Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/22/2005 COW agenda COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE AGENDA Meeting Location: Mount Prospect Village Hall 50 South Emerson Street Meeting Date and Time: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 7:00 p.m. I. CALL TO ORDER - ROLL CALL Mayor Gerald L. Farley Trustee Timothy Corcoran Trustee Michaele Skowron Trustee Paul Hoefert Trustee Irvana Wilks Trustee Richard Lohrstorfer Trustee Michael ladel II. ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 22,2005 III. CITIZENS TO BÉ HEARD IV. DISCUSSION ON ELECTRONIC PAYMENT OF WATER BILLS Residents and commercial property owners currently have the ability to pay their water bills through the Village's bank lockbox or at the front counter at Village Hall. Although these options for payment continue to work well for the Village, the Finance Department regularly receives requests from water billing customers to provide additional alternatives for making payment. One option that is becoming common at other communities is electronic remittance, or e-payments via the Internet. There are primarily three types of service providers currently offering programs to facilitate these types of payments; 1) E-Pay Service Program through the State of Illinois Treasurers Office, 2) E-Pay services provided through a financial institution, or 3) E-Payment and Presentation service provided by a full-service vendor. Each option provides a different level of service and associated cost. All of these types of service providers will be discussed in detail. In addition, Third Millennium Associates (TMA) will be on hand to make a presentation for their e-payment and presentation service and be available for questions as needed. TMA currently provides the Village's water billing to its residential and commercial customers. Staff will present information on each of the types of service for discussion and will be on hand to answer questions and facilitate discussion. NOTE: ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO WOULD LIKE TO A TTEND THIS MEETING BUT BECAUSE OF A DISABILITY NEEDS SOME ACCOMMODATION TO PARTICIPATE, SHOULD CONTACT THE VILLAGE MANAGER'S OFFICE AT 50 SOUTH EMERSON, MOUNT PROSPECT, ILLINOIS 60056,847/392-6000, EXTENSION 5327, TDD #847/392-6064. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. BANKING SERVICES UPDATE In the fall of 2004, the Finance Department commenced a Request for Proposal (RFP) process for all Village banking services. The scope of service included depository and banking services, lockbox remittance, safekeeping and merchant services. The original RFP asked firms to provide a fee quotation for banking services for an initial four-year period with the option for an additional four-year extension. The Village last prepared an RFP for its banking services in 1988. The successful bid was awarded to what was at that time the First National Bank of Mount Prospect. Since then the bank has gone through numerous ownership changes due to mergers and acquisitions. The Village's current banking partner is Bank One, which is part of the JP Morgan Chase group. With all the technological advances in the past 15+ years and new e-services being offered to manage the Village's funds, it was felt an RFP was needed. On October 14, 2004, RFP's were issued to twelve financial institutions that were either located in the community or have experience providing banking services to governmental entities. 10 proposals were received. Based on an initial review, three financial institutions were considered to move forward in the process. Follow-up meetings were held with each of the finalists and site visits were made to their lockbox processing facilities. Finalists were then provided one last opportunity to clarify pricing issues brought up in the follow-up meetings. Staff will present the final results of the RFP process along with an overview of the Village's depository account structure. Appropriate staff will be on hand to answer questions and facilitate discussion. REVIEW OF AUDIT POLICY In November 2004, the Village Board approved a recommendation made by the Finance Department to accept a proposal from Sikich Gardner & Company to provide auditing services for fiscal years ending December 31, 2004 - 2007. Sikich Gardner was recommended based on factors that included pricing, familiarity with the Village's finances and knowledge and experience in municipal and governmental auditing. Sikich had also been the auditor for the Village for the period immediately prior to the new RFP (fiscal years 2001 - 2003). One question that came out of the Board's discussion on this matter was whether the Village should retain existing auditors beyond their initial contract period and allow them to participate in a subsequent RFP process. The Village currently does not have a policy to address this issue. Staff would like to discuss this matter with the Board and obtain direction to develop policy on this issue and will be on hand to answer questions and facilitate discussion. VILLAGE MANAGER'S REPORT ANY OTHER BUSINESS ADJOURNMENT CLOSED SESSION PROPERTY ACQUISITION 5 ILCS 120/2 (c) (5). "The purchase or lease of real property for the use of the public body."