Meeting Minutes of June 8, 1992
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Chairman Richard Parrish. The roll was called. Present were Trustees Mr. Maurice Betts, Mr. Stanley Hollister, Ms. Cathie Hutcheson, Mr. Richard Jumps, Mr. Richard Parrish, Mr. Arthur Vincent, and Mrs. Frances Youngblood. Employee present was Mrs. Becky Roberts. Mr. Walter Butler was absent.
People attending: Let Get Rid of Walter Members present were Mr. and Mrs. Danny Williams, and Mr. Jerry Burton. Other present were Mr. Paul Schmidt from Kemper CPA Group and Mrs. Billie Jacobini.
Minutes of the May 11, 1992 meeting were submitted for approval. Mr. Betts said that in paragraph 20 it should read “A committee of Mr. Betts and Mr. Parrish will meet with the Water Supply Operator and discuss the current contract” instead of “Mr. Betts and Mr. Parrish will meet with employees and discuss the current contracts”. Mr. Parrish stated that if no further corrections, the minutes stand approved as corrected.
Communications for May 1992:
- A letter from IEPA was received offering to assist water districts in protecting ground/well water sources, therefore it is not applicable to our district.
- A letter from IRWA was received, which part of it is the annual dues, and in addition to the dues, they are requesting a $10 donation toward research efforts to lobby against unneeded regulations for water district. This has been add to the monthly bills if the Board chooses to donate this.
- A copy of the Construction Permit for Jacobini Water Line Extension has been approved and received from IEPA.
- A proposal from Kemper CPA Group was received to assist Ms. Hunter on the SHWD issue.
Customer Requests: Mrs. Billie Jacobini presented the corrected easements that allow BPWD to be able to service the line should any repairs have to be made and they have been approved by BPWD attorney, and she also submitted a proposed agreement to install and dedicate a water line which is also the reimbursement agreement that was based on the Paul Simon line extension. The number of years of payback, the percent of the tap fees that would be reimbursed and the number of connections that could be made to the line without additional engineering consultation needed to be discussed and decided upon. This was discussed in length along with 4 initial taps would be installed with the line. Ms. Hutcheson made a motion to complete the agreement blanks as follows: Buncombe Public Water District agrees that for a period of 20 years from the date of this agreement and upon connecting other users to said line, it will remit a total of 100% of all tap fees received from said persons connecting to said line to petitioner. In no event shall said amount remitted exceed the total cost incurred by Petitioner in installing said line. Petitioner agrees to provide proof of the total cost of installation upon completion of same. No more than 10 additional connections shall be made to said line unless the engineer for Buncombe Public Water District finds the same to be adequate to maintain the existing water pressure in accordance with IEPA or other applicable state or local regulations. Mrs. Youngblood seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – abstain, Mr. Hollister – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – abstain, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes. There being 5 yes and 2 abstain votes, the motion passes. Before Mr. Parrish signs the agreement, he will have BPWD Attorney review the document. As soon as Mr. Parrish has signed the agreement, construction can begin.
Audit: Discussion with Mr. Paul Schmitd: Mr. Betts asked on the random checks on maintenance work orders, bank deposits, or anything referring to this audit, what percentage of these are checked? Mr. Schmidt stated that about 1 out of 4 or 5 work orders were checked. Mr. Schmidt stated that with the cash items, 100% of these are checked. Mr. Betts asked about page 10 category 3, uninsured and unregistered, with securities held by the counterparty, or by its trust department or agent but not in the District’s name? Mr. Schmidt stated that any amount over $100,000 is not insured and that it would be in the banks name. this has been moved to another bank now, so this has been taken care of. Mr. Betts asked on page 11, about the balance of $198,000? Mr. Schmidt stated that this is the amount tof bonds that the district still owes GE Capital. Mr. Schmidt suggested that he could go through each page and he would explain as he went. He stated that this is a governmental audit, and that is why it is in a different form than it was last year. Mr. Schmidt went through each page of the audit with explanation. On page 4 Mr. Schmidt stated that there was a net income of $3,363 last year and Mr. Betts stated that we are still operating in the good even though it is on the narrow margin, and Mr. Schmidt agreed. On page 3, Mr. Schmidt stated that the bad debt expense was added and he brought it up to date, because it was not included in the previous years. Mr. Parrish stated that in the yearly budget, the bad debt expense should be included. Mr. Parrish asked Mr. Schmidt if the reserve account could be used to upgrade the system if need be. Mr. Schmidt stated that BPWD would have to ask permission from GE Capital, and if they approved, then the money could be used. Mr. Schmidt stated that one thing that is required that has never been done, is to file an annual financial report with the State of Illinois. Mr. Betts made a motion to give Mr. Schmidt the authority to file an annual financial report to the Comptrollers Office of Illinois to get BPWD in compliance. Mr. Jumps seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes. There being 7 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passed. Mr. Schmidt recommended that BPWD contract for the audit in October 1992, and that it was a lot more work than he had anticipated.
