FINANCE
FINANCE
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Department of Finance 2010 Annual Report Department Staffing Finance Director - Ron Hill
Purpose and Function The Finance Department is responsible for the general supervision and management of the Town’s financial accounting, budgeting and payroll systems.
Asst. Finance Director – Andrew Huhn
Town Financial Overview (FY2009-10 Audit)
Fiscal Supervisor – Pat Tucker
Total Assets: $218 million Total Liabilities: $109 million General Fund Revenues by Line Item: $46.6 million
Senior Accountant - Mike Steele Financial Analyst – Karen Killingsworth Accountant – Nan Jia Office Associate – Linda Fischer Fiscal Clerks: Norene Homan Tamara Clymer Laura Gibbons Becky Strack
General Fund Expenses by Department: $47.5 million
Message from the Director It is my hope that this report provides the reader with a meaningful overview of the Town’s financial information and the operations and activities of the Finance Department. Sincerely, Ron Hill, Finance Director
*The “General Government Department” is where the Town accounts for its spending on contract agreements, major capital programs, liability insurance and debt service payments.
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FINANCE ANNUAL REPORT 2009
Major Activities x
Preparation of the Annual Budget The Town of Normal’s annual budget document for the year ending March 31, 2010 received the Government Finance Officers Association’s “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award” for the 18th consecutive year. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) is a non-profit professional association serving over 14,000 government finance professionals throughout North America. The annual budget serves as the Town’s fiscal planning document for all departments and operations. It projects the Town’s operating and capital spending plans for a rolling five year period, as well as all Town revenue sources.
x
Preparation of the Annual Financial Statements The Town of Normal received the “Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting” from GFOA for the 24th consecutive year.
x
Preparation of the Financial Trends Report The 22nd annual “Trend Evaluation of Financial Condition” was presented to Council in September 2010. This report focused on seven categories of indicators that provide a glimpse into the financial stability of Normal, with a particular emphasis on the General Fund. Overall, there are 37 indicators analyzed in this report. Each indicator was described according to its impact on the financial health of the Town. In order for trends to be illustrated, a historical perspective on each indicator is provided. Finally, each indicator is given a rating of (P)ositive, (N)egative or (U)nclassified.
x
Preparation of the Monthly Financial Report The report illustrates the Town’s revenue, expense and fund balances by account for each month-end period.
x
General Accounting Activity DESCRIPTION Revenue transactions processed Expenditure transactions processed
2007 116,375 30,438
2008 118,318 33,018
2009 128,512 32,261
2010 129,286 31,367
x
Local Tax Collection The Finance Department collects Local Use Tax on all titled items for the Town of Normal and City of Bloomington. Finance collects a 4% tax on packaged liquor, a 6% Hotel/Motel tax and a 5% Utility tax.
x
Debt Management As part of the Town’s successful Uptown redevelopment, $81.9 million in GO Bonds have been issued. Below is a schedule of these bond issues:
Issue
Terms
Rate
2004 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate 2005 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate 2006 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate 2007 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate 2008 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate 2009A GO Bonds - Fixed Rate - Build America Bonds* 2009 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate Refunding of 2003 Issue* 2010 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate - Recovery Zone
25 Years 25 Years 30 Years 30 Years 30 Years 30 Years 20 Years 30 Years
4.82% 4.42% 4.35% 4.56% 4.67% 3.93% 3.52% 3.50% Total
Amount $10,000,000 $10,000,000 $10,000,000 $24,700,000 $10,000,000 $5,900,000 $9,490,000 $1,855,000 $81,945,000
*Bond issues that had significantly lower interest costs due to a Federal subsidy program. The Town has a credit rating of “Aa1” from Moody’s, “AA+” from S&P and “AAA” (upgraded in 2010) from Fitch. RI
FINANCE ANNUAL REPORT 2009
Major Activities – Continued x
PAGE 3
Investment by Type
Cash and Investment Management The Town Investment Committee, which meets three times a year, completed its 22nd year of service. The established goal of this committee is to provide guidance in safeguarding and investing funds. The Finance department maintains the Town’s eight bank accounts. These accounts are constantly reviewed and reconciled to insure all activity is monitored and controlled.
