Montgomery News

City of Rockville Financial Advisory Board met April 25.

Here is the minutes provided by the Board:

Present: Board Members: Jack Kelly (Chair), Corey Orlosky, Kuan Lee, Sylvia Pacher, Bob Wright

Mayor and Council Liaison: Beryl Feinberg

Staff Liaison: Stacey Webster, Deputy Director of Finance

Staff: Gavin Cohen, Director of Finance/Chief Financial Officer

Absent: None

The meeting commenced at 6:31 p.m.

I. Approval of Minutes from March 27, 2018

Mr. Lee made a motion to approve the minutes from March 27, 2018. Mr. Wright seconded the motion. All members voted in favor.

II. Discussion of FY 2019 Action Plan

Mr. Kelly reported that he compiled action items/short term objectives from the FY 2019 budget document. He started to review the items on the list as they compared to current action plan items. The items below, which are not in the current action plan, were discussed:

• Mr. Lee said he was interested in more information on establishing new public/private partnerships. This was a short-term objective in the City Manager’s Office (page 120).

• Mr. Kelly said he was interested in the biennial community survey. This was a short-term objective in the City Manager’s Office (page 120). Ms. Webster said the Board might want to get more information from the City Manager’s Office to better understand the process and the survey. Mr. Orlosky expressed some concern about it not being the responsibility of the Board. Mr. Wright said that it sounds like a gray area and that survey design is complicated. Mr. Kelly then agreed that the Board should provide their input by making recommendations to the City’s existing performance measures.

• Mr. Kelly said that the Board should be involved in drafting/reviewing the statement of work included in the RFP for the compensation and classification consultant (listed in the Department of Human Resources on page 171).

Mr. Kelly said that he will update the FY 2019 action plan for the next meeting with the newly discussed items. He also said that he will turn the FY 2018 action plan into an annual report for the Mayor and Council. He asked the Board to review the information that he sent to make sure everything is up-to-date. Mr. Kelly will request a meeting date from Kathleen Conway for sharing the Board’s plan with the Mayor and Council.

III. FY 2019 Budget Review

Mr. Kelly sent the Board a draft memo on the FY 2019 performance measures two weeks prior to this meeting. The draft memo recommended that performance measures that did not meet their stated targets be shown in red to draw attention to them. The Board debated whether performance measures that are out of compliance with their targets should be highlighted as recommended in the draft. Ms. Webster said that she prefers not to call out measures that are out of compliance. Mr. Orlosky agreed and said that a measure could be out of compliance for various reasons. Councilmember Feinberg offered a suggestion that measures that are out of compliance or that have large variances from the prior year could include a footnote to help explain what is happening.

Mr. Kelly expressed his concern about inconsistencies with the format of some of the performance measures. More specifically, he pointed out that some targets used “>” while others used “≥” and that some targets were expressed as “percent of” while others were expressed as “percentage of.” Ms. Webster explained that the performance measures are all different and unique by department, and therefore, their target goals are expressed differently.

Mr. Kelly also expressed concern that some FY 2019 proposed goals were out of compliance with the stated targets. Ms. Webster explained that staff are realistic when establishing their FY 2019 numbers, and that the targets represent the ultimate goal that staff are working towards.

Mr. Kelly noted that there were differences in some of the performance measure results reported in the budget document versus the results reported in the Community Surveys. Ms. Webster said that her staff would double check these measures and verify that the information is consistent with the Community Survey results.

The Board did not want to comment on the changes to the FY 2019 budget as recommended by the City Manager at the Mayor and Council meeting on April 23, 2018.

IV. Future Agendas

Mr. Kelly updated the Board on some procurement issues. Mr. Kelly expressed frustration that he was not prepared with a motion at the last meeting to express his concern with the procurement action plan timeline slipping. He said that Ms. Blow provided a more detailed timeline for the development of the Procurement Guide by chapter in her presentation to the Mayor and Council. Mr. Kelly hopes that in the future Ms. Blow will report that she has accomplished some of the plan.

Mr. Wright reported that the Circulator Study is still with Procurement.

Mr. Wright said that he has started to review the investment information and that the posted reports are not current. Ms. Webster reported that there was an issue with the Maryland Local Government Investment Pool rates that she needs to resolve before posting the investment reports for FY 2018.

Ms. Pacher reported that the work of the Caregiver Task Force is underway.

The next meeting is scheduled for June 5, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. and will include the following:

I. Approval of Minutes

II. FAB Member Reports

III. Finalize FY 2019 Action Plan

IV. Finalize performance measures memo to City Manager

V. Election of Board Chair to serve a one-year term

VI. Future Agendas

Action Items:

• Mr. Kelly will update the FY 2019 Action Plan.

• Mr. Kelly will update the performance measures memo for the City Manager

• Mr. Kelly will request a meeting date from Kathleen Conway for sharing the Board’s action plan with the Mayor and Council.

• Ms. Webster will ask the City Manager’s Office for a timeline of the Community Survey process.

• Ms. Webster will make sure the two Board vacancies are posted.

Mr. Wright made a motion to adjourn. Mr. Orlosky seconded the motion. All voted in favor.

The meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m.

http://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_04252018-2237