Finance Committee

Village of Niles Finance Committee Meeting Council Chambers December 21, 2016 8:00 a.m. Call To Order: Chairman LoVerde called the meeting to order at 8:00 am Roll Call: Assistant Finance Director Nannini called the roll for Committee members: Committee Members Present: Chairman Joe LoVerde, Bob Callero, Al Weel, John Johann and Paul Nielsen Committee Members Absent: none Village Staff Present: Finance Director Jeff Martynowicz, Village Manager Steve Vinezeano, Legal Assistant Kathy Thake, Economic Development Coordinator Ross Klicker and Assistant Finance Director Laurie Nannini Old Business: None. Approval of Minutes: The regular minutes from the November 16, 2016 Finance Committee meeting were up for approval, motion made and all concurred. Accounts Payable Approval: The approval of the Accounts Payable registers for 11/11, 11/18, 11/25, 12/2 and 12/9 were up for approval, motion made and all concurred. New Business FY2016 Annual Financial Report: Finance Director Jeff Martynowicz gave an update on the Village’s annual audit. Jeff stated that the audit has been completed with a final report given to each of the members for their review. Jeff also reiterated that due to staffing issues an extension to complete the report was requested and granted. To date all required filings have been completed. Jeff introduced Ed Tracy, the auditor from Selden Fox, who was working the Village’s audit this year. Ed thanked the Village staff for all the hard work during the audit. He stated that the Village is submitting the report for the GFOA Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting. The opinion given by the auditors was not unmodified which is the highest form of assurance that can be given. Ed mentioned that the current financial statements reflect changes in reporting for pensions required by the new GASB Standard 68. The pension information has always been part of the financials in the Required Supplemental Section. However with the new standard the pension information is now required to be brought into the Government Wide Financial statements. The new standard does not address how the pension funds are to be funded. Ed highlighted the year end activity in the various funds. General Fund revenues came in at about 99.27% of budget. General Fund Expenditures came in at 93.4% of budget which is about $3M under budget. Revenues exceeded expenditures by about $300,000 in the General Fund. Chairman LoVerde asked if there was any one reason that the expenditures came in under budget. Ed responded that this occurred across all departments. Village Manager Vinezeano said that he will be meeting with the various department heads to address this issue. The auditors also reviewed the internal control systems as part of the audit. No deficiencies were found. The auditor answered specific questions from the Committee. 1 6B Request 6200 Howard: Ross Klicker presented information to the Committee from the petitioner, SSN Group. They are purchasing the property at 6200 Howard. They plan to invest over the time period of the 6B if approved. The attorney for the petitioner addressed the Committee stating that the petitioner has outgrown their current facility within Chicago and would like to relocate to Niles. The Committee asked specific questions prior to making a recommendation. Once the questions were answered, a motion was made to recommend the 6B as presented to the Village Board and all concurred. 6B Annual Review: Ross Klicker presented information to the Committee on the status of the current 6Bs, 7Bs and 7Cs. In general, the information shows that the intent of the program is being met. In addition, based on the historical data that Ross has collected, the residential portion of the property taxes collected by the Village has remained consistent over the years which shows that this program is not unduly burdening the residential property tax payers. John Johann asked Ross if there are any properties in this program that have not been successful or the investment has not been what we expected. Ross stated that there aren’t any but he is looking at scenarios where the assessed value of the properties have not increased. Chairman LoVerde stated that the initial approval of a 6B makes a lot of sense but the concern is the granting of an extension. Ross responded that it is on a case by case basis. In addition, there may be a sales tax impact if a 6B is not renewed. John suggested adding the projected tax amount at the time of approval on the chart presented by Ross. Other Business: John requested an update on the Greenwood property. Village Manager Vinezeano gave a brief update stating that the building is closed up and secured. The HVAC is off. The building is being insured as an empty facility. We may have to pay the property taxes on the property and then get reimbursed. Steve would like to have the building raised as soon as possible. He is planning to put the costs for this in the upcoming budget. Public Comment: None. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn was made and all concurred at 9:09 am. Prepared by Laurie Nannini on January 6, 2017. 2