2007-09-19 Audit Finance Committee Minutes 1 MINUTES
2 AUDIT/FINANCE COMMITTEE
3 September 19,2007
4
5 After determining that a quorum was present, the Audit/Finance Committee of the City of
6 Denton, Texas convened in a regular meeting, Wednesday, September 19, 2007, at 11:45 a.m. in
7 the City Council Work Session Room, at City Hall, 215 E. McKinney Street, Denton, Texas at
8 which the following items were considered:
9
10 OPEN MEETING:
11
12 PRESENT: Mayor Perry R. McNeill, and Deputy Mayor Pro Tem, Joe Mulroy, and Council
13 Member, Chris Watts.
14
15 Ex Officio members present included Internal Auditor, Steve Shepherd, City Manager, George
16 Campbell, and Assistant City Managers Jon Fortune, and Howard Martin,
17
18 Others present included Shirlene Sitton and Scott Lebsack.
19
20 1. Consider approval of the Audit/Finance Committee Minutes of:
21 A. July 17, 2007
22 m_.__._-_
23 Mulroy moved approval of the minutes, with a second by McNeill. Minutes approved
24 (3-0).
25
26 2. Management Report:
27 A. Audit/Finance Committee Action Item Matrix
28
29 Mulroy stated that the matrix appeared to be current and in good order and was approved (3-0),
30
31 B. Municipal Court Software Memo
32
33 Mulroy recapped a question that was brought up in prior meetings because the previous
34 Munici al Cour# oftware Memo was inconsistent with the information that was presented
35 to Council through the CAPR meeting. Judge Ramsay amended the original memo.
36 Essentially it recognizes the previous dialog with the CAPR Committee and provides a
37 revised status that we are essentially still looking to make this major purchase, but we are
38 waiting for the technology to be proved out. Mulroy wanted to be sure that the Audit/Finance
39 Committee, the CAPR Committee, and Judge were all in sync. The specifics regarding the
40 software improvements are management decisions.
41
42 McNeill questioned if from the CAPR Committee standpoint, are they are satisfied with the
43 reconciliation?
44
45 Mulroy responded that the revised letter is now consistent with the CAPR Committee
46 understanding.
47
1
48 C. Report on Research regarding Fund Balance Determination
49
5o L,angley stated that he had researched how other cities determine their Fund Balance. Based
51 on his survey it is clear that there is not a uniform standard followed by any particular city.
52 Some use number of days, some use percentage of revenues, and expenditures. He also
53 looked at the Government Finance Officers Association and their recommendation for fund
54 balances. They recommend 5 to 15% of operating revenues for one to two months of
55 operational expenses. There is a wide variation ways to measure it.
56
57 He also looked at bond ratings of the surveyed cities. There doesn't appear to be a direct
58 correlation to the bond ratings and their fund balance policy.
59
60 Langley stated that after looking at all of that information and looking at the wide variation
61 of requirements out there; our conclusion is that 15 % is a reasonable figure. He also
62 suggested looking at some other scenarios that will give additional flexibility.
63
64 Langley also suggested the possibility of excluding transfers and one-time uses of reserve
65 funds from the fund balance calculation.
66
67 Mulroy stated that Council has not had a definitive forwardlooking forecast prior to the last
68 few years. We now have developed a format where we have a good look at a reliable
69 five-year forecast. As we grow, a 15 % and balance might be a more-rigid numbef-than
70 we'd like for it to be.
71
72 McNeill stated that McKinney is the only one that uses revenues. Was it last year's or this
73 year's projected revenues.
74
75 Langley responded that is based on their budget revenues.
76
77 McNeill stated that our 15% is a good number.
78
79 Watts questioned how many days of operation the 15%fund balance gives us.
80
81 Langley responded,roughly 60 days.
82
83 Fortune added that this is also why the issue of including transfers and one time use of fund
84 balances is important. Because they are not a recurring daily expense you may not
85 necessarily want to include them in the fund balance calculation.
86
87 Watts stated he was on board with the 15%.
88
89 Mulroy suggested one sample pro-forma show a flexible 15% with a minimum of 45 days
90 operating funds.
