Achieve Services, Inc.

Board Meeting Minutes of 10/10/13

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Achieve Services, Inc.

Board of Directors’ Meeting Minutes

October 10, 2013

Members Present:Kathy Svanda, Mara Staiger (via telephone), Sandy Crawford, Tom Wilson, and Jim Deal

Guests:None.

Staff Present:Tom Weaver and Carol Donahoe

Participant Representative:None.

  1. Call to Order:

Acting Chairman Kathy Svanda called the meeting to order at 4:30 PM.

  1. Approval of Agenda:

Upon motion made by, Mara Staiger, seconded by Jim Deal, and passed, the October 10, 2013 agenda was approved as presented.

  1. Approval of Minutes:

The minutes were reviewed and upon motion made by, Jim Deal, seconded by Sandy Crawford,and passed, the minutes of the August 8, 2013 Board meeting were approved as published.

  1. Action Items:

A. Ratify election of Tom Wilson to Board of Directors

Tom Weaver noted that the by-laws allow for the Board to elect a new Board member electronically, which occurred for new member Tom Wilson. He advised that the Board must then ratify that action at the next meeting, which is today.

Upon motion made by, Jim Deal, seconded by Sandy Crawford, and passed, the ratification of the election of Tom Wilson to the Board of Directors was approved as presented.

  1. Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Policy

Carol Donahoe stated that the review of the code of ethics and corporate compliance policy are required on an annual basis and noted that she brought this item forward today in attempt to remove the item from the Annual Meeting the following month. She noted that the conflict of interest form is required to be filled out by each Board member in order to determine any potential conflicts.

Upon motion made by, Jim Deal, seconded by Mara Staiger, and passed, the Code of Ethics and Corporate Compliance Policy was approved as presented.

  1. Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form

Carol Donahoe noted that the conflict of interest form is required to be filled out by each Board member to determine any potential conflicts.

Tom Weaver noted that staff will send the form electronically to Board members not in attendance.

Mara Staiger advised that the document was included in the Board packet.

Acting Chairman Kathy Svanda noted that the form could then be sent back to staff or turned in at the November meeting.

  1. Information Items:
  2. Review July and August Financials

Tom Weaver reviewed the value of the investments during July and August, which continues to move up, and reported that the value has increased $475,000 from this time the previous year. He reported that the asset value is also healthy and increased from this point the previous year.

Jim Deal stated that it would be nice to see a footnote explaining how the funds increased by that amount for future purposes.

Tom Weaver noted that he could include that in the future and confirmed that the difference was not simply investments and is also partly due to the moving of funds. He summarized the profit and loss summary for both July noting that the expenses continued to come in under the budget amounts while revenues exceeded the budgeted amount. He noted that in August the expenses came in over the budgeted amount, citing three pay periods and some additional human resources and consulting fees. He reported that overall, the expenses year to date are coming in under the budgeted amount and the revenues exceed the budgeted figures. He advised that this trend will not continue into the future as some of the staff positions have now been filled. He summarized the cost-center breakdown with the revenue or loss of revenue earned through each program. He explained that today Achieve is paid the same for each participant even though the higher needs clients require additional support. He noted that the rates will even out when the new rate structure comes into effect.

Jim Deal asked for additional information in regard to transportation. He referenced the depreciation figures shown and asked why it was shown in that manner.

Tom Weaver explained that Achieve is paid around $11 per participant per day to provide transportation services, which does not begin to cover the actual costs.

Sandy Crawford explained that the figures are shown in that manner in order to show cash flow.

Jim Deal confirmed that Achieve is not reserving for replacement.

Tom Weaver noted that Achieve uses the reserve and investment accounts to replace equipment.

