the Flagg Creek Annual Financial Report and Management Letter for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2011. Mr. Berg explained on an accrual basis Flagg Creek Golf Course was making money and the City did receive their proportionate share according to the agreement. Although some adjustments were made such as revenue recognition, Sikich LLP is very confident in the numbers received from the Park District.

One of the issues in obtaining financial information was due to the software the golf course uses. The system is a little old and it is difficult to extract financial information once the year is closed.

Mr. Berg stated Sikich LLP is scheduled to do the audit in October of this year for FY12. Hopefully, with the new accounting system in place things should run more smoothly than in the past. Some management issues have been addressed in the management letter, but with installation of the new system and procedures in place they are moving in the right direction.

The committee members expressed the necessity for a timely budget and transparency.

PRESENTATION/DISCUSSION OF FLAGG CREEK GOLF COURSE FY13 PROPOSED BUDGET

4. Finance Director Drazner presented an overview of the Flagg Creek Golf Course FY13 Budget. The operating profit for FY13, excluding capital costs, has been projected at $272,380. This is slightly less than the surplus budgeted in FY12 of $326,521 and the FY unaudited actual surplus of $353,144. For FY13, capital improvements budgeted total $94,757 which consists primarily of equipment/golf cart purchases. Including capital items, the proposed net budgeted surplus for FY13 is $177,623.

The committee members recommended approval of the Flagg Creek Golf Course FY13 proposed budget as submitted.

PRESENTATION OF MONTHLY TREASURER’S REPORT FOR PERIOD ENDING JUNE 30, 2012

5. Finance Director Drazner referred to the Cash Balance as of June 30, 2012 on the Treasurer’s Report. It was noted there was approximately $1.5 million in the Hotel/Motel Fund, but a deficit of $710,000 was budgeted. Also, there was $1.8 million in the Commercial TIF funds, but that amount but that amount is expected to be spent in the current fiscal year.

DISCUSSION RELATED TO PRELIMINARY PROPOSAL FOR EQUIPPING COUNCIL CHAMBERS FOR TELEVISING/WEBCASTING COUNCIL MEETINGS

6. Staff was directed to obtain the cost for televising and/or webcasting City Council meetings. Three companies were contacted, but only Midwest Computer provided a preliminary quote along with options available for broadcasting council meetings.

Mr. Tom Warda of Midwest Computer provided two options and costs to include equipment and labor. Mr. Warda explained the first quote was to install and integrate an audio and video capture system. This system would allow the City to broadcast meetings live over public access television and the internet. It would also archive the session for future viewing.

The estimated cost for this option is $50,000 plus two necessary laptops.

The second option is the same as above but with the addition of conference voting equipment. The voting system would automatically tally and archive elected officials votes while allowing the meeting chairman to queue speakers and mute/unmute microphones. The estimated cost for this option is $85,000 plus two necessary laptops.

There should be no fees to broadcast or retrieve historical information. The broadcasting is an audio and video file streamed simultaneously. If a MP 3 file is used it would need to be uploaded onto the server.

Chairman Jasinski thanked Mr. Warda for his presentation.

Following committee member discussion the consensus was the information will be kept under advisement and lower cost alternatives should possibly be discussed during the budget workshops.

DISCUSSION ITEM RELATED TO RENEWING CITY HALL CUSTODIAL CONTRACT

7. Assistant Administrator Peterson explained the City currently has a maintenance contract with Eco Clean Maintenance which expires September 1, 2012. The contract states the company will hold the prices for a minimum of one year with an option at the City’s discretion to extend the contract another year. Eco Clean Maintenance will hold their price for an additional year. Staff recommended extending the contract for another year.

The committee recommended extending the contract with Eco Clean Maintenance for another year.

DISCUSSION ON CITY BECOMING A FULL MEMBER IN THE WSCCI

8. The West Suburban Chamber of Commerce met with a few City Officials to discuss the benefits of the City becoming a full member of the WSCCI. A full membership is $3,965 (Charter Community Partnership) but a lower level membership (Affiliate Partner) offers fewer benefits and costs $1,000.

The committee recommended no membership to the West Suburban Chamber of Commerce at this time.

OTHER BUSINESS

9. Committee members agreed the City should not to make any donations or contributions to another taxing entity.

10. Chairman Jasinski stated on August 20, 2012 a Police Pension meeting is scheduled to vote ona retiring officers longevity pay. The City has taken the stance not to allow any increase or spike. The amount of pension will be calculated using the officer’s annual salary, holiday pay, specialty pay, and eliminating 25 of the 26 pay periods, which will drop his salary $21,000. This saves the City $13,000 per year in pension payments.

City Administrator Paul explained if Treasurer Jasinski disagrees with this calculation, the City must notify the Pension Board. At the August 20 Pension Board meeting the Pension Board will vote on which calculation to accept. There is a very good chance the members could override the number the City Treasurer has certified as the final earnings and in that case the board would move forward to pay the pension off the earnings they (the board) calculated. In that instance, the city has to decide whether or not to take any action.

The Department of Insurance’s opinion is that the pensions were calculated incorrectly in the past using the $22,100 longevity and it could not be done that way. They are not legal opinions but rather recommended administration opinions. This issue is currently in court.

ADJOURNMENT

11. No further discussion. Motion and seconded to adjourn at 7:10 p.m

Dated: ______________________ __________________________

Steven Jasinski, Chair