91
92 ACTION ITEM: Provide examples of pro-forma's showing options for fund balance
93 calculations,
2
94 3. Receive a report, hold a discussion, and give staff direction regarding the City Auditor's
95 Risk Assessment matrix,and proposed 2008 Audit Plan.
96
97 Shepherd stated that he has provided a risk matrix that he developed over the years. It
98 includes all of the auditable units that have been identified for Denton to this point. The
99 model is dynamic in that it can change. The overall risk assessment portion works like a grid
100 with the rows on the left showing the auditable units; the columns over the top show the risk
101 factors that are identified with this model; and shows the significance rating for each one of
102 those areas. Significance numbers are weighted. For each significance ranking it shows a
103 descriptive value. Those weightings are applied based on management and council input, as
104 well as our observations.
105
106 Shepherd stated that the items in Exhibit 4 are the ones we need to look at this year.
107
108 Watts questioned if the areas items on exhibit 4 are in order of how they will be performed.
109
110 Shepherd responded they are merely ranked in order of associated risk.
111
112 Mulroy stated that Shepherd is presenting a working model of how the risk assessment plan
113 would work and that Council/management input is required on the columns with that title.
114 Our step is to decide our level of interest, in collaboration with the City Manager, so that we
115 do come up with a prioritization or risk assessment reflective of our input: In'the short term,
116 the Committee needs to look at some that are of obvious high priority. Then with
117 collaboration between Council and management quantify our interest and then rescore the
118 Council/management risk factor column of the risk assessment.
119
120 Mulroy stated that he would like to see Shepherd look at P-Cards, the Police Property room,
121 and EMS. McNeill requested Shepherd look at Hotel Occupancy Tax.
122
123 Shepherd stated the Exhibit 4 provides an estimate of how long each audit will take.
124
125 Mulroy stated that in going forward, Shepherd should find a suitable way to circulate the list
126 of auditable units to determine areas of interest. As you schedule the risk assessment, see
127 how much time the City Manager needs to use your services for his projects. Then we can
128 come back with a definitive program. We expect this to be a moving target for next couple
129 of years until we get a lot of familiarity and are able to better predict things.
130
131 Shepherd stated that he planned to circulate Exhibit 3 and ask for the Committee's input to
132 rank items.
133
134 ACTION ITEM: In short term, make plans to conduct audit of P-Cards, Police Property
135 room, Hotel Occupancy Tax, and EMS.
136
137 ACTION ITEM: Circulate schedule of auditable units for City Council and management to
138 rank the Council/management risk factor portion of the risk assessment.
139
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140 4. Receive a report, hold a discussion, and give staff direction regarding the 2007 External
141 Audit.
142
143 Mulroy requested that this item be presented first so that the representatives from KMPG
144 would not have to sit through the first items on the agenda.
145
146 Langley stated that the City entered in to agreement with KPMG in June of 2005 and that this
147 is the third year of the agreement. Langley introduced Dee Niles, Partner, and Angela
148 Dunlap, Senior Manager.
149
150 Niles said the objective of their work includes: obtaining reasonable, not absolute, assurance
151 that the basic financial statements are free of material errors and misstatements and presented
152 in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles; conduct the audit in accordance
153 with generally accepted auditing standards and Government Auditing Standards; focus
154 attention on high risk and significant areas related to the financial statements; and gain
155 understanding of internal control structure around financial statements to determine nature,
156 timing, and extent of audit procedures to be performed.
157
158 Dunlap discussed the Financial Audit Process, including areas of responsibility for
159 management, as well as, KPMG. One of the things KPMG does as their audit approach is to
160 conduct fraud interviews with key City personnel. They conduct interviews with various
161 individuals within the organization to talk about specifics around some of the problem factors
162 they may want to look into as part of their audit approach. The other item is testing key
163 internal controls over financial reporting - usually things like reconciliation, management
164 review, approval of expenditures and approval of capital asset acquisitions. The key areas of
165 audit testing that they typically focus their attention on is cash and investments, significant
166 assets of the organization, receivables and related allowances, capital assets, some acquisition
167 of retirement pensions, and any type of accrued liabilities. They look at the activity around
168 debt— from the actual issuances to debt service payment. They look at self insurance; some
169 of the workers compensation areas; health insurance; and some of the major revenue
170 expenditure items on a fund level basis. As part of the audit approach they identify and audit
171 the major funds of the City.
