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Minutes 10-11-10 MINUTES OF THE FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2010 AT 6:30 P.M. AT THE LIBRARY, 208 S. SEACREST BLVD., BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT Don Scantlan, Chair George Feldman David Madigan William Shulman Kurt Bressner, City Manager ABSENT Michael Madalena, Vice Chair Victoria Castello Glenn Jergensen Merline Pamplona Terry Lonergan, Alternate 1. INTRODUCTION OF MEMBERS AND GUESTS Chair Scantlan called the meeting to order at 6:31 p.m. Self-introductions were made, and the attendance is noted above. 2. LESSONS LEARNED FROM A MUNICIPAL FINANCE ADVISORY BOARD Mr. Feldman explained he invited Jay Abrams, Ph.D and Senior Vice President of FMS Bonds, Inc. to speak at the meeting. Dr. Abrams serves as the Chairman of the Boca Raton Financial Advisory Board. His field is in Public Finance. He holds a Ph.D in Public Administration and Finance and taught in that field at George Mason University for eight years. He then became a Standard and Poor Senior Analyst for 11 years and has been with FMS Bonds as a Credit Analyst for about nine years. He has served on the City of Boca Raton Financial Advisory Board since 2004 and was just re-elected to his second term as Chair. The Boca Raton Board functions differently than the Boynton Beach Committee. Boca's Board appointments are made by the Mayor and Council and is composed of seven members. The City advertises for the position when an opening occurs. The applicant has to appear either at a work session of the Board or be interviewed at a City Council meeting. The Council will then take an open vote. The Board members should have some experience with public finance. The Financial Advisory Board was established in the City Charter and has different mandates. One mandate is to review the budget and Capital Improvement Program and make a recommendation. This is done via resolution recommending the City Council adopt the budget and advising what the Council needs to take into account. The Board meets on the third Monday of every month at 5:00 p.m. The City Manager and Finance Director attend every meeting and the City's Treasurer comes in four times per year to give investment reports. 1 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 11, 2010 Since the members are appointed by the Council, they work with them and not adversarially; however, they can offer constructive criticism. They are not the Citizens Budget Committee formed by the Chamber of Commerce or a Citizens Group; they work basically for the City. They are advisory in nature. One of the hot issues was the funding status of retirement and pension plans. They recently had a presentation by the pension administrator and the actuary to help develop projections. The same thing occurs when the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) is released. The Board uses an outside auditor that would meet with the Board and Finance Director and it provided an opportunity to question the auditor about trends, financial practices and other aspects of the City's reporting and other municipal practices. The members receive the materials in advance, raise concerns, ask questions, make comments and subsequent recommendations. They do not serve in a policy-making role. They review the debt management policy and new bond issues coming forward. They review the credit ratings and ensure the credit reports are reviewed by the members. Dr. Abrams was attempting to take a more proactive stance, as the Chair, by trying to better equip the members to do the job. The City Finance Director will review changes and advances in government accounting that are recommended by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GAS B) and the Board will question how those will affect the City's finances and functions in a review capacity much of the time. Another function written into the City's Charter is done once every few years and pertained to reviewing taxi or limousine companies wanting to operate in the City. The Board has to review their finances and make a report of their findings. They do not recommend if they like the company, only on the finances and operating history. The Council makes the actual determination as well as other City agencies having to review the company during the licensing process. The Board reviews the fees and charges the City sets every year. The City has moved towards City operations being fee based. Dr. Abrams explained the public does not understand the difference between fees and taxes. Taxes are levied to provide services that serve everyone even directly or indirectly. When it pertains to services such as garbage collection, they can measure the service, the delivery or receipt of it and then it becomes more fee appropriate. Boca Raton has City garbage collection. There is a fire fee being imposed on everyone's taxes and the Police and Fire budgets use more than what the City would raise in property taxes each year. He noted Boca Raton was a City that prides itself on a certain community look and feel, but it costs money and he noted the citizens want that level of service. Boca Raton is an AAA-rated City from all three credit agencies. As a result, they have a healthy fund balance and can absorb some of the cuts and decreased values more readily than other communities. The Board is also concerned about many of the initiatives that have gone to ballot. One initiative they have was the result of raising the homestead exemption. The impact on the City must be studied. 