  1. Draft 2014 Budget

Tom Weaver advised that the proposed budget was presented to the Finance Committee for their preliminary review. He explained that the budget for 2014 is based on 181 participants and that Achieve will be open for 291 days with an attendance rate of 90 percent. He noted that is an increase in the attendance rate and advised that staff is getting tougher on those who are not attending. He advised that the half rate reduction in rates has been built into the budget based on the State legislature. He noted that the budget adds two part-time positions and also includes a bus grant and van purchase. He advised that a four percent increase to salary and wages has been factored in and noted that the Board will discuss whether that will be a one-time thing or whether the figure will stay in future budgets. He advised that with all those figures plugged into the budget the final amount would be about $7,000 in the black and noted that even though the accountant has to work in some figures, such as capital expenses, he believed the budget would still remain in the black. He stated that staff will continue to work on this proposed budget and will present the final draft of the budget to the Board at the Annual Meeting in November. He stated that the industry has banded together to ask for a five percent COLA increase built into the rates. He advised that usually Achieve has a one percent turnover and this year the organization has had a turnover rate near 15 percent. He explained that the staff members are not going to competitors but are leaving the industry all together in order to earn more money.

  1. Fall Fundraiser Debrief

Tom Weaver thanked all the Board members who attended or contributed to the fall fundraiser event. He stated that the previous year Achieve netted about $1,800 and this year’s event was much more successful. He reported that this year’s event netted approximately $5,500. He advised that a breakdown of the event components will come forward.

Sandy Crawford noted that the amount earned is not the purpose of the fall event but explained that the success of the fall event is based on attendance and participation.

Tom Weaver noted that the feedback has been very positive, with the exception of people in wheelchairs having a hard time moving around because of all the people.

  1. Other Business:

None.

  1. Reports:
  2. Chairs Report:

No comments made.

  1. Committee Reports:
  • Executive Committee:Tom Weaver reported on the last meeting of the Executive Committee at which time the Committee adopted a 2014 Work Plan and discussed the Nominating Committee and process. He advised that space and expansion were also discussed and reported that staff is working with an architect to determine the cost to renovate the District 11 offices. He noted that the Committee also discussed the Annual Meeting agenda and briefly reviewed those items.
  • Finance Committee:Tom Weaver advised that at the last meeting of the Finance Committee, their 2014 Work Plan was also adopted and the group also continued work on the investment policy. He advised that the Committee also review the 2014 budget.

Sandy Crawford noted that a line in the income statement for capital expenditure vehicles was included where it should not be and explained where that figure should come into the budget and how that would affect the cash flow figures. She explained that this change will improve the bottom line by approximately $152,000.

  • Human Resources Committee: Mara Staiger advised that Katie Friary drafted some goals for the Committee that she believed would be discussed at the Annual Meeting in order to align the H.R. goals with the Strategic Plan process. She confirmed that the Committee was given the authority to act on the medical and dental insurance plans. She advised that the costs had gone much higher and ultimately the Committee decided to stay with Health Partners with the same plan design. She noted that this would have an increase to the employee cost but advised that this plan is still very competitive with similar organizations. She advised that in regard to dental the plan was kept the same with a 5.5 percent increase.

Sandy Crawford confirmed that the rate increases were built into the 2014 budget.

Tom Weaver noted that Achieve still pays approximately 80 percent of the plan costs for the health care options, which is generous even in this industry.

  1. CEO Report:

Tom Weaver provide an update on the rate making process with DHS, noting a partial day rate that is supposed to go into effect this year. He explained that this would be a 20 percent cut, which goes against the agreement for the rate adjustments. He stated that if progress is not made the industry may band together and pursue legal suit. He advised that he would keep the Board posted on any progress. He noted that he will continue to provide his Friday reports with updates on the business partnership opportunities.

Sandy Crawford questioned the amount of people of the waiting list.

Carol Donahoe noted that there are at least 30 people on the waiting list.

Sandy Crawford noted that it would be nice for the Board to be able to tour the potential office expansion site, the District 11 offices off Hanson.

Tom Weaver stated that he will follow up with the realtor to determine if the Board could tour the facility. He noted that there would also be a garage that could be used for storage.

Carol Donahoe advised that a part had recently been removed from the new bus and a van. She noted that if there was a fenced area at the potential location that could assist in deterring vandalism.

Tom Weaver noted that Achieve has begun to park the vehicles out front under the lights in order to deter vandalism.

It was noted that the Annual Meeting will be held on November 14th at Bunker Hills Golf Course at 4:30 p.m.

  1. Adjournment:

The meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m.

Respectively submitted by:

Amanda Staple, TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.