HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Finance Committee - 09/21/2009 -_____Ce ‘Finance AdminIstrationY0215N.Mason—a I I 2~FloorL_~teI I ~i i ~POBoxS8OrIJIL~I.IJL LII I ~Fort Collins CO 80522970.221.8788
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Council Audit ft Finance Committee
Minutes
09/21/09
10:30 a.m.12:00 p.m.
Council Attendees:Mayor Doug Hutchinson,Mayor Pro Tern KeLly
OhLson,Councilmember Ben Manvel
City Staff Attendees:Darin Atteberry,Mike Freeman,Chuck Seest,Tom
Vosburg,Jim O’NieLL,Kraig Ecton,Heather
Shepherd
Others:John Knezovich,citizen
Approval of the Minutes from the August meeting.
Ben Manvel moved to approve the August minutes and Doug Hutchinson seconded the motion.
The rninutes were approved unanimously.
Staff Response to McGLadrey ft Pullen
Doug Hutchinson stated this is the most detailed response the Committee has received from an
Auditor so far.
John Voss reviewed City staff responses related to Auditor’s findings.
Tom Vosburg addressed the findings specifically related to Management Information Systems
and responded to Committee questions.
Annual Update on Purchasing Activity
KeLLy OhLson joined by conference caLL.Jim O’Neill gave an update on the progress made one
year Later after changing some purchase order policies.These changes included increasing
mini order Limits form $2000 to $5000,raising bid limits from $30,000 to $60,000,and
increasing the threshold for items requiring CounciL approvaL from $100,000 to $200,000.
KeLLy Ohison asked what can be concLuded from this data,and Jim O’Niell said that based on
the smalL decrease in the number of items presented to CounciL over the Last year,it can be
concLuded the doLLar amount of over $200,000 is an appropriate threshoLd that works for the
organization.
Mike Freeman stated that the number of transactions and doLLar volume are aLso two factors
that have helped determine this amount.
4~LLins
Mike Freeman also stated that the first level of our own internal auditing related to
Purchasing Cards was to learn about the appropriateness of the transaction.Purchasing found
no significant problems with that.Next items to add to the Purchasing Card audits are issues
such as proper level of card limits,and tax exemption,etc.This past summer the Coloradoan
highlighted some transactions at CSU that had been charged tax,when as a governmental
entity,CSU should never be charged tax as is the case with the City.
*...Ben asked what is included in the $600 million spent via the purchasing department over the
last year.(i.e.it does not include salaries,etc.)Staff will prepare data for Council
members.Also add a discussion on the bid process comparing it to the RFP process,etc.for
next month’s meeting agenda.
Action Item:Committee Approval to Renew the Audit Contract
Kelly Ohlson asked how much the costs have increased each year of this five year contract for
McGladrey &Pullen.In 2008,the contract cost was $81,000 and in 2009 it will be $83,000.
Ben Manvel moved to approve the audit contract for 2009 and Kelly Ohslon seconded.The
motion passed unanimously.
Preview of Investment Discussion Items for October 1gth Meeting
Chuck Seest advised the Committee that next month the agenda topic will be focused on
investment items,and specifically the Securities Lending Program.This is important because if
a revised lending program won’t work with the City’s investment policy,staff will not bring it
forward for consideration and end the program.
John Knezovich asked how the new Open Book system is progressing so far and how much
staff response time to questions has been spent.Darin Atteberry said visits to the site have
been high.There have been three Service Area requests so far.
*Staff will prepare a summary of exact numbers,visits to page,included the FAQ
page,and Service Area Request stat for a future meeting.
John K.said that once he could see Open Book he was surprised on how much the
Library District spent on legal fees.He indicated that he would follow-up with his board.
*Indicates an action item for staff members.