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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/22/2005 COW minutes MINUTES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MARCH 22, 2005 I. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:02 p.m., in the Village Board Room of Village Hall, 50 South Emerson Street, by Mayor Gerald Farley. Present at the meeting were: Trustees Timothy Corcoran, Paul Hoefert, Richard Lohrstorfer, Michaele Skowron, Irvana Wilks and Michael Zade!. Staff members present included: Village Manager Michael Janonis, Assistant Village Manager David Strahl, Finance Director David Erb and Deputy Finance Director Carol Widmer. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Approval of Minutes of February 22, 2005. Motion made by Trustee Wilks and Seconded by Trustee Zade!. Minutes were approved. III. CITIZENS TO BE HEARD John Korn, 301 North William, spoke. He wanted to encourage people to turn out and vote on April 5. IV. DISCUSSION ON ELECTRONIC PAYMENT OF WATER BILLS Finance Director David Erb provided general information about the three options for payment of water bills via the Internet: 1) E-Pay Service through the State of Illinois; 2) E-Pay through a financial institution and 3) E-Pay through a third party vendor. He provided information on the pros and cons of each option, which included significant limitations on the information capability. While the third party option is more expensive, it does provide significantly more information to customers on line as part of their bill paying opportunities. Lance Leader, Third Millennium Associates, spoke. He stated his company currently provides water-billing services for the Village and they have created an E-Pay option, which would utilize the existing information the Village currently provides. He stated the E-Pay system would link directly to the Mount Prospect site and would be seamless for the typical user. He provided an overview of the security measures and the interaction of Village staff on viewing and monitoring information on the site. He also commented that the system could accommodate virtually any type of computer the user may utilize. He stated one of the components that makes their system more attractive is that there are no banner ads. He also stated that there are significant customer control options available and Third Millennium already has 18 months worth of history of water bill information already on line and ready to go. He also stated the system could expand into other E-Pay options in the future for the Village including tickets and vehicle stickers, etc. 1 General comments from Village Board members included the following items: There was some concern raised regarding the cost of maintaining an E-Pay system and how the cost of maintaining such a system would be impacted on overall water rates. There was also concern regarding maintaining appropriate security. There was a discussion regarding the minimum fee and the cost per user. There was discussion regarding the percentage of participation that is utilizing the option in other communities. There was also discussion regarding consolidation of bill payment options and a concern regarding the participation rate and the associated cost to offer such a convenience. It was suggested that if such an investment were to be made, a corresponding labor process comparison would have to be made in order to determine if staff time could be saved from bill processing and what percentage of participation would allow a return or break-even point. Village Manager Janonis stated that staff would undertake additional research and review options for possible expansion as a comprehensive system and bring this back for further discussion as part of budget discussions later in the year. V. BANKING SERVICES UPDATE Finance Director David Erb stated the RFP process started in October 2004. He stated the current bank that the Village uses is Bank One and has been using them since 1988. He stated the RFP process was undertaken in order to look for different options or improvements of banking services. He stated the initial contract was set for four years with an option to renew for an additional four-year period and could separate services from the various providers. Based on the response and analysis by staff, he is recommending the Village enter into a contract depository and lock box services with Bank One, which net the Village an annual savings of 18%. He is further recommending that LaSalle Bank provide the safe keeping services, which relate to pension and Village investments. He also recommended Fifth Third Bank as the provider of merchant services relating to accepting and processing debit and credit cards. Consensus of the Village Board was to authorize staff to proceed with the necessary documents for official approval at an upcoming Board meeting. VI. AUDIT SERVICES Currently, the Village has a contract for audit services through December 31, 2007 and staff is suggesting that audit services should be offered to another firm periodically as part of the standard policy procedure. However, such a policy should be made with the understanding that there is a significant learning curve and there would be significant staff time impact on audit processing at the time of each change. Finance Director Dave Erb stated that GFOA has recommended that municipalities change, or at least put an RFP out, every five years which would be a four-year period with an option to extend for a one-year period with special circumstances. General comments from Village Board members included the following items: 2 \ It was suggested that the Village Board be actively involved in the audit process and a relationship between the Village Board and the Auditor be considered so that a partner from such a firm is the key contact with an audit committee option consisting of elected officials. It was suggested that quality is obviously the most important component which may not necessarily be reflected in the lowest price. Consensus of the Village Board was to consider an Audit Policy based on GFOA guidelines. VII. VILLAGE MANAGER'S REPORT Village Manager Janonis stated there will not be a meeting next week due to a fifth Tuesday and the next Board meeting will be April 6, a day later than usual due to the municipal election. VIII. ANY OTHER BUSINESS Trustee Hoefert requested a staff report on the shed that was ordered to be reduced in size and moved on the south side of the Village last year. CLOSED SESSION There was no need for a Closed Session, therefore the Closed Session was cancelled. IX. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, the Committee of the Whole meeting adjourned at 8:48 p.m. Respectfully submitted, :Z>~:J 5611 DAVID STRAHL Assistant Village Manager DS/rcc 3