2 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 11, 2010 Dr. Abrams emphasized some members of the Board do not have a background in public budget and finance. His focus is to educate them so they could be in a better position to do the job well. The Finance Director gave an evening session on the basics of public accounting. He was also concerned that for years, the Board met in the same conference room in City Hall and he suggested the Board see the city facilities. Accordingly, they began to hold their meetings at different facilities about four or five times a year. He sought to increase the level of Board training so the members could have a more sophisticated role. The Board likes this so far. The next level he was planning was to issue an annual financial report to the City Council detailing what they accomplished and their recommendations. The Board has never met with the City Council and Dr. Abrams sent a letter to the Mayor and Council in the spring requesting they do so but has not received a response. The Board feels if they provide that level of work and support, they should meet once to exchange ideas. Dr. Abrams expressed the Council members have a lot on the agenda and a meeting has not occurred to date. A question and answer session ensued as follows: Q. When the first recommendation was made (by the Board), was it made to the full Council? A. The Board does not meet with the City Council. They only meet with the City Council for appointment or reappointment. They meet every meeting with the City Manager and Finance Director. When budget time approaches, the department heads make presentations. They were reactive as opposed to proactive. The City goes through a budget cycle with preparations concluding at the end of August, and in the spring there is the audit and then an ongoing review of presentation of investments and policies. The Board does question the City in an informal way. Q. A question was posed regarding taxes. A. Taxes were raised this year. The tax rate proposed by the Finance Director and City Manager was only sufficient so the same amount of taxes would be collected. The Financial Advisory Board reviewed and approved it. When it got to Council, they did raise the taxes but not that much. Boca Raton's millage rate was 3.34 mils but their taxable value was five times as much as Boynton Beach. Boca's assessed value was $17.9 Billion. Boca Raton also has a lot of office space. Mizner Park was established by the City Council acting in the role of the Community Redevelopment Agency and they issued Tax Increment Finance (TIF) Bonds. TIF monies fund improvements in an area and pay for the improvements from the economic growth that comes though the improvements. They establish a tax base year. All the taxes collected on the assessed value from that point in time into the future that flow from the assessed value of that district go to the City. Dr. Abrams clarified as the bonds are issued, the proceeds are used to improve the area to encourage development and the growth in the assessed value above that initial tax base goes to pay the debt on the bonds. The financing is widely used. 3 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 11, 2010 He explained these monies were used for Mizner Park but its growth was not sufficient to pay the debt. The City was loaning the difference to the Community Redevelopment Agency to control the debt service. Dr. Abrams reported Mizner was very close to being able to pay it back. The City constructed an amphitheater in 2001 run by a non-profit, but because of the economy the non-profit folded. The City was left with the amphitheater which was falling into disrepair which negatively impacts Mizner Park. The City had no choice but to buy it out and get it on its feet. Q. Does the Board recommend enterprises to the City? A. No. That is not their mission. Q. Does the golf course make money? A. Boca Raton has three courses. The main course is outside the City. Q Do you do any surveys to the community? A. No. Q. Do you like that idea as a financial guide? A. You would need a fair amount of resources in the City to help with that. The Board takes direction from the City. In 2001, the City passed a referendum to build two new libraries in the City. They built one and there is a lot of pressure to build the second one. The Council explained the public passed a referendum and the matter was referred to the Board to analyze the bond that would go out. It was not their role to take a policy position on it, only to review whether the financing was appropriate. The City Council determines the priorities for the City and holds planning sessions within the community to receive input. Q. Since the Board is more reactive than proactive, do you do anything to review the revenues and expenses and make recommendations as to whether revenues can be increased and how, and whether expenses can be reduced and how? A. The Board does review them during the budget process. The Board has a very good working relationship with the Finance Director and City Manager who are forward and honest about the direction things are taking. He thought it was a direction they should move in but, in the past, that was not the direction of the Board or the leadership the Board took. That was why he was trying to educate the members and why the Board wanted to meet with the Council. They wanted to ask for the authority to do those things. They needed to establish a level of trust. Q. When the Board reviews the budget and sees things that appear to be out of line, do you make recommendations to correct them. A. The Board makes lots of comments, suggestions and asks questions on items that should be looked at. They direct the questions to the City Manager and Finance Director. They have minutes taken of each meeting that go to each Council member so they know what was occurring at the meeting. 