172
173 KPMG plans to come in October to do interim field work, primarily working on control
174 testing and probably some capital assets, as well as, debt activity and major revenue and
175 expenditure items. The final fieldwork begins the week of December 11. They will be
176 working on the financial statement audit and getting to the point where they anticipate being
177 able to come back to the Audit/Finance Committee in February with the issue reports, which
178 include: their opinion on the September 30, 2007 basic financial statements of the City;
179 Independent Auditors' Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting; Independent
180 Auditors' Report on Compliance with Requirements Applicable to grants; and Management
181 Letter.
182
183 McNeill questioned what technique KPMG uses for statistical sampling, and how they select
184 what they are going to audit. Niles responded that they use a monetary unit sampling
185 software program.
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4
186 McNeill questioned how they conduct fraud interviews. Niles responded that they set up
187 interviews with the City Manager and people inside and outside of the Finance department to
188 ask if there is any fraud that they are aware of.
189
190 McNeill stated that he had no concerns and has the greatest confidence in the process.
191
192 Mulroy stated that he wanted them to understand that they really work for the Council
193 through the Audit/Finance Committee and he wanted to make sure that they are clear that as
194 the audit progresses, they have immediate access to the Committee and can get to Council if
195 there is a circumstance that requires their attention immediately.
196
197 5. Receive a report, hold a discussion, and give staff direction regarding the impact of HB
198 621 dealing with Freeport exemptions.
199
200 Langley stated that at the last legislative session the legislature passed HB 621, a bill related
201 to property tax exemptions for business personal property. Right now we have a Freeport
202 exemption for all business personal property. They are asking taxing entities to look at an
203 additional exemption. The current Freeport exemption provides tax free treatment for goods
204 that are being shipped to out of state suppliers.
205
206 Goods held in a Denton warehouse for 175 days or less and being shipped out of State, such
207 as to Kansas for final assembly are currently getting an exemption. The current impact of
208 these exemptions right now is about is $172 million of appraised value and comes out to
209 about $1.2 million in lost tax revenue. KB 621 will change the exemption to make it also
210 applicable to Intrastate transactions. What that means is those goods held for 175 days or
211 less and shipped to another location in Texas, such as Houston, could also be exempted under
212 HB 621.
213
214 The impact of this new legislation is at least $45 million in appraisal value could become tax
215 exempt, and that is equivalent to about $300,000 in tax revenue per year.
216
217 The actual impact is still uncertain. There are some previsions in the legislation that allows
218 the location to be changed legally that would allow the exemptions to be easier to obtain by
219 making "paper changes" in ownership. The legislation would become effective January 1,
220 2008. We do have the ability to opt out of the legislation. To opt out we would need to
221 conduct a public hearing and approve a resolution. North Central Texas Council of
222 Governments(NCTCOG) is currently in the process of circulating an "opt out" resolution for
223 cities in the north Texas area and is also concerned about the impact of the legislation. The
224 idea is that we would have uniformity of how we are going to approach this issue so that the
225 City of Denton is not doing something in isolation with the rest of the metroplex.
226
227 Our recommendation is to pursue this approach with NCfGOG and look at the regional
228 approach of the resolution and opt of the legislation by January 1, 2008 and then monitor the
229 impact of the legislation going forward. We can always opt into it after January 1, but if we
230 don't opt out before January 1, we can't opt out after that point,
231
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232 Watts questioned if we know the economic benefit of companies that are here and are taking
233 advantage of the Freeport exemption. If we're looking at a loss of $1.2 million are we
234 making that up somewhere else? Are we going to bring in enough people to take advantage
235 of this to have a positive economic impact?
