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Minutes 04-11-11 MINUTES OF THE FINANCIAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING HELD ON MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2011 AT 6:00 P.M. AT THE LIBRARY ROOM "A," BOYNTON BEACH, FLORIDA PRESENT Don Scantlan, Chair Michael Madalena, Vice Chair (arrived 6:16 p.rn.) George Feldman Terry Lonergan David Madigan Merline Pamplona William Shulman Kurt Bressner, City Manager Tim Howard, Assistant Finance Director 1. Call to Order Chair Scantlan called the meeting to order at 6:01 p.m. The recording secretary called the roll. A quorum was present. Motion Mr. Madigan moved to approve the agenda. Vice Chair Madalena seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 2. Approval of Minutes of March 28, 2011 The following corrections were made: Page 1, Mr. Bressner was listed at the meeting as "Kurt Bressner, City Manager Barry" Page 3, Shopper Hopper item, references to the Financial Advisory Committee (FAC) was listed as "Board" and should be Committee on lines 7 and 12, and the last three lines on page 5. Motion Mr. Madigan moved to approve the minutes as amended. Mr. Shulman seconded the motion that unanimously passed. 1 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL April 11 , 2011 3. Discussion of Expectations and Preparation for April 25 Workshop with the City Commission to present the Committee's Recommendations. Kurt Bressner, City Manager, explained April 25, 2011 would not work for a workshop, as there was a scheduling conflict with one of the City Commissioners. Alternate dates discussed were May 5, 12 or 19. Mr. Bressner suggested the 12th or 15th. The FAC preferred to meet on the 2nd or the 9th, and the workshop could be in place of the meeting. Plan B would be to meet on the 5th or 12th. The FAC was not scheduled to have another meeting until after they met with the City Commission. The budget workshops are scheduled for July 11, 12 and 13th. A Thursday meeting would likely be held at Intracoastal Park Clubhouse at 6:30 p.m. The budget workshops are anticipated to start in the early afternoon and end in the early evening. Chair Scantlan urged the members to have as much participation as possible in the budget process. Mr. Bressner will notify the members by email about the dates. Chair Scantlan expressed he was at the City Commission meeting. He told the Commission that he felt the Executive Summary would suffice, which the Commissioners had, and which he would present, but he felt that the Committee members should be present in the event of any questions. He thought it was appropriate to have a workshop. He noted the Commission wanted an estimate of cost savings on the items because some of the savings were listed on some of the recommendations and some did not. The fiscal impact of the items recommended to remain status quo should be listed. The Commission also noted the FAC did not make a recommendation on whether to raise the millage rate or not. Chair Scantlan responded to them that issue was a political decision. The report was posted on the City's webpage and was emailedtothemembers.Mr. Bressner agreed to email it to the members the next day along with the executive summary. He would also forward the complete report with all the chapters and executive summary to the City Commission. He will request they review it and if there are specific questions regarding any chapter, to send their questions to Mr. Bressner or the Chair so the members would be prepared to answer their questions. Discussion followed about the manner in which the members should support their recommendations. It was explained that the members have become subject matter experts on their recommendations, but the final decision is made by the City Commission. The members can state their findings and what they know from their research. It was anticipated there would be some items with a great deal of discussion. Chair Scantlan requested the members keep in mind that this was the FAC's first year and that they are present at the request of the City Commission. Their purpose is advisory in nature. The FAC members are volunteers. They conducted non-biased research and are a resource to the Commission. The Commissioners have the right to question their findings. They were not adversarial, but did recognize that some items 2 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL April 11, 2011 may be more sensitive than others. The F AC helped to provide alternatives. Mr. Bressner noted the members made compelling cases for a number of their recommendations and feedback he received was positive. It was anticipated the workshop would be in a panel discussion format. There would be questions on each recommendation. Although informational sources were not always listed in the report, the members would be available to report them. Chair Scantlan commented there was some concern about how to use the survey. He clarified with survey's there are some assumptions that must be used. He addressed two concerns about the randomness of the survey and if City employees had better information, greater motivation to participate and if there was any reason the survey could have been weighted from the perspective of a City employee. Chair Scantlan explained he could address those concerns. He could prove randomness and show there were some questions that a City employee would not have answered in the manner they were answered. The second item had to do with household income. The survey appeared to be answered by individuals with higher incomes. Chair Scantlan noted the data was there and it was a large enough sample size to reach 95% to 99% confidence and have a 5% error rate. No one could complain about the number of responses, but care had to be taken in it being an impartial sample. Chair Scantlan addressed those concerns. 4. Other Business Mr. Shulman noted there was a poor article about Boynton Beach in the Sun Sentinel compared to the Palm Beach Post. He inquired why. Mr. Bressner explained the papers had an arrangement and it had to do with edits. Vice Chair Madalena gave an update on pending legislation regarding pension reform, which would be discussed in Tallahassee on the 13th. If it did not pass, he would still be ready to make a recommendation. Future meeting dates were revisited and were subject to the will of the Commission. After the workshop with the Commission, members would try to attend the budget workshops. Unless the City Commission gave them an assignment, Chair Scantlan did not anticipate meeting at all in June. Mr. Feldman noted Delray Beach has a FAC and they are assigned tasks. Discussion followed the FAC would complete the tasks at hand before taking on more assignments; however, it was recognized that the City Commission, might request, time allowing, the F AC research another matter. As soon as the budget process was complete, the FAC will start meeting for next year's budget. Two alternate positions were open, and some members had terms that would 3 Meeting Minutes Financial Advisory Committee Boynton Beach, FL April 11, 2011 expire. Accordingly, those members had to reapply. Mr. Bressner reviewed each member's term. The application to be reappointed was on the City's website or from the City Clerk's Office. 5. Adjournment There was no further business to discuss. Motion Mr. Shulman moved to adjourn. Vice Chair Madalena seconded the motion that unanimously passed. The meeting adjourned at 6:44 p.m. ~~ Recording Secretary 041411 4