Finance Committee Meeting
Date: 2/1/2016
MINUTES
Members Present: Frank O'Donnell (chair), Josephine Charnock (arrived at 6:15), Edward Diasio
Members Absent: None
Others Present: Curt Dietrich, Brian Pawling, Marjie Scott, Tom Schneider, William Patchel
Meeting called to order at: 6:00 p.m.
Prior meeting minutes: 11/30/2015
NEW BUSINESS
COMMENTS
Ms. Scott presented the 2016-17 Extended School Care rates and 2016 Summer Camp rates.
The Extended School Care rates reflect a 2.4% increase over 15-16 which is equal to the Act
Extended School Care 2016- 1 index. The Summer Camp rates will be increasing by 2.9%. Mr. O'Donnell commented on
17 Rates & 2016 Summer the success and the longevity of the program which has been run in-house for 16 years. Mr.
Camp Rates Diasio asked Ms. Scott about the history of rate increases. Ms. Scott stated that the
increases are normally held to cost of living increases or the Act 1 index.
Mr. Skrocki explained the lien process and how the unpaid real estate taxes from the 2015-16
school year as of December 31 are turned over to the county for delinquent collections. Mr.
2015 Real Estate Tax Liens Skrocki presented a comparison from 2014-15 to 2015-16 and highlighted that when current
collections are strong it will have a negative impact on the delinquent taxes collected by the
District.
Mr. Schneider presented a plan for security upgrades at the High School and ESC building
along with surveillance camera and server upgrades at other District locations. Mr. Schneider
also discussed the High School sports field project and to authorize an outside vendor to
create an athletic facility master plan and study that would be recommended to the Support
Services Committee at a cost of $10,000 to $15,000. Mr. Skrocki recommended adding
these projects to the capital projects reports paid for from capital reserve funds. Mr. Diasio
asked about what the study would entail and Mr. Schneider explained that it would show how
Security Projects & Athletic
the fields are utilized and develop a condition assessment which would be used to schedule
Fields Master Study
maintenance and repair projects on those fields. Ms. Charnock asked about how long the
study would be good for and Mr. Schneider stated that it could be useful up to a decade. Mr.
Diasio asked if a maintenance schedule would be made when findings are created and Mr.
Schneider explained that they would use the report to look at short term concerns that
maintenance could address, what preventative maintenance could be used, and what would
require renovations.
Mr. Skrocki reviewed the current District fund balances and the amount available ($14.4
million) in the retirement stabilization fund for use to smooth the impact of the PSERS
employer share expense. The committee reviewed scenarios presented by Mr. Skrocki and
Retirement Stabilization
discussed what the impact would be on future year budgets. Mr. O'Donnell commented that
Fund Discussion
the District needs to begin making changes to the operating budget in this upcoming budget
year and not wait for future years to address the structural deficit in the long term projections.
Mr. Skrocki discussed the budget timeline and how the business office will be planning on
making reductions from the preliminary budget. Budget meetings will be occurring over the
2016-17 Preliminary Budget next 3 weeks with all departments and building principals. The business office will be asking
Discussion each location/department to make a 10% budget reduction up-front. Mr. Skrocki also
discussed the filing of Act 1 exceptions and that the business office would complete the filing
prior to the deadline of February 11.
INFORMATIONAL ITEMS
COMMENTS
Mr. Diasio asked about the projections and how they are calculated. Mr. Skrocki discussed
Revenue and Expense
that projections are calculated monthly based on prior year trends and that the projections are
Projections
fluid and examined monthly.
General Fund Financial
No discussion.
Reports
Salary Schedule No discussion.
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EIT, Transfer and
No discussion.
Delinquent Property Tax
Community Education Fund
No discussion.
Statements
Extended Care Fund
No discussion.
Statements
Nutrition Services Fund
No discussion.
Statements
Investment Reports No discussion.
Monthly & YTD
Short Term Capital Projects
No discussion.
Cash Forecast
Hatfield Construction
No discussion.
Project Costs
Budgetary Reserve Report No discussion.
Special Education Report No discussion.
Items for Worksession/Action meeting
November and December Budget Transfers - 2/18 Action Meeting
Summary of Items Moved to Extended School Care Rates 2016-17 - 2/18 Action Meeting
Worksession and/or Action
Meeting
Extended School Care 2016 Summer Rates - 2/18 Action Meeting
2015 Real Estate Tax Liens - 2/18 Action Meeting
Public Comments:
Mr. William Patchel commented about the increasing amount of the District budget deficit
that had been presented in the 2016-17 preliminary budget in January.
Meeting Adjourned at:
7:10
The next meeting will be on Monday, February 29, 2016 at 6:30 p.m. at ESC
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