236
237 Mulroy stated that we need to opt out to preserve our choices, but then we need to weigh the
238 overall economic impact. We need time to do that. January 1 is pretty close.
239
240 Campbell questioned if the Freeport exemption "opt out" option is available to other
241 jurisdictions other than the City, like the County or DISD.
242
243 Fortune responded yes, and we are scheduled to brief the school district at the next City
244 Council/DISD Luncheon.
245
246 Mulroy stated that it seemed to him that we need to opt out. It is going to take more than 4—
247 6 weeks to study it and then try to get our best assessment of the facts and then by the end of
248 next year have a more definitive position on it. Can we get this to Council to get this
249 resolution soon enough?
250
251 Langley responded that he already has a draft of the NCTCOG resolution and can bring that
252 forward to Council. We will need to have a public hearing.
253
254 Campbell stated that we need to know what response we're getting from the other cities and
255 jurisdictions in the north Texas area.
256
257 Langley responded that Euless approved a resolution a couple of weeks ago opting out.
258 Arlington is still looking at it and other cities, but don't know where they are in the process.
259
260 Mulroy stated that we will forward these minutes to Council and include Langley's Power
261 Point so they will have a head start on the information.
262
263 ACTION ITEM: Initiate process with City Council to opt out of the Intrastate Freeport
264 exemption provided by HB 621.
265
266 6. Receive a report, hold a discussion, and give staff direction regarding a new template for
267 a Quarterly Financial Report.
268
269 Langley reported the Finance department is creating a new template for a Quarterly
270 Financial Report. The reports are intended to: be forward looking; provide meaningful
271 information on developing economic and financial trends; and assist staff and Council with
272 assessing our financial capabilities.
273
274 The reports include four sections: Executive Dashboards; Financial Summary; Revenue and
275 Economic Analysis; and Investment Report.
276
277 Langley described the four report sections.
6
278 McNeill stated that on the monthly sales tax, it would be good for Council to see last year's
279 quarter comparisons. Langley said that information can be included.
280
281 Fortune stated that there is a lot less detail on the Financial Summary than we previously have
282 given. Five pages of revenue have been summarized to show the major items and the rest is
283 consolidated into a miscellaneous category.
284
285 Langley stated that regarding Revenue and Economic Analysis we're going to look at all key
286 revenue sources and economic indicators. For example, personal income. This is an
287 economic indicator and we are checking to see if there is anything we can be looking at on a
288 monthly or quarterly basis that will help us better project revenue. There is a strong
2.89 correlation between the sales tax we receive and personal income index,
290
291 McNeil questioned why bar charts were used on one and line graphs for the other one.
292
293 McNeill stated that it would be easier to compare if he had two line graphs.
294
295 Langley responded that staff is happy to modify the graph.
296
297 I.,angley reported that future reports will include information on all major funds, and revenue
298 and economic analysis will be expanded.
299
300 Mulroy questioned if the intention was pass the report on to council or make a separate
301 presentation.
302
303 Langley responded that it would be provided to the Audit/Finance Committee and ultimately
304 to City Council.
305
306 Fortune stated that because of the schedule of the Audit/Finance Committee meetings, if a
307 meeting falls within 45 — 60 days from the end of the quarter, it may take two months for the
308 Audit/Finance Committee to see it for the first time.
309
310 Mulroy stated that once the Audit/Finance Committee reviews it they can get it to City
311 Council within a few days, attached to the minutes of the meeting.
312
313 Campbell questioned if Fortune was concerned that after the end of a quarter it might be a
314 period of time between the report being available and the City Council seeing it.
315
316 McNeill stated he would rather see the report come to the Committee first.
317
318 Mulroy stated that he appreciated the initiative from Fortune and Langley bringing precise
319 financial information and the idea of educating the Committee, and City Council.
320
321 7. Receive a report,hold a discussion, and give staff direction regarding the Commercial
322 Recycling rate schedule.
323
7
324 Martin reported that the Committee had asked for an overview of the Commercial. recyclin�
325 program with focus on the development of fixed rates for the commercial recycling rate
326 schedule. He provided a revised rate schedule to include the six rates for different container
327 sizes. Martin reported that they are anticipating a recycle ordinance for special events. He
328 also described a recycle rate for small commercial customers, which is very similar to
329 residential curbside customers. Martin provided a financial overview of all the recycling
330 services currently offered through the recycling division, paying specific attention to the
331 commercial component and giving some information as it relates to cost and revenue.
