Finance Advisory and Audit Committee

City of Columbia, Missouri Meeting Minutes Finance Advisory and Audit Committee Friday, October 21, 2016 Conference Room 1C Regular Columbia City Hall 10:00 AM 701 E. Broadway I. CALL TO ORDER Present: 5- Kristian Bloom, John Clark, Maria Oropallo, Edward Scavone and Michele Nix Absent: 1- Victor Arnold II. INTRODUCTIONS III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Clark moved to approve the agenda for the October 21st, 2016 meeting. Mr. Bloom seconded the motion and the agenda was approved unanimously. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Oropallo moved to approve the minutes from the August 19th, 2016 meeting. Mr. Clark seconded the motion and the minutes were approved unanimously. City of Columbia, Missouri Page 1 Printed on 7/18/2017 Finance Advisory and Audit Meeting Minutes October 21, 2016 Committee V. SPECIAL ITEMS Mr. Scavone facilitated a discussion amongst the members of the Committee regarding the duties and charges of the Committee as it related to the financial advisory role of the Committee. Ms. Oropallo began the discussion by sharing her concern that over the past year there had been three issues she thought this Committee could have provided advice to City Council. She said currently she felt there was no way for the Committee to do that other than with a one-on-one conversation or by calling their Councilperson. Ms. Oropallo added that when the members of the Committee see something going on with the City and they would like to share their input or advocate for a position, they have no way to do so. Mr. Bloom shared his thoughts about the Committee’s duty and responsibility versus an advisory role. He said he sees the Committee’s advisory role either as a wait until asked or advocate on ideas as they are formed. Mr. Scavone talked about the role of the Committee as volunteer-based, subject matter experts. He talked about the need for consistency as members depart and new ones join. Mr. Scavone said he has always viewed the Committee as subject matter experts who are called upon to advise when asked. He said he felt he would like to see direction come from a higher authority, such as City Council, and each member of the Committee could choose a subject to advise on based on their individual subject matter expertise. Mr. Clark said in his research of other cities, he’s found financial advisory committees such as this one do more work than this Committee currently does. He said he felt the Committee should have the “as needed” part of their official duties clarified by City Council. Mr. Clark said by having permission to use the benefits of the memberships that the City has in various organizations, the group could provide input on things they wanted as well as were requested to look at. He added that the Committee members could do the research on issues with minimal staff involvement and become a third-party independent advisory role to City Council. Ms. Oropallo asked to review the duties of the Committee as defined in the City Ordinances on the Committee’s page of the City’s website. She said the “as needed” added to the statement that the Committee “shall make recommendations on financial matters to the city council,” is related but different than the previous sentence that the Committee “shall be solely advisory to the city council.” Ms. Oropallo added that the Committee’s agenda should be formulated from the duties of the Committee as defined by City Ordinance Sec. 2-273. She said many of the City Council members assumed the Committee had looked at the City’s proposed budget before it went to public hearings, and because they hadn’t, that was concerning to her. Ms. Oropallo said City staff should bring history and context to the Committee meetings so that the Committee knows how issues have been handled in the past. Mr. Bloom posed a question of whether or not the Committee should have standing instructions or expectations from City Council regarding the Committee’s role, or should the City Council call upon the Committee only when needed. He said he felt the Committee should ask for instruction from City Council regarding their role. Mr. Scavone said by definition the audit committee has to directly report to City Council. He added that he felt the finance advisory role was a separate role than the audit committee and may need to include City staff involvement as a result of a lack of prior guidance from the City Council. City of Columbia, Missouri Page 2 Printed on 7/18/2017 Finance Advisory and Audit Meeting Minutes October 21, 2016 Committee He posed the question whether or not the audit committee could be a separate committee from financial advisory. Ms. Nix said by the way she interpreted the way the City Ordinance Sec. 2-273 was written in regards to the financial advisory portion, she read it to say that the City Council would give a specific task or charge to the Committee, and that’s what the Committee would work on. Ms. Oropallo shared her concern that City Council should at least know that currently the Committee is not seeing information that they think the Committee has previously shared input on. Ms. Nix said she would be happy to provide information to the Committee but it would help her and the City staff if requests were specific in nature. Mrs. Cannon said the City Ordinance states the City Manager shall deliver the budget proposal to City Council and the Ordinance would have to be re-written to include this Committee in that process. Mr. Clark said he felt Ms. Oropallo’s concerns stated above was more towards being included in the budget process with the Finance Department staff in the months leading up to its release to City Council for approval. Mr. Clark added that he felt City Council members should be added to the Audit Committee and hears the report from the auditors every year. Mr. Scavone proposed an action item to get a better understanding of how to communicate with City Council. Ms. Oropallo added that she would like to have the City’s Law Department provide an interpretation of the Committee’s duties as defined in the City Ordinances. She also suggested that City Council see the minutes from this Committee’s meetings. Ms. Oropallo said that the Committee should form a Resolution saying the Committee is seeking clarification of their role in the City Government of Columbia. Mr. Clark said he would volunteer to draft a request to City Council seeking clarification from City Council on the role of the Finance Advisory Committee for their next meeting. Mr. Scavone proposed an idea of examining whether or not the Committee needed to be expanded once they know their charge from City Council. VI. NEW BUSINESS VII. NEXT MEETING DATE VIII. ADJOURNMENT As there was no further business, Mr. Clark moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Ms. Oropallo. The meeting was adjourned at 10:55 am. Members of the public may attend any open meeting. For requests for accommodations related to disability, please call 573-874-7214. In order to assist staff in making the appropriate arrangements for your accommodation, please make your request as far in advance of the posted meeting date as possible. City of Columbia, Missouri Page 3 Printed on 7/18/2017