Montgomery News

City of Rockville Financial Advisory Board met Oct. 23.

Here is the minutes provided by the board:

PRESENT:

Board Members: Andrew Brammer, Jack Kelly, Kuan Lee, Corey Orlosky, Sylvia Pacher, Bob Wright (Board chair)

Mayor and Council Liaison: Beryl Feinberg

Staff Liaison: Stacey Webster, Deputy Director of Finance

Staff: Rob DiSpirito, City Manager; Gavin Cohen, Chief Financial Officer/Director of Finance; Jessica Lewis, Director of Procurement

Guest and Prospective Board Member: Darryl Parrish

ABSENT: None

I. Call to Order

Mr. Wright called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. He introduced Darryl Parrish, a prospective Board member and current Fallsmead resident. The Board members introduced themselves to Mr. Parrish and Mr. Parrish provided a brief background about himself.

II. Approve Agenda

Mr. Wright asked the Board to review and approve the agenda. Mr. Orlosky requested that Ms. Blow’s name be updated to Ms. Lewis.

III. Approve Minutes

Mr. Kelly made a motion to approve the minutes from September 5, 2018. Mr. Orlosky seconded the motion. All members voted in favor.

IV. Reports

 Councilmember Beryl Feinberg

Councilmember Feinberg reported that the City appointed a new City Clerk/Director of Council Operations, Sara Taylor-Ferrell.

Councilmember Feinberg reported that the Mayor and Council held a special Town Hall meeting to discuss the future of Town Square. The meeting, which was held at VisArts, was well attended by members of the community and Town Square stakeholders.

Councilmember Feinberg reported that the budget process has begun and that departments are busy working on their budgets. She also mentioned that the Mayor and Council will once again hold an early public hearing so that the community can get involved at the beginning of the FY 2020 budget process. The public hearing is scheduled for November 19, 2018.

 Stacey Webster, Staff Liaison – nothing to report.

 FAB Member Reports

Mr. Wright reported that he attended a Mayor and Council meeting when the King Farm Horse Barn was discussed. He mentioned that it would cost approximately $60,000 to shore up/stabilize the Barn; this was approved by a 3-2 vote. He is unsure if the current Task Force will continue or if a new one will be formed to discuss the use of the Barn.

Mr. Wright reported that a work group was formed to help with the overall process of the circulator study/transit gap analysis. Mr. Wright is a member of the work group and believes the Board has good representation from all stakeholders. He said it was a productive first meeting with the consultant, FourSquare. They had a map and plotted out all the major “people centers” in Rockville. Mr. Wright noted that bus service already exists along many of these people centers. The work group will likely produce a report by March 2019.

Mr. Orlosky asked about the status of the updates to the Recreation and Parks Cost Recovery Policies. Ms. Webster reported that staff’s recommendations/updates will be presented to the Board at the next meeting on November 29, 2018.

Mr. Lee would like to discuss with his colleagues how they would like to proceed with the performance measures action item. Mr. Kelly said their meeting with Public Works was helpful, but he believes there is room for improvement in the department.

Mr. Kelly said that he would like the Board to approve his memorandum that clarifies what the Board will review and comment on as it relates to the City’s procurement work products. Mr. Wright would like to approve the memorandum under New Business.

Mr. Kelly asked about the status of the Compensation and Classification Study RFP. Mr. DiSpirito said that staff is still working on drafting the RFP.

Ms. Pacher reported that the Caregiver Task Force is still working on the process using their established subgroups. Their next meeting will be in November.

Mr. Kelly said that he was selected as a member of the Boards and Commissions Task Force. Mr. DiSpirito said that the Task Force has not started yet, but to stay tuned for more information.

V. Old Business

 Mr. Wright said that the FY 2018 Final Report and FY 2019 Action Plan was presented to the Mayor and Council on October 8, 2018. The Mayor and Council approved adding #15 to the FY 2019 Action Plan.

 Performance Measures – Mr. Lee said they would like to work with Public Works to identify key elements within the Department's "good" performance measures. They will use this division/cost center to develop a framework to consider in other areas of the organization. Mr. DiSpirito told the Board they can reach out to Mr. Simoneau directly to set up additional meetings.

 Follow-up from Last Meeting – Mr. Wright asked if the Board members sent their comments to Human Resources on the Compensation and Classification Study; Mr. DiSpirito reported that all comments were received, and that staff is working through some final issues with the City Attorney’s Office. Mr. Wright said that the Board is expecting to review a complete draft of the RFP. Mr. DiSpirito said that Ms. Marshall will send the Board the final RFP.

Mr. Wright reported that Mr. Brammer was appointed to the Board in September after meeting with the Mayor.

Mr. Wright reported that the special September 25th Board meeting was canceled because the Procurement report was moved to the November 19th Mayor and Council agenda.

VI. Guest Speaker

Ms. Jessica Lewis, Director of Procurement, was available to answer questions on the Annual Procurement Report. Mr. Kelly started by saying that he wants to see more bullets/text that describes what the reader is seeing in the charts and tables. He likes the various presentations of information, like charts and graphs, but feels the report is lacking context.

Mr. Brammer and Councilmember Feinberg said that they would like more information on the major year-over-year variations. Councilmember Feinberg suggested Ms. Lewis add an executive summary that highlights some of this information.

Mr. Brammer asked about the policies that govern “exempt” services. Ms. Lewis said that exemptions are defined by City Code. Councilmember Feinberg asked Ms. Lewis to add examples of exemptions to the presentation.

Mr. Kelly asked about the decrease in change orders. Ms. Lewis said that the departments are doing a better job at anticipating the needs of their projects.

Mr. Wright asked if Ms. Lewis would consider adding an executive summary. Councilmember Feinberg would like Ms. Lewis to add a slide to the presentation, not just an additional sheet in the agenda report.

Mr. Kelly requested that Ms. Lewis add tables behind the pie charts on slides 13 and 14.

Mr. Kelly reported that slide 15 is new and that he is delighted to see it included. He asked why slide 15 and slide 4 are different. Ms. Lewis said that only the major commodity categories are included on slide 15, but total is on slide 4. The Board asked that she add a footnote to slide 15.

Councilmember asked Ms. Lewis to add the dollar values to slide 19; she also asked if she could break out by M, F, and D.

Mr. Wright asked when this would be presented to the Mayor and Council. Ms. Lewis said that it will be presented on November 19th.

Mr. Wright asked Ms. Lewis if she was going to make all the recommended edits; Ms. Lewis said that she will make the minor changes and include an executive summary. She will take the remaining changes/suggestions under consideration for next year.

VII. New Business

Mr. Wright asked the Board to vote on Mr. Kelly’s memorandum that clarifies the Board’s role related to procurement reports produced throughout the year. Mr. Brammer made the motion to send the memo to the City Manager; Mr. Kelly seconded the motion. All members voted in favor.

Mr. Wright said that Mr. Kelly will be responsible for item #15. Mr. Wright asked for a Board member volunteer for item #6; nobody volunteered at this time.

Mr. Wright created a Board roster that he passed around to verify contact information. VIII. Future Meeting Dates and Future Agendas

https://www.rockvillemd.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_10232018-2382