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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06.07.2023 LRFC Meeting Documents Finance Department City Hall, 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1130 Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130 920.236.5005 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us MINUTES OF THE LONG RANGE FINANCE COMMITTEE April 5, 2023 The Long Range Finance Committee meeting was held on Wednesday, April 5, 2023, at 5:15pm in Room 404 at City Hall. The meeting was called to order by Matt Mugerauer at 5:15pm. Members Present: Matt Mugerauer, Karen Bowen, John Zarbano, Adam BellCorelli, Andrew Kramp, Mike Ford, Todd Hutchison Members Absent: Joe Stephenson, Koby Schellenger Staff Present: Russ Van Gompel – Director of Finance, Denise Edwards – Finance Management Analyst I. Citizen Input  None II. Staff Input:  Russ: Karen Bowen (Seat 1) and Andrew Kramp (Seat 8) terms are expiring 5/31/2023. Karen Bowen is withdrawing her membership and Andrew Kramp is interested in serving another term.  Appointments coming soon from Mayor  Boards & Commissions need to be tailored to be more efficient III. Approval of February 1, 2023 Minutes  MOTION TO APPROVE: Adam BellCorelli; second Mike Ford.  CARRIED: Approved unanimously. IV. Fund Balance for Utility Funds  The Finance Director provided an amendment to the Fund Balance Policy to include a section on the minimum target for working capital Finance Department City Hall, 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1130 Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130 920.236.5005 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us  The Finance Director provided the City of Oshkosh City Council Policy Statement for Fund Balance that states the plan moving forward to minimize working capital ($8/9 Million) for Sanitary and Storm by City Council. Minimum targeted working capital for Enterprise Funds should Equal six months of next year’s operating expenses, including depreciation, plus 100% of next year’s debt payments.  Water rates across different municipalities are lower than Oshkosh  Rates should be stabilizing on Storm Water V. Special Assessment Rates  The Committee review the interest rate for outstanding special assessments.  The Finance Director provided a five to six-year history of the interest rates on previous debt issues and an estimate for the 2023 debt issuance. The committee discussed that the rate should stay at 4%.  The Committee will come back to review in August.  It was suggested that when we have Debt issued then bill right away VI. Cash Handling Policy  The Finance Director provided a City of Oshkosh City Council Policy Statement for Cash Handling. Looking to adopt this policy is ensure procedures, safety and minimize risk for accounting and cashier staff.  The Finance Director was directed to provide Cash Handling totals to give perspective on how much cash is being handled daily and yearly.  The Committee will review the policy and give input at June 7th meeting VII. Next Meeting Date & Agenda Items  Meeting set for June 7th, 2023 at 5:15pm.  Next agenda: o GO EDC Presentation o Re-Organize – New Chair o Cash Handling Policy VIII. Adjournment  MOTION TO APPROVE: Adam BellCorelli; second, Karen Bowen.  CARRIED: Approved unanimously.  Meeting adjournment at 6:05pm. Finance Department City Hall, 215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1130 Oshkosh, WI 54903-1130 920.236.5005 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us LONG RANGE FINANCE COMMITTEE AGENDA June 7, 2023 5:15 PM To Whom It May Concern: PLEASE NOTE the City of Oshkosh Long Range Finance Committee will meet on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at 5:15 pm, in Room 404 at the Oshkosh City Hall, 215 Church Avenue. ROLL CALL I. Citizen Input - (Up to the first 15 minutes of meeting – can be regarding any City Finance topic) II. Approval of April 5, 2023 Minutes III. Elect Chair and Vice-Chair IV. Update from GOEDC V. Cash Handling Policy VI. Next Meeting Date & Agenda Items – August 2, 2023 VII. Adjournment If you have any questions, please call the Finance Office at (920) 236-5005 between 8:00 am – 4:30 pm Monday – Friday. CITY OF OSHKOSH CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT General Subject: Administration Date Drafted: 6/07/2023 Revised: Special Subject: Cash Handling Effective Date: PURPOSE: The goal of this policy for cash handling is to ensure adequate internal controls by effectively safeguarding, depositing, and accounting for cash on behalf of the City of Oshkosh and to maintain public trust. Strong internal controls for the collections, custodianship, and deposit of cash are necessary to prevent mishandling of funds. These controls are designed to safeguard employees against inappropriate charges of mishandling funds by defining their responsibilities and providing clear accountability in the cash handling process. Ensuring the existence of policies and procedures governing all types of payments allows for the effective management of the City’s liquidity and its ability to meet all obligations, and aids in the defense against fraud. AUTHORITIES: The Director of Finance shall perform duties prescribed by the Wisconsin Statutes, particularly sections 62.09(9) and (10) thereof and shall be responsible for planning, reporting, and controlling all financial affairs of the city. The Assistant Director of Finance shall be acting Director of Finance and be responsible for the statutory duties of City Treasurer and Comptroller while the Director is absent or incapacitated. RESPONSIBILITIES: The Finance Department is responsible for the collection of all City accounts receivable, including taxes, special assessments, fees, non-moving violation fines, water, sewer, departmental earnings, etc. The Director