4 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 11, 2010 Q. Do you get feedback from who they make the recommendations to? A. The City Manager will take that feedback. They have not made a list or a formal presentation to the Council yet, but they are trying to move in that direction and want the Council comfortable with them to do that. The City Management is strong, well equipped and usually a step ahead of them knowing where revenues could be increased or where it is viable. As to cuts, that was a political issue because the Council feels it is their role. Q. Do you think you could make recommendations with your expertise? A. We think we can but we have to have a welcome audience. Q. With regard to the projects they undertake when they review a budget, and the situation with the library, do you do that with subcommittees of your Board or is it the whole Board? A. The whole Board. Dr. Abrams explained they would like to see the Board move towards subcommittees to take on those types of matters and in the past they had a passive role. The Board members attended the meeting once a month. They received a package of materials and were trying to increase their level of participation. That was why they wanted to issue an annual report, which they would try to do in January. He proposed to ask one or two members of the Board to work with him on it. The Board also has a number of recommendations they would include in the report. He commented the Board thinks very highly of the City's management and think they have done an excellent job over the years. a. How can you summarize to-date what the Board's accomplishments have been? A. The accomplishments are the members of the Board, generally, are leaders in the community and can funnel concerns, issues and comments so management would understand the types of issues involved and what the community is concerned about. a. Do you think you might be getting through via the City Management? A. The City has an AAA bond rating and an outstanding and very stable management team. The City Council turned over a few times due to term limits. The Council was not very divisive nor was there much turnover in management. They were pretty much on top of issues As an example, the Council would recommend increasing the fees, and they will provide a list of those that could be increased. The Board would respond that every year the Council recommends small increases but they would recommend the Council develop a plan to look out further and not raise fees each year. Instead, they could do so every three or five years and make it known to the public so they could have an idea of what they could expect. Those were the types of recommendations they made. Generally, the City Manager comes to them with well thought-out budgets. He did point out in the past, there was some grumblings about grants to non-profits in the City. Mr. Bressner explained there was a recent Attorney General's Opinion regarding Community Redevelopment Agency areas which were areas of special concern and which Community 5 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 11, 2010 Redevelopment Agencies were looking at. It was a significant opinion that pertained to the use of redevelopment funds and the support of non-profits falls within the purview of an acceptable use of funding. This occurrence is being looked at carefully because in Boynton Beach, there are a lot of non-profits who receive some manner of support from the CRA which could now end. It would have an effect on Boynton's Community Redevelopment Agency and although the opinion is binding on the Agency that asked for the opinion, savvy cities apply it to their own municipalities. Boynton Beach is looking at it very carefully. Q. Is that because they have arrangements with non-profits and they are awarded their grants non-competitively? A. No. It is Florida Statute 163 regarding TIF revenue and their purpose. It is about giving them the money to begin with. From a municipal view, Boca had a concern about funding non-profits. Since the CRA is a special revenue stream, this is of special interest and may spread over to municipalities. Mr. Scantlan commented non profits line up for funding. Mr. Bressner explained Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) provide for some funding to non profits. There are specific requirements and federal programs allowing it, but only a fairly small amount. Of the CDBG funds, only 20% are allowed to be allocated to non profits. Q. How are they selected? A. An advisory committee was established in 2001 to vet those applications. They maintain the checks and balance to ensure the process is followed and there is as much competition as possible for the funding. Staff should not be making those determinations. Q. What is the background of the other members of the Financial Advisory Board? A. One member was a graduate student. Two or three members were in businesses and others had retired from businesses. It depended on when a position becomes available, who decided to apply for it. Many of the advisory boards remain unfilled because there are no applicants. The Financial Advisory Board has lots of competition. Q. Is there a committee or board that goes into the city department and reviews their operations and checks how they sell merchandise and how they receive and disburse funds? A. Dr. Abrams did not think so and expressed it would be thought as overstepping the bounds of their role. The City Manager was in charge of that. a. Do you see the difference between the two Cities as being the size and the scope? A. Mr. Bressner responded no. There is a significant difference between the way Boynton and Boca operate as far as the Financial Advisory Board. The Boca advisory Board is established by the City Charter, which is instituted by the public passing a referendum. If it is by Charter, the only way it changes is if the items go back to the public and the public votes to change it. The