Attachment 4Subject: FW: Finance Commitee Suggestions
From: Angelia Doerner [mailto:saveourhood@ yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 31, 2017 10:52 AM
To: Council; Marico Sayoc; Rob Rennie; BSpector; Marcia Jensen; Steven Leonardis
Cc: Laurel Prevetti; Stephen Conway
Subject: Finance Commitee Suggestions
First off - thank you for the Addendum regarding the Town's/State's "Redevelopment
Era" - it has saved me a lot of time trying to document my input to the "10 year"
retrospective comparisons.
I applaud the residents who have decided to step up to the plate in donating their time
to expanding the effectiveness of the Finance Committee. However, the last thing the
Town needs is three additional "Finance Directors". I think it is an excellent idea to have
one - maybe two - residents with financial/business experience to participate in the
Committee's efforts. However, my goodness, the scope of their "responsibilities", as
defined by some, are way, way out of proportion to the "complexities" of the Town's
operations and financial standing.
By necessity, as promulgated by governing accounting standards, the CAFR is extremely
detailed and definitely "cumbersome". It should be highlighted that the Town has
achieved the highest awards in the last several years for it's CAFR. Also, the Town has
made significant improvements in its "non-CAFR" financial and budgetary analyses in the
last couple years, e.g., its dedicated 2-hour Study Session of "Money Matters" a year or
so ago. We must acknowledge that this is the proverbial "battleship" trying to change
course on the high seas".
The Town is a "company" of only 110+ employees, which happens to have great benefits
(Pensions/OPEBs) and typical needs of maintaining/improving its infrastructure. Lets
take "baby steps" starting with:
• Offering presentation techniques of financial data (separate from the CAFR) which
will allow the Council/Residents to focus on critical matters.
• Consider a Study Session regarding the "mechanics" of actuarial valuations and
gain a better understanding of what factors (within and outside the
Town's/Council's control) "drive" the obligations.
Thank you all for your continued dedication and service to the Town.
Angelia Doerner
Live Simply, Laugh Often
i
ATTACHMENT 4