x
Payment Processing An automated electronic water bill payment system is offered to the residents of Normal. The current number of customers using E-Z Pay is over 1,300. Finance will continue to work toward expansion of electronic programs where applicable. Finance accepts Internet payments for water bills, Ordinance Violations and Parking Tickets. In addition to payments received over the counter and through the mail, payments are also accepted by the use of a drive-up drop box in front of Town Hall. The Town also implemented “lockbox” processing for utility bill payments. This process allows for a more secure and faster cash deposit of payments. Additionally, it allowed for better utilization of staff time over the utility bill collection process.
x
Payroll Reporting The Finance Department is responsible for the bi-weekly processing of payroll for all Town employees, as well as, reporting quarterly and yearly payroll information to the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service. Finance is also responsible for calculating the pension benefits for Police and Fire retirees and processing their monthly retirement checks. Approximately 600 payroll checks are processed every two weeks. This increases to around 900 checks during the summer months. Over 450 or 75% of all Town employees receive their pay check using electronic direct deposit. Just over 1,100 W-2 federal tax forms were processed this year.
x
Other Activities of the Department Include the Following: o o o o o o o
Provide Support to the Town Council and Administration for their Policy Decisions Assist Departments with Budget Planning and Fiscal Matters Conduct and Support Various Financial Analysis Enter parking tickets onto system, send past due and legal notices, and process violation complaints Invoicing and approval for processing Accounts Payable checks each Wednesday Process Accounts Receivable invoices on a weekly basis, with follow up monthly statements Monitor 1,900 fixed assets worth over $222 million on a monthly basis and compile all information at fiscal year end for reporting purposes
Finance Involvement with Professional Organizations The Finance Director, Assistant Finance Director, Financial Analyst and both Town Accountants are members of the National GFOA. These five along with the Operations Accounts Supervisor are members of the Illinois Chapter of the GFOA (IGFOA).
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Department of Finance 2010 Annual Report Department Staffing Finance Director - Ron Hill
Purpose and Function The Finance Department is responsible for the general supervision and management of the Town’s financial accounting, budgeting and payroll systems.
Asst. Finance Director – Andrew Huhn
Town Financial Overview (FY2009-10 Audit)
Fiscal Supervisor – Pat Tucker
Total Assets: $218 million Total Liabilities: $109 million General Fund Revenues by Line Item: $46.6 million
Senior Accountant - Mike Steele Financial Analyst – Karen Killingsworth Accountant – Nan Jia Office Associate – Linda Fischer Fiscal Clerks: Norene Homan Tamara Clymer Laura Gibbons Becky Strack
General Fund Expenses by Department: $47.5 million
Message from the Director It is my hope that this report provides the reader with a meaningful overview of the Town’s financial information and the operations and activities of the Finance Department. Sincerely, Ron Hill, Finance Director
*The “General Government Department” is where the Town accounts for its spending on contract agreements, major capital programs, liability insurance and debt service payments.
RI
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PAGE 2
FINANCE ANNUAL REPORT 2009
Major Activities x
Preparation of the Annual Budget The Town of Normal’s annual budget document for the year ending March 31, 2010 received the Government Finance Officers Association’s “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award” for the 18th consecutive year. The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) is a non-profit professional association serving over 14,000 government finance professionals throughout North America. The annual budget serves as the Town’s fiscal planning document for all departments and operations. It projects the Town’s operating and capital spending plans for a rolling five year period, as well as all Town revenue sources.
x
Preparation of the Annual Financial Statements The Town of Normal received the “Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting” from GFOA for the 24th consecutive year.
x
Preparation of the Financial Trends Report The 22nd annual “Trend Evaluation of Financial Condition” was presented to Council in September 2010. This report focused on seven categories of indicators that provide a glimpse into the financial stability of Normal, with a particular emphasis on the General Fund. Overall, there are 37 indicators analyzed in this report. Each indicator was described according to its impact on the financial health of the Town. In order for trends to be illustrated, a historical perspective on each indicator is provided. Finally, each indicator is given a rating of (P)ositive, (N)egative or (U)nclassified.
