Date: March 8, 2006
To: RCPL Board of Trustees
From: Greta Chapman
Re: Monthly payments
Date: March 8, 2006
To: Greta Chapman
From: Heidi Archie
Re: Monthly payments
Recommendation: To move the Board’s monthly meeting back to the second Wednesday of the month in order to obtain approval of monthly bills prior to the second City Council meeting of the month.
Background: The reason we are proposing to return to the previous board meeting schedule is due to the fluctuation of City Council meeting dates. This fluctuation was not anticipated with the recommendation moving the Board meeting to the third Wednesday of the month. The Council meets every other Monday, except for months that have five Monday’s, in which case they just meet twice. This creates a fluctuation in the weeks that the Council holds meetings. The Library Board meetings are not subject to this because meetings are always the same week of each month.
The Library Board must approve all bills prior to the City Council approving them for payment. In order to accomplish this, typically the Library’s bills are approved for payment at the second council meeting of each month. Due to the five week month in March, the Council meeting schedule has shifted and the second council meeting is now two days prior to the Library Board meeting for the remainder of 2006, with the exception of August. Therefore the Library bills would be moved to the following month’s first Council meeting for approval. This means the Library will have bills approved by the Council on March 20, 2006 and then not again until May 1, 2006. This could create dissatisfaction from our vendors as they would not be receiving payment from us for about 7 weeks.
To help illustrate the problem, here is a schedule of when the Library must submit bills and when they are approved and paid.
|
Bill List due date to Finance |
Library Board meeting date |
City Council meeting date (bills approved) |
Next available Council meeting to approve
bills |
Bills paid |
|
2-22-06 |
3-15-06 |
3-20-06 |
|
3-21-06 |
|
3-8-06 |
3-15-06 |
3-20-06 |
|
3-21-06 |
|
3-22-06 |
4-19-06 |
4-17-06 |
5-1-06 |
5-2-06 |
|
4-5-06 |
4-19-06 |
4-17-06 |
5-1-06 |
5-2-06 |
|
4-19-06 |
5-17-06 |
5-15-06 |
6-5-06 |
6-6-06 |
|
5-3-06 |
5-17-06 |
5-15-06 |
6-5-06 |
6-6-06 |
Conflicting dates
Here is a sample schedule if the Library Board meeting was moved to the second Wednesday of each month.
|
Bill List due date to Finance |
Library Board meeting date |
City Council meeting date (bills approved) |
Next available Council mtg to approve
bills |
Bills paid |
|
2-22-06 |
3-15-06 |
3-20-06 |
|
3-21-06 |
|
3-8-06 |
3-15-06 |
3-20-06 |
|
3-21-06 |
|
3-22-06 |
4-12-06 |
4-17-06 |
|
4-18-06 |
|
4-5-06 |
4-12-06 |
4-17-06 |
|
4-18-06 |
|
4-19-06 |
5-10-06 |
5-15-06 |
|
5-16-06 |
|
5-3-06 |
5-10-06 |
5-15-06 |
|
5-16-06 |
As you can see, this would certainly be a preferred timeline for the Library vendors.
Considerations: There are some additional considerations to keep in mind when considering moving the Board meeting.
· Reference Statistical data would be for the month prior.
o Some of this data is available the first week of the month and some of it is not available until the second week of the month.
o However, the information provided should still give a clear picture of trends and at the end of the year we will account for all data.
· Green-bar Budget reports from City Finance will not be available if the Board should meet the second Wednesday of the month. However, budget reports will still be provided via the Library’s Direct Inquiry access, but will have some discrepancies:
o Column Information would vary:
§ Green-bar reports have columns for Current Month Expenses and Remaining Budget Balance.
§ Direct Inquiry reports do not have this information. However, the monthly Bill List will provide the detailed account of all current month expenses.
o Percent column variance:
§ Green-bar reports list the percentage of remaining budget and Direct Inquiry reports list the percentage of budget used.
o Timely data:
§ Green-bar reports show the prior month’s activity.
§ Direct Inquiry reports would show up-to-date accrual expenses. This would provide a more accurate to-date picture of funding.
o Revenue report for Library Board Funds would not be available. However, a budget report and bill list will still be provided for Library Board Funds.
o Aesthetic difference:
§ Green-bar sample report
§ Direct Inquiry sample report
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OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER