Water Board

ALBANY WATER BOARD MINUTES OF FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING October 25, 2024 A Finance Commi ee mee ng of the Albany Water Board was officially convened at 8:35 am, in the Conference Room at the Albany Water Department, 10 North Enterprise Drive, Albany, NY on Friday, October 25, 2024. PRESENT: Charles Houghton, Chair; Rachel Johnson, Vice Chair; Anthony Owens, Treasurer; Karen Strong, Secretary EXCUSED: James Frezzell, Assistant Secretary STAFF PRESENT: Joseph E. Coffey, Jr., P.E. Commissioner; William Simcoe, P.E., Deputy Commissioner; Christopher Powers, Director of Fiscal Opera ons; Sarah Terrill, HR Generalist II; Karen Wilkes, Administra ve Assistant BOARD ADVISORS PRESENT: William Kahn, UHY Advisors Financials – Christopher Powers, Director of Fiscal Operations Mr. Powers reviewed the MTD/YTD Finance Report that was distributed to Member’s prior to the mee ng. Revenues collected during the period totaled $3,498,146.84, an increase from prior year of $876,208.77. Year-to-date revenues are $27,452,694.32, an increase from the prior year of $2,145,103.75. Revenues were within expecta ons for August, strong for September and have been within the $3 million per month range to meet the AWD’s budget targets for 2024. Expenditures for the period totaled $3,007,239.52, a $377,978.25 increase from the prior year. Year-to- date expenses were $19,559,789.48, a $1,293,811 decrease from the prior year. Balances appear higher due to delayed payments due to short staffing and a mul -step review process by Treasury. Even with upda ng terms to “payable within 60 days,” some have extended beyond that, with an average of 45 days. These delays have impacted the AWD, poten ally leading to fewer bids on projects or higher premiums as vendors account for the payment delays. Mr. Powers and Mr. Coffey will inves gate further to be er understand the delays and iden fy poten al solu ons to address the issues effec vely, including paying bills directly, as suggested by Chair Houghton. Capital spending for the period totaled $2,280,386, a high month by any standard. There were four disbursements received during the period totaling $427,163.55, as follows: 1. $70,980.00 from EFC for Water Comprehensive Plan – Phase 2. 2. $260,425.00 from EFC for Beaver Creek Tide Gate Replacement. 3. $32,811.45 from EFC for Water Comprehensive Plan – Phase 1. 4. $62,947.10 from EFC for LTCP: Beaver Creek. Mr. Powers transfers funds to pay for capital projects a er disbursements have been received from grantors (e.g., from the Environmental Conserva on Fund (EFC) and a request is made by Treasury, unlike the automa c monthly transfers for opera ons. Revenues for the period were over budget by $306,960.84. Year-to-date revenues were under budget by $1,267,979.68. Expenditures for the period were under budget by $1,042,877. Year-to-date expenditures were under budget by $7,588,400, primarily due to an upcoming sewer bill of approximately $3 million scheduled to be paid shortly. Aged Receivables totaled $2,415,252.25. Mr. Powers indicated that late charges may not have been consistently assessed on aged receivables since the COVID pandemic. The balance on the revolving line of credit is $2,000,000.00 and the interest Paid YTD is $847,257.06. Mr. Powers discussed maintaining a due (to)/from balance of $1 million+/-. Mr. Powers reported the departure of Senior Accountant Linda Hendrick and outlined ongoing efforts to fill vacancies within the Finance department. Ariful Islam, a temporary employee who assisted Mr. Powers on the 2024 audit, has con nued to express interest in joining the department in a permanent posi on. Mr. Houghton suggested that any remaining agenda items in the Finance Commi ee be moved to the Regular mee ng for further discussion and ac on. Execu ve Session No Execu ve Session was required. Adjournment Being no further business, Mr. Owens called for a mo on to adjourn the mee ng. A mo on was made by Ms. Strong, seconded by Ms. Johnson and passed unanimously. The mee ng was adjourned at 11:35 am. The next mee ng of the Finance Commi ee of the Albany Water Board will be Friday, January 24, 2025 at 8:30 am.