Social Security Withholding: This was discussed with the new contracts for the employees. Right now, federal and stated taxes are being withheld. We will need to start withholding Social Security Taxes for Mr. Butler for the month of June, and for Mrs. Roberts for the month of July after her contract has been rewritten. Mr. Schmidt stated that the forms for this will have to be ordered 3 weeks in advance. Mr. Betts made a motion to authorize Mr. Schmidt to advise and train Mrs. Roberts on the proper procedures for initiating the Social Security withholding for the employees. Mr. Jumps seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes. There being 7 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.
Monthly reports from Don Morgan, CPA: Mr. Schmidt commented on the reports that were done each month by Mr. Morgan. He stated that if the Board wanted him to, he could work with Mr. Morgan to redesign the report to be more simplified and easier to read. Mr. Parrish will call Mr. Morgan and ask him if he would be willing to work with Mr. Schmidt to simplify the reports.
Secretary/Treasurer Report was read and accepted. Mr. Parrish commented on the overdue bills that are shut off and have liens on the properties. He suggested that Mrs. Roberts bring in 2 accounts each month that are in this category and each one will be discussed further.
The Financial Report was read and accepted. Mr. Parrish commented on the cash receipts. He stated that on the total to date on cash receipts, we are underbudget, and we are slightly overbudget on expenses. He pointed out that the rate decrease was not included in the budget.
Payment of the Bills: The bills were presented in the amount of $5,235.50. Mr. Parrish pointed out again the donation to IRWA for Water Research Fund, that was mentioned earlier, is included in the bills for $10.00. Ms. Hutcheson made a motion to pay the bills as submitted and Mrs. Youngblood seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – no, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes, There being 6 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.
Water Supply Operator Report: Mr. Butler was unable to attend the meeting. Mr. Parrish stated that there was a second radio outage and the radio was in for repair again. We should not be charged for the repairs for the second time because the parts that was put in it went out again. Also, the phone device that dials the office and Mr. Butler when an overflow is occurring is not working. This was donated to the District from the Illinois Amateur Radio Association. To repair it will be about the same as to buy a new one at Radio Shack for around $100.00. Mr. Butler has asked for authorization to purchase a new one. Mr. Betts made a motion to authorize Mr. Butler to buy another phone device dialer that would call up to 4 numbers if available and Mr. Jumps seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes. There being 7 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.
Discussion and approval of new contract for WSO: Mr. Butler, Mr. Parrish, and Mr. Betts had met and discussed the contract and come up with a rough draft that all 3 were in agreement with. Ms. Hunter has reviewed and approved the draft. Mr. Betts discussed each of the 38 paragraphs of the revised contract. He stated that this new contract would totally eliminate contractual work, other than jobs over $5,000.00 that would require the job to be put out for bids. Social Security will now be taken out of the amount that is paid to the WSO and he will be paid time and a half for anything over 8 hours a day, or in cases of checking for leaks or thefts at 2 am. Anything that pertained to reading of meters were deleted because it is included in the meter reader contract. There were some corrections to be made to the draft as it was discussed. Ms. Hutcheson made a motion to approve the new contract and make the approved corrections and compete paragraph 30 as follows: The hourly wage for the period June 1, 1992 to May 31, 1993 will be $15.00 per hour. Mr. Jumps seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes. There being 7 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.