of any City department who anticipates receiving City cash on a regular basis is responsible for assigning a person(s) to the duties that will adhere to the City’s policy. The assigned employee must be trained in proper cash handling techniques and be provided with a copy of this policy. The structure should provide for a segregation of functional responsibilities such as invoicing, receipt of payments, and record keeping. There must be sufficient staff to permit segregation of duties. The work environment must be conducive to safeguarding money. This includes, but is not limited to, proper office with counters, safes, cash boxes, cash registers/terminals, camera and video monitors, and alarm buttons. Department heads are responsible for collaborating with the Director of Finance or the Assistant Director of Finance to establish and maintain a system of procedures, documentation and reporting on receipts handling and deposit of City money. Notification to the Finance Director and/or the Assistant Finance Director of any theft is required within twenty-four hours of discovery. On-site inspections and audits of cash on hand will be performed by the Finance department for any department that retains a cash drawer or a petty cash drawer. CITY OF OSHKOSH CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT General Subject: Administration Date Drafted: 6/07/2023 Revised: Special Subject: Cash Handling Effective Date: PROCEDURES FOR RECONCILING AND DEPOSITING FUNDS: The collections department will perform a daily reconciliation of their transactions, and a deposit of any funds that exceed $500 in their drawer. A deposit slip will be completed and all cash and checks will be bound together. All cash, checks, sales slips, receipts, and other applicable documents must be secured and safeguarded. All cash and checks must be receipted by the cash register. All checks must be endorsed immediately upon receipt by the department. The total of the deposit should agree with the total of the daily receipts. Routinely, the above records need to be reviewed by someone other than the individuals involved in the above functions. All money received is to be deposited with the City’s operating bank. No money is to be withheld from a deposit in order to cash personal checks or to purchase miscellaneous items for the department. Purchases made in this manner reduce the amount of revenue and expenditures reported and weaken the internal control procedures. The practice of netting program revenue is not allowed. All overages and shortages should be reported to the supervisor as soon as they are discovered. The employee responsible for the cash must report any shortages immediately to his/her supervisor. To enhance the internal control over money, a segregation of duties within the department needs to occur whenever possible, so that errors or irregularities are prevented or promptly detected. The duties of one employee should provide a cross-check of the work of one or more employees. CONTROLS FOR CASH HANDLING: If you take payment in cash and to prevent errors and potential disputes you should: o Talk through the transaction with the customer. o Segregate bills by denomination before you count the money. o Take your time in counting cash. o If an interruption occurs during the counting process, the counting must be stopped and started again from the beginning. o Strap money when receiving a large amount of bills. o Double count large amounts and payments which involve many bills (two people should count it and an adding machine tape may be used). o Inspect large bills closely ($20, $50 and $100) for counterfeit. o Keep money received in view but out of reach of the customer until the transaction is complete. o Always receipt the same amount of cash as you place in the till. o Cash should be immediately placed in the till as soon as the transaction is complete. o Do not handle two transactions at once, i.e. don’t make change in the middle of taking a payment even for the same customer. If you take payment in cash and to prevent errors and potential disputes you should: o Checks for City revenue should be made payable to the “City of Oshkosh.” o Examine the check as follows: CITY OF OSHKOSH CITY COUNCIL POLICY STATEMENT General Subject: Administration Date Drafted: 6/07/2023 Revised: Special Subject: Cash Handling Effective Date:  Has it been altered?  Is it signed? Does preprinted name agree with the signature?  Does the numbered amount agree with the written amount?  Is the check post-dated? ~ DO NOT ACCEPT  Never agree to hold a check for anyone o Restrictively endorse the check as soon as you receive it. o Personal and company checks are accepted for the amount of sale only. o Discrepancy between Numeric and Written Amounts: When the numeric and written amounts on a check do not agree, a new check should be requested. If a corrected check cannot be obtained, steps must be taken to ensure collection of the correct amount. SAFEGUARDING: Cash and checks are to be secured and safeguarded. Access to cash and checks is to be restricted to those employees who are assigned fiscal responsibility. All cash receipts are to be deposited same day or the next business day. The number of employees with knowledge of the safe combination is to be kept to an absolute minimum. All losses resulting from or involving actual or suspected theft, burglary or robbery must be reported immediately to the supervisor, the Police Department and the Finance Director even if no loss actually occurred. The supervisor shall prepare a written report documenting the events and provide a copy to the Finance Director along with the police report. All losses resulting from errors in record-keeping or making change (mysterious disappearance) where theft is not suspected shall be recorded and be available for audit upon request.