332
333 The future of the recycling program will be tied heavily to the initiative of trying to establish a
334 materials recovery system in Denton. Reduction in transportation costs and increased revenue
335 from material sales will benefit to the current program.
336
337 The commercial recycling program is pretty close to a breakeven point. That particular
338 program is being supported by the commercial refuse by about 2 %. If you look at cost
339 avoidance (not having to take that material to landfill), not having to construct landfill space
340 and the cost of operations; then it has an inherent value by not taking it to the landfill.
341
342 McNeill had questions regarding the Municipal buildings collection rate and process.
343
344 Martin responded that Solid Waste comes into the building to collect the carts versus having
345 someone take them to the curb for collection.
346
347 McNeill stated that he has seen what looks like commercial entities at the schools collecting
348 recycle materials.
349
350 Sitton responded that the other entity is Abitibi Recycling. They put containers at schools and
351 non- profits. They only take paper and they don't do any type of educational support. The
352 program we have in the schools is a single stream, full-scale, educational support that teaches
353 recycle lessons that is extremely successful. DISD has asked that next year all schools will be
3S4 on the City's program.
355
356 Watts questioned on the drop off sites at the multi-family homes/ 1.75 per door; there is a
357 concern about the convenience of apartment dwellers recycling. There are about 16 - 17
358 thousand doors which is probably about 40-50 % of residential homes. That's about half of
359 the recycle population. It seems we are charging multi-family disproportionally and giving
360 them no incentive.
361
362 Mulroy stated there is a different burden on apartment dwellers. We may need to look at this.
363 When the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF)comes on line the economics will change. Then
364 we will have to reevaluate what we are doing. At the same time it will be a great time to took
365 at multi-family. Should we go to a cart system and do away with the drop off? How do we
366 market the program? How do we make it a convenience?
367
368 Mulroy asked about providing incentives to the middle size commercial customer.
369
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370 Sitton responded that if you are commercial customer and on a residential route and don't
371 have a lot of recycling, you are eligible for the residential type rate.
372
373 McNeill questioned if part of what he's paying for is transportation. Once we have a MRF
374 and the service provider is not driving to Fort Worth,will his rate go down?
375
376 Lebsack responded the transportation charge will decrease, but that savings will be offset by a
377 reduction in a credit provided to us for materials no longer taken to the offsite MRF.
378
379 Watts stated that what he is hearing is that when the MRF comes, at that time the multi-family
380 recycling will be addressed.
381
382 Mulroy stated it is environmentally a desirable thing to do. The economics have changed to
383 make recycling more viable. Social conscience has changed. Once we have a MRF it will be
384 the time to make recycling more convenient. This will take 2-3 years to develop.
385
386 Watts stated that Denton is primarily comprised of many smaller apartment complexes with 4,
387 6, and 8 units, many of those on streets that already have curbside collection, so can you put a
388 small cart on the curbs of those apartment complexes.
389
390 Martin responded that we will have the opportunity to revisit the issue. We understand
-391 Council's-desire to include multi=family recycling.
392
393 Martin stated that the goal is to take the revisions to the rate ordinance to the PUB on
394 Monday, and the City Council backup you get on the 25", will include the new rate
395 ordinances.
396
397 ACTION ITEM: Bring revised Solid Waste rate ordinance that includes new commercial
398 recycling rates to City Council for approval.
399
400 8. New Business — This item provides an opportunity for the Committee members to
401 suggest items for future agendas or to request information for future meetings.
402
403 No new business items were requested.
404
405 9. Subsequent Meeting Schedule—Discuss subsequent meeting needs and schedules—
406
407 Fortune stated that the next opportunity to come back would be with the external audit in
408 early February.
409
410 Meeting adjourned at 1:25 prn
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