Appointment of committee to review Secretary’s contract: Mr. Parrish asked for volunteers for this committee. Mrs. Youngblood and Mr. Jumps volunteered for this. They will meet with Mrs. Roberts before the next meeting to draw up a draft to be discussed at next month’s meeting.
Lets GROW request for all financial records status? Mr. Burton stated that there will be a status hearing on June 20, 1992. He stated that he will be in contact with the Chairman or Vice Chairman with a list of all the things he wants to see.
SHWD v BPWD Dispute: Ms. Hunter’s request concerning hiring help to sort through documents received from SHWD was discussed. Kemper CPA Group has made a proposal to work on this at $100.00 per hour. Mr. Parrish suggested that if they were hired, that they would be limited to the financial aspect of this and not be paid to educate them on the whole dispute. Mr. Parrish contacted Mr. Brieschke and he agreed to help Ms. Hunter, however he did feel that a CPA group need to do the final review of the records and the application of the formula as agreed upon by the arbitrators. Mr. Parrish suggested that the Board give Ms. Hunter the authority to hire Mr. Brieschke on the part that he would need to review and hire a CPA where they would be needed. Ms. Hunter told Mr. Parrish that once the process has begun and BPWD find out where they stand, that SHWD might want to make a settlement. Mr. Hollister made a motion to give Ms. Eugenia Hunter the authority to hire an individual or CPA for an initial review of the documents made available by SHWD to determine if this is the information needed to apply the formula, up to the amount of $1,500.00. At which time if they $1,500 is spent, the Chairman would be notified and he in turn would notify the other Board Members to decide whether more money would be authorized, and that this money would come out of the Escrow Account. Mr. Jumps seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes. There being 7 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes. Mr. Parrish will notify Ms. Hunter.
The monthly meeting adjourned by motion of Mr. Betts and seconded by Ms. Hutcheson. Voice vote all yes. Meeting adjourned at 9:18 pm.The meeting was called to order at 7:00 pm by Chairman Richard Parrish. The roll was called. Present were Trustees Mr. Maurice Betts, Mr. Stanley Hollister, Ms. Cathie Hutcheson, Mr. Richard Jumps, Mr. Richard Parrish, Mr. Arthur Vincent, and Mrs. Frances Youngblood. Employee present was Mrs. Becky Roberts. Mr. Walter Butler was absent.
People attending: Let Get Rid of Walter Members present were Mr. and Mrs. Danny Williams, and Mr. Jerry Burton. Other present were Mr. Paul Schmidt from Kemper CPA Group and Mrs. Billie Jacobini.
Minutes of the May 11, 1992 meeting were submitted for approval. Mr. Betts said that in paragraph 20 it should read “A committee of Mr. Betts and Mr. Parrish will meet with the Water Supply Operator and discuss the current contract” instead of “Mr. Betts and Mr. Parrish will meet with employees and discuss the current contracts”. Mr. Parrish stated that if no further corrections, the minutes stand approved as corrected.
Communications for May 1992:
- A letter from IEPA was received offering to assist water districts in protecting ground/well water sources, therefore it is not applicable to our district.
- A letter from IRWA was received, which part of it is the annual dues, and in addition to the dues, they are requesting a $10 donation toward research efforts to lobby against unneeded regulations for water district. This has been add to the monthly bills if the Board chooses to donate this.
- A copy of the Construction Permit for Jacobini Water Line Extension has been approved and received from IEPA.
- A proposal from Kemper CPA Group was received to assist Ms. Hunter on the SHWD issue.
