FINANCIAL REPORTING DISCUSSIONS CONTINUE

The August 17 Board Meeting of the Glen Ellyn Park District Board of Commissioners was called to Order at approximately 7:00 PM. A motion was made by Commissioner Bill Dallman and seconded by Commissioner Sandra Minogue to approve the Consent Agenda which included the Treasurers Report and the Voucher List of Bills totaling $338,321.59. The motion to approve the Consent Agenda passed unanimously.

The current Glen Ellyn Park Board Secretary will be retiring by the end of the year. As a result, a new Board Secretary needs to be appointed. Glen Ellyn Park District employee Katherine Wendland was nominated with a motion made by Commissioner Dallman and seconded by Commissioner Melissa Creech. The motion passed unanimously.

The Board and Staff continued their discussion on how they would like to receive Park District financial reports. The Sophomore Board Members are not satisfied with anything, want something different and the Board and Staff are trying to figure out what they would like.

Superintendent of Finance Laurie Wood presented a few examples and asked: what are they are looking for? Is the Board looking to set policy or plan daily operations? Woods quoted American novelist Ellen Glasgow who said: “All change is not growth: all movement is not forward”.

The Glen Ellyn Park District surveyed 60 Park Districts from Waukegan to Urbana as to their reporting to the public. These are the results of the 44 Park Districts responding:

30% have a comprehensive or strategic plan online,
4% have their audit online,
7% (3) publish their monthly Voucher List of Bills online,
9% have their detailed budget online,
1% (4) have a Board Packet online, and
No Park District has their Policy Manual online.

The Glen Ellyn Park District has all of these documents available on the Park District website.

Superintendent Woods also explained sound fiscal management and reporting per standard Government Accounting methods. Woods has previously attempted to explain to those Board members the differences in Balance Sheet accounting and Profit and Loss reporting and how mixing these 2 methods is NOT a standard accounting practice.

Commissioner Creech said she wants a memo notifying her of significant changes in expenses. When asked to define significant, there was no answer.

Commissioner Julia Nephew informed everyone that she watches the national news almost nightly and was impressed with all of those businesses she hears about on the TV who publish quarterly reports. Nephew asked why businesses can publish quarterly reports and the Glen Ellyn Park District cannot. Superintendent Woods explained to Nephew that she receives monthly financial reports – she does not have to wait for a quarterly report. These monthly reports can also be easily accessed by the Public on the Glen Ellyn Park District website.

Commissioner Sandra Minogue stated her satisfaction with current financial reporting and asked why these Commissioners require more and more reports. Minogue stated: “What do you want to do with all of the numbers all of the time and reports, completely feels like micromanaging. We are not going to decide where the money comes from that is the job of Staff; they are supposed to be on top of that”.

Minogue: “We are supposed to be here to set policy and to look at the big picture of the Park District; I do not understand the need for all of these numbers. This whole thing about being more transparent and getting more info out to the public I am all for it.”

Minogue: “I don’t see this room full of people concerned about us doing something incorrectly so I assume we must be doing things right.” With that Minogue glanced at the room, void of anyone except for a lone blogger and 2 Park District Vendors who appeared to be awaiting their turn in Executive Session. Minogue concluded her remarks with, “Why do we need all of this, what is the benefit of all of this?”

Nephew: “One example would be Platform Tennis coming forward and want to spend something like $100,000 and $200,000 on a new facility and they would like it to start in the fall before the next annual budget year”.

Nephew: “We would have to look at the numbers and decide if we could afford it, and if the Board Members don’t have an understanding of those numbers, then we cannot make an informed decision. If someone is happy to be confused about that than they can continue, but if someone would like to know and make a decision on correct info than why not do it?”

Nephew: “Otherwise we are only relying on what Staff says, and voting how Staff would want us to vote, instead of making our own decision based on the numbers”.

Minogue: “Oh, that’s what we are looking for here, for only relying on what Staff would give us?”

Nephew: “Is that what we should do? Just rely on what Staff would give us?”

Minogue: “So you don’t believe what you are getting from Staff?”

Nephew would not respond to Minogue’s inquiry.

Board President Ed Hess commented that the Board would not make decisions such as Nephew’s Platform Tennis proposal based solely on the fund balances. Hess remarked that Staff would most likely include options regarding bonds, perhaps interest free loans or even grants. Decisions like this are never based solely on fund balances; it is Staff’s responsibility to present available options to the Board.

Commissioner Bill Dallman stated that he would like to see how other Park Districts report their financial data before determining if changes should be made. Otherwise he has been satisfied with the data provided. Board President Ed Hess reminded all that any additional information financial information should be useful, and utilize proper accounting procedures.

Nephew asked: “Now I have a question about the Consent Agenda and since these two reports come under the Consent Agenda what exactly is that we are doing when we vote yes on the Treasurers Report and Voucher List, are we saying we approve of it? Are we saying we looked through it and we see no problems, Laurie (Woods) do you know officially?”

Superintendent of Finance Laurie Woods: “You’re approving it”.

The Consent Agenda usually contains the Voucher List of Bills. Every Agenda published by the Glen Ellyn Park District states:

Consent Agenda: All items are included in the Consent Agenda by the Board and will be enacted in one motion. There will be no separate discussion on these items unless a Board Member so requests, in which event the items will be removed from the Consent Agenda.

The Treasurer’s Report, Voucher List of Bills and Pay Requests are almost always placed on the Consent Agenda. The Agenda is placed in the Board Packet for the Commissioners to review in advance of Board Meetings. The Board Packet is always placed online prior to the meetings for the Public to review.

During Matters from Commissioners Board Chairman Ed Hess referred to the recent heavy rains and flooding near Lake Ellyn. Hess suggested inviting the Village to address the Board regarding their ongoing efforts at flood control at Lake Ellyn and Duchon Field.

After Matters from Staff and Commissioners the meeting adjourned into Executive Session at approximately 8:10 PM. The next Workshop Meeting of the Glen Ellyn Park District is scheduled for Tuesday, September 7, 2010 at 7:00 PM. The meetings are held at the Spring Avenue Recreation Center (SARC) 185 Spring Avenue. As with all meetings, the public is invited and welcome to attend.