x
Preparation of the Monthly Financial Report The report illustrates the Town’s revenue, expense and fund balances by account for each month-end period.
x
General Accounting Activity DESCRIPTION Revenue transactions processed Expenditure transactions processed
2007 116,375 30,438
2008 118,318 33,018
2009 128,512 32,261
2010 129,286 31,367
x
Local Tax Collection The Finance Department collects Local Use Tax on all titled items for the Town of Normal and City of Bloomington. Finance collects a 4% tax on packaged liquor, a 6% Hotel/Motel tax and a 5% Utility tax.
x
Debt Management As part of the Town’s successful Uptown redevelopment, $81.9 million in GO Bonds have been issued. Below is a schedule of these bond issues:
Issue
Terms
Rate
2004 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate 2005 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate 2006 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate 2007 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate 2008 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate 2009A GO Bonds - Fixed Rate - Build America Bonds* 2009 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate Refunding of 2003 Issue* 2010 GO Bonds - Fixed Rate - Recovery Zone
25 Years 25 Years 30 Years 30 Years 30 Years 30 Years 20 Years 30 Years
4.82% 4.42% 4.35% 4.56% 4.67% 3.93% 3.52% 3.50% Total
Amount $10,000,000 $10,000,000 $10,000,000 $24,700,000 $10,000,000 $5,900,000 $9,490,000 $1,855,000 $81,945,000
*Bond issues that had significantly lower interest costs due to a Federal subsidy program. The Town has a credit rating of “Aa1” from Moody’s, “AA+” from S&P and “AAA” (upgraded in 2010) from Fitch. RI
FINANCE ANNUAL REPORT 2009
Major Activities – Continued x
PAGE 3
Investment by Type
Cash and Investment Management The Town Investment Committee, which meets three times a year, completed its 22nd year of service. The established goal of this committee is to provide guidance in safeguarding and investing funds. The Finance department maintains the Town’s eight bank accounts. These accounts are constantly reviewed and reconciled to insure all activity is monitored and controlled.
x
Payment Processing An automated electronic water bill payment system is offered to the residents of Normal. The current number of customers using E-Z Pay is over 1,300. Finance will continue to work toward expansion of electronic programs where applicable. Finance accepts Internet payments for water bills, Ordinance Violations and Parking Tickets. In addition to payments received over the counter and through the mail, payments are also accepted by the use of a drive-up drop box in front of Town Hall. The Town also implemented “lockbox” processing for utility bill payments. This process allows for a more secure and faster cash deposit of payments. Additionally, it allowed for better utilization of staff time over the utility bill collection process.
x
Payroll Reporting The Finance Department is responsible for the bi-weekly processing of payroll for all Town employees, as well as, reporting quarterly and yearly payroll information to the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service. Finance is also responsible for calculating the pension benefits for Police and Fire retirees and processing their monthly retirement checks. Approximately 600 payroll checks are processed every two weeks. This increases to around 900 checks during the summer months. Over 450 or 75% of all Town employees receive their pay check using electronic direct deposit. Just over 1,100 W-2 federal tax forms were processed this year.
x
Other Activities of the Department Include the Following: o o o o o o o
Provide Support to the Town Council and Administration for their Policy Decisions Assist Departments with Budget Planning and Fiscal Matters Conduct and Support Various Financial Analysis Enter parking tickets onto system, send past due and legal notices, and process violation complaints Invoicing and approval for processing Accounts Payable checks each Wednesday Process Accounts Receivable invoices on a weekly basis, with follow up monthly statements Monitor 1,900 fixed assets worth over $222 million on a monthly basis and compile all information at fiscal year end for reporting purposes
Finance Involvement with Professional Organizations The Finance Director, Assistant Finance Director, Financial Analyst and both Town Accountants are members of the National GFOA. These five along with the Operations Accounts Supervisor are members of the Illinois Chapter of the GFOA (IGFOA).
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