Customer Requests: Mrs. Billie Jacobini presented the corrected easements that allow BPWD to be able to service the line should any repairs have to be made and they have been approved by BPWD attorney, and she also submitted a proposed agreement to install and dedicate a water line which is also the reimbursement agreement that was based on the Paul Simon line extension. The number of years of payback, the percent of the tap fees that would be reimbursed and the number of connections that could be made to the line without additional engineering consultation needed to be discussed and decided upon. This was discussed in length along with 4 initial taps would be installed with the line. Ms. Hutcheson made a motion to complete the agreement blanks as follows: Buncombe Public Water District agrees that for a period of 20 years from the date of this agreement and upon connecting other users to said line, it will remit a total of 100% of all tap fees received from said persons connecting to said line to petitioner. In no event shall said amount remitted exceed the total cost incurred by Petitioner in installing said line. Petitioner agrees to provide proof of the total cost of installation upon completion of same. No more than 10 additional connections shall be made to said line unless the engineer for Buncombe Public Water District finds the same to be adequate to maintain the existing water pressure in accordance with IEPA or other applicable state or local regulations. Mrs. Youngblood seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – abstain, Mr. Hollister – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – abstain, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes. There being 5 yes and 2 abstain votes, the motion passes. Before Mr. Parrish signs the agreement, he will have BPWD Attorney review the document. As soon as Mr. Parrish has signed the agreement, construction can begin.
Audit: Discussion with Mr. Paul Schmitd: Mr. Betts asked on the random checks on maintenance work orders, bank deposits, or anything referring to this audit, what percentage of these are checked? Mr. Schmidt stated that about 1 out of 4 or 5 work orders were checked. Mr. Schmidt stated that with the cash items, 100% of these are checked. Mr. Betts asked about page 10 category 3, uninsured and unregistered, with securities held by the counterparty, or by its trust department or agent but not in the District’s name? Mr. Schmidt stated that any amount over $100,000 is not insured and that it would be in the banks name. this has been moved to another bank now, so this has been taken care of. Mr. Betts asked on page 11, about the balance of $198,000? Mr. Schmidt stated that this is the amount tof bonds that the district still owes GE Capital. Mr. Schmidt suggested that he could go through each page and he would explain as he went. He stated that this is a governmental audit, and that is why it is in a different form than it was last year. Mr. Schmidt went through each page of the audit with explanation. On page 4 Mr. Schmidt stated that there was a net income of $3,363 last year and Mr. Betts stated that we are still operating in the good even though it is on the narrow margin, and Mr. Schmidt agreed. On page 3, Mr. Schmidt stated that the bad debt expense was added and he brought it up to date, because it was not included in the previous years. Mr. Parrish stated that in the yearly budget, the bad debt expense should be included. Mr. Parrish asked Mr. Schmidt if the reserve account could be used to upgrade the system if need be. Mr. Schmidt stated that BPWD would have to ask permission from GE Capital, and if they approved, then the money could be used. Mr. Schmidt stated that one thing that is required that has never been done, is to file an annual financial report with the State of Illinois. Mr. Betts made a motion to give Mr. Schmidt the authority to file an annual financial report to the Comptrollers Office of Illinois to get BPWD in compliance. Mr. Jumps seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes. There being 7 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passed. Mr. Schmidt recommended that BPWD contract for the audit in October 1992, and that it was a lot more work than he had anticipated.
Social Security Withholding: This was discussed with the new contracts for the employees. Right now, federal and stated taxes are being withheld. We will need to start withholding Social Security Taxes for Mr. Butler for the month of June, and for Mrs. Roberts for the month of July after her contract has been rewritten. Mr. Schmidt stated that the forms for this will have to be ordered 3 weeks in advance. Mr. Betts made a motion to authorize Mr. Schmidt to advise and train Mrs. Roberts on the proper procedures for initiating the Social Security withholding for the employees. Mr. Jumps seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes. There being 7 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.
Monthly reports from Don Morgan, CPA: Mr. Schmidt commented on the reports that were done each month by Mr. Morgan. He stated that if the Board wanted him to, he could work with Mr. Morgan to redesign the report to be more simplified and easier to read. Mr. Parrish will call Mr. Morgan and ask him if he would be willing to work with Mr. Schmidt to simplify the reports.
Secretary/Treasurer Report was read and accepted. Mr. Parrish commented on the overdue bills that are shut off and have liens on the properties. He suggested that Mrs. Roberts bring in 2 accounts each month that are in this category and each one will be discussed further.
The Financial Report was read and accepted. Mr. Parrish commented on the cash receipts. He stated that on the total to date on cash receipts, we are underbudget, and we are slightly overbudget on expenses. He pointed out that the rate decrease was not included in the budget.