Boynton Beach Committee's authority is vested by ordinance and is more advisory in nature than Boca's. Under the Boynton Beach 6 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 11, 2010 Charter, the City Manager is the Chief Executive Officer and by Statute and by Charter, he is responsible to present the budget to the Commission. In Boca, the Advisory Board serves to review the budget submitted by the manager and whether approved or paralleled, they have the opportunity to review it before it goes to the City Council. Dr. Abrams agreed. The Council could not take it up unless it is reviewed by the Board who makes a recommendation. It has the City Manager's and a separate set of eyes to review it. If there are any comments or questions, the minutes will list them as well as indicate it was approved by Board. a. If they want to get rid of the Board do they have to do it by a vote? A. In Boca it has to be by referendum because it was created in the Charter. In Boynton, they would rescind the ordinance. If the Councilor Commission was unhappy with a member, they could only be removed due to attendance, death, malfeasance/misfeasance or the member was no longer eligible to serve. Dr. Abrams expressed they feel the City is well run and it is evidenced by how well they stay within their budget. There are a number of different ways there is oversight of operations which the Council would see from the various reports they receive. Q. Are we allowed to go to the departments and speak with the Department Heads? A. Mr. Bressner responded yes. They can ask for information but not direct work. Dr. Abrams explained there are plenty of times when they ask the City Manager or Finance Director to provide information on a topic of interest. The Council takes them seriously. The Department Heads come to present their budget, and they come back when they review the annual financial report. They try to preserve the responsibility for finances with the City Manager and the policy decisions with the City Council. a. You suggested they make up their own financial report to give to the Council and they haven't responded to it? A. Dr. Abrams reiterated they sent a letter. It was reviewed and edited and asked for a number of things. They could better serve the Council if they could have a meeting to review the types of concerns that traditionally were coming up at their meetings, and find out what was on their mind so they could exchange ideas about revenues and expenditures and where the City was heading. It was also so they would be prepared to do special studies with the assistance of City staff, i.e. revenue sources. Mr. Bressner commented that was within the Committee's purview in the ordinance. They had the ability to conduct those activities on the basis of the Code. Mr. Bressner would support a broad viewing and reading of the ordinance to give the Board as much latitude as necessary and would welcome the Committee's comments before he submitted the budget. Mr. Bressner commented the Committee missed the window to provide this type of information this year, but not next year. They could have a plan and advise Mr. Bressner of it. He needs that viewpoint because there is a rationale for the budget. He pointed out It was still the citizen's perspective on the budget that was superior than a staff-only perspective. Mr. Bressner commented he could miss something and if he could vet the ideas through the group, it would be more responsive to the community and result in a better product. 7 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 11, 2010 Dr. Abrams commented he perceived the public wants to know where their dollars go. He would like to adopt performance budgeting so when the budget is released it says it cost "X" dollars to fix something compared to a national norm, etc. It would show the cost per ambulance run - it was a performance measurement. Mr. Bressner commented Boynton Beach was already doing that and everything was costed out. The International City Managers' Association or similar entity has published guidebooks regarding benchmarks for Cities to use. If the City wanted to help the public understand what the public was receiving for their dollars and why revenue raises may be in order, they needed to be well equipped to show where the money is going or show in real terms what things cost which could justify what they are doing. One challenge the Committee has was they could not do a real good benefit analysis and that was why they want a citizen survey. It would provide them with the knowledge of what the public was willing to pay for services and provide hard data from all residents; not just the vocal few that show up for issues. It was suggested if they did the survey, the media person could broadcast it to the newspaper to show what they came up with and forward it to Mr. Bressner to distribute. Mr. Bressner agreed as long as it was appropriately distributed, tabulated, and statistically valid. Q. As to having meetings outside at other City facilities, does Boca have a City Services Institute where the public can actually visit all of the City departments? A. Dr. Abrams was not aware of it but thought it was a good idea. There was discussion the City holds the Institute and charges $25 for the program. Mr. Bressner also commented he liked the group to meet at different venues such as the Fire Department, the recreational facilities, the west treatment plant, etc. If the Board wanted to hear a presentation from the Recreation Department at a recreational facility, they could do so and there was agreement they would. The next department presentation would be from the Development and Utilities Department. There was also discussion of meeting in City Commission Chambers or other available City conference room when they