Payment of the Bills: The bills were presented in the amount of $5,235.50. Mr. Parrish pointed out again the donation to IRWA for Water Research Fund, that was mentioned earlier, is included in the bills for $10.00. Ms. Hutcheson made a motion to pay the bills as submitted and Mrs. Youngblood seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – no, Mr. Hollister – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes, There being 6 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.
Water Supply Operator Report: Mr. Butler was unable to attend the meeting. Mr. Parrish stated that there was a second radio outage and the radio was in for repair again. We should not be charged for the repairs for the second time because the parts that was put in it went out again. Also, the phone device that dials the office and Mr. Butler when an overflow is occurring is not working. This was donated to the District from the Illinois Amateur Radio Association. To repair it will be about the same as to buy a new one at Radio Shack for around $100.00. Mr. Butler has asked for authorization to purchase a new one. Mr. Betts made a motion to authorize Mr. Butler to buy another phone device dialer that would call up to 4 numbers if available and Mr. Jumps seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes. There being 7 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.
Discussion and approval of new contract for WSO: Mr. Butler, Mr. Parrish, and Mr. Betts had met and discussed the contract and come up with a rough draft that all 3 were in agreement with. Ms. Hunter has reviewed and approved the draft. Mr. Betts discussed each of the 38 paragraphs of the revised contract. He stated that this new contract would totally eliminate contractual work, other than jobs over $5,000.00 that would require the job to be put out for bids. Social Security will now be taken out of the amount that is paid to the WSO and he will be paid time and a half for anything over 8 hours a day, or in cases of checking for leaks or thefts at 2 am. Anything that pertained to reading of meters were deleted because it is included in the meter reader contract. There were some corrections to be made to the draft as it was discussed. Ms. Hutcheson made a motion to approve the new contract and make the approved corrections and compete paragraph 30 as follows: The hourly wage for the period June 1, 1992 to May 31, 1993 will be $15.00 per hour. Mr. Jumps seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes. There being 7 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes.
Appointment of committee to review Secretary’s contract: Mr. Parrish asked for volunteers for this committee. Mrs. Youngblood and Mr. Jumps volunteered for this. They will meet with Mrs. Roberts before the next meeting to draw up a draft to be discussed at next month’s meeting.
Lets GROW request for all financial records status? Mr. Burton stated that there will be a status hearing on June 20, 1992. He stated that he will be in contact with the Chairman or Vice Chairman with a list of all the things he wants to see.
SHWD v BPWD Dispute: Ms. Hunter’s request concerning hiring help to sort through documents received from SHWD was discussed. Kemper CPA Group has made a proposal to work on this at $100.00 per hour. Mr. Parrish suggested that if they were hired, that they would be limited to the financial aspect of this and not be paid to educate them on the whole dispute. Mr. Parrish contacted Mr. Brieschke and he agreed to help Ms. Hunter, however he did feel that a CPA group need to do the final review of the records and the application of the formula as agreed upon by the arbitrators. Mr. Parrish suggested that the Board give Ms. Hunter the authority to hire Mr. Brieschke on the part that he would need to review and hire a CPA where they would be needed. Ms. Hunter told Mr. Parrish that once the process has begun and BPWD find out where they stand, that SHWD might want to make a settlement. Mr. Hollister made a motion to give Ms. Eugenia Hunter the authority to hire an individual or CPA for an initial review of the documents made available by SHWD to determine if this is the information needed to apply the formula, up to the amount of $1,500.00. At which time if they $1,500 is spent, the Chairman would be notified and he in turn would notify the other Board Members to decide whether more money would be authorized, and that this money would come out of the Escrow Account. Mr. Jumps seconded the motion. A roll call vote was taken: Mr. Betts – yes, Mr. Hollister – yes, Ms. Hutcheson – yes, Mr. Jumps – yes, Mr. Parrish – yes, Mr. Vincent – yes, Mrs. Youngblood – yes. There being 7 yes and 0 no votes, the motion passes. Mr. Parrish will notify Ms. Hunter.
The monthly meeting adjourned by motion of Mr. Betts and seconded by Ms. Hutcheson. Voice vote all yes. Meeting adjourned at 9:18 pm.