heard the Police Department presentation and then have a tour of the Police Department after the meeting. Q. Do outsiders attend the meetings? A. The meetings are open to public and from time to time, they come. Q Do you do pensions? A. The Labor Relations Board is involved in pension negotiations but the Board looks at pension funding as a major issue. At the last meeting, the pension administrator reviewed the funding and the actuary was present via telephone. On the pension side, there is a lot of State law that affects how the negotiations take place. The Board has many thoughts, but the issue was very politically driven in Tallahassee. Dr. Abrams explained the Labor Relations Board handles the pension negotiations and it is comprised mostly of City officials and union representatives. Mr. Bressner commented Boynton Beach has three pension boards and he would check on it. Dr. Abrams noted pensions are a major concern and a sensitive issue. They would like to recommend a lot of things. 8 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 11, 2010 Mr. Bressner explained by State law, pensions are a mandatory item in collective bargaining. The only exception is if the municipality opted not to participate in the plan which provides for receipt of premium tax and casualty insurance monies specifically collected for fire and police. Additionally, there are administrative rulings through the Department of Insurance having the effect and force of law, that are now being questioned by municipalities wanting to know the basis they have to promulgate these regulations. The push back has been municipalities are refusing to comply until the legal basis for them is provided. He commented Boynton Beach is questioning them. There will be some focus of discussion of it in Tallahassee and the Florida League of Cities is monitoring the matter. It appears there is a third world of regulation that does not have the force of law and these regulations became memorialized and then vested benefits. They are letter directives by an administrative staff person to individual municipalities that became almost surrogate regulations. There was further discussion about the City of Delray pension obligations not essentially being on the books. Dr. Abrams explained their pension was fully funded for years but was not now. It had to do with the investment earnings. His concern was they use the same assumption that is used across the country which was 8%. Cities are indicating they have to start changing the assumption, but the manner in which it is changed could have a dramatic effect on the City's financial condition. The issue is this has a long-term effect and they cannot change the function. Q. Can you do business with the City in the bond capacity? A. Dr. Abrams responded he would not do so. The Treasurer was the money manager and she provided the information. Additionally, when the City goes to market with the bonds, they have financial managers. There was discussion that another way to raise money for the City was through annexations. Mr. Bressner explained Boynton entered an Interlocal Service Boundary agreement, which was a long-range plan to square off Boynton's boundary. They were currently negotiating with the County and conducting a cross-benefit analysis. It was a long-term process authorized by the City Commission and there were properties the County wanted the City to annex right away, but the City also had their areas they wanted to address. He explained the average citizen does not care what color fire engine shows up for an emergency, as long as it arrived within a certain time and they received a level of care. Dr. Abrams commented Boca Raton has rules when doing annexations. They bring in a consultant to show if they would derive more tax monies than revenues from the expansions. As an example, Boca Del Mar petitioned to be included in the City and Boca turned them down. They also have a water and sewer system that extends beyond the City boundaries. Accordingly, the City was willing to annex those areas because it was cheaper to do with those systems in place. His neighborhood was included in the annexation that bought in the Town Center Mall. His water and sewer charges went down and it was a net benefit to the City. Chair Scantlan assumed they charged more for out-of-city residents than residents. Mr. Bressner explained Boynton charges an additional 25%. Boca's tax rate is very low and given the fact that Boca's millage rate was in the 3 range, in Boca - it would be a go. In Boynton's case with the 6.7 mils range, from a pure property tax perspective, it would not compute to a 9 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL October 11, 2010 reduction. It may be closer to the 25% reduction in terms of the utility, it might be a break even for Boynton Beach, but for individual taxpayer, it would never be a savings. That was one of the reasons for the resistance. Dr. Abrams summarized Boca Raton has a strong management team in the City. The Council makes the political decisions and sets the policy. The Financial Advisory Board reviews issues concerning the City's finances and they provide an extra set of eyes on the City's books and recommend it to the Council. The direction they want to start to go is for the Council to realize they have an asset (the Board) that in the long term could help provide input of ways to reduce expenses or ways to increase revenues. They are the thermometer to take the temperature in the community. The members found the presentation very helpful and thanked Dr. Abrams. Dr. Abrams wished the Board well. Motion Mr. Feldman moved to adjourn. Mr. Madigan seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting was adjourned at 7:42 p.m. (] CLtiWLUYLc (j~ljdL, Catherine Cherry ~ Recording Secretary 10