Minutes of CT-GFOA Executive Board Meeting
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Aquaturf, Plantsville
Attendance: President Mike Walsh, 1st Vice President Ann Harter, 2nd Vice President Tony Genovese (arrived at 9:25), Treasurer Sal Pandolfo, Past President Maryanna Stevens, Tom Hamilton, Diane Waldron, Diana Doyle, Robert Barron, Robert Tait, Jim Wren, Rick Darling, Robert Curry, Michael Lupkas, Emilia Portelinha, and Jim Reynolds.
Board Members absent: Jim Finch, Nina Cousins
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order by President Walsh at 9:15 am.
Approval of Minutes of the July 28, 2011 meeting: Motion: President Mike Walsh; Second: Sal to approve the minutes as presented. The motion carried unanimously with Maryanna, Robert Barron, and Mike Lupkas abstaining.
Add Items to Agenda: President Walsh asked for a motion to add the following items to the agenda as new business: (B) email vote, (C) discussion with board re: CASBO/GFOA interaction, (D) reaching out to other outside organizations, (E) discussion re: vendors, and (F) DMV PILOT. Motion: Diane; second: Ann. The motion passed.
Treasurer’s Report:
Sal presented the financials as of October 31, 2011. Motion: Emilia; Second Jim Wren; to approve the Treasurer’s Report for the 4 months ended October 31, 2011. The motion carried unanimously.
Committee Reports:
Accounting Standards: None
Education Committee: Diana Doyle and Jim Wren reported that the Introductory Course at Tunxis closed November 18, 2011 and went well. Jim Reynolds reported that the class was full and was pleased with the outcome. Jim Reynolds was happy with the structure of the class and believes it attracted participants.
Historian: None
Internet: Bob Curry reported on the success of the on-line registration with the first quarterly meeting. Bob Curry said there were 173 members registered on the site and while there were some bugs initially, those are being resolved. Sal Pandolfo commented that it does create more work for him when reconciling the receipts to bank statement. Rick mentioned that some members send checks in for the meeting but did not register online. There was general discussion on the new system. President Walsh suggested three alternatives: scrap the existing system, keep the existing system and work out the problems or shutdown the system and work out issues. It was the consensus of the board to try the system as is for another meeting and revisit the topic at the next board meeting. Bob Curry explained he is cleaning up the files and presented a list of members being deleted with 216 deletions. Finally, Bob Curry said he will be posting RFP’s soon.
John Walsh Scholarship/ Don Miklus Memorial Fund: Diane explained her idea of using the Don Miklus Memorial Fund to support a scholarship for training in the spring. Diane drafted guidelines for the scholarship and based them on the Walsh scholarship. The focus of the training is mid to lower level employees. Diane sent a draft around of the guidelines and is hoping for an award at the February meeting with applications out by December 31. Same committee that awards the Walsh scholarship will award this scholarship. The budget is for two scholarships at $1,000 each. Diane suggested a review of the budget at the December meeting for a possible increase.
Legislative: Tony reviewed the issue concerning the redacting of names of certain professions from all public documents.
Membership: Rick discussed with the board his progress of working on the database concerning memberships and issuance of badges. Rick said issues arise concerning the completeness of the database when people do not register or renew online.
National Event: Tom Hamilton reviewed the national event for the upcoming GFOA national event in Chicago. He is expecting a better turnout this year from last due to the location and anticipates 30 to 40 people attending the event. He discussed the planning of a low-key dinner at $25 to $35 per person. There was discussion on the time and date of the dinner. Finally, there was a consensus of the board that we will not solicit donations for the event.
Newsletter: President Walsh suggested board members send articles of interest to post to the website to executive board members. Contributions will be reviewed by the officers then posted to the website.
Program: Ann discussed today’s agenda. Ann discussed ideas for future topics including: IRS regulations, debt post issuance issues, US credit issues, and a presentation by a UCONN economist.
New England GFOA: Diane discussed the upcoming New England conference in Connecticut in 2012 including an event at the science center on Sunday night. The board also discussed the budget and the progress on pledges and donations.
Old Business: None
New Business:
A. President Walsh asked for a motion to approve Chris Hutton as an honorary member. Motion: Maryanna; second: Diane. The motion passed.
B. Sal made a motion to recognize the email vote appropriating $5,000 for the New England Conference in 2012. The motion carried unanimously.
C. The board discussed the possible interaction between CASBO and CTGFOA including joint meetings and other ideas. It was the unanimous consent of the board that the executive board will meet with representatives from CASBO and report back at a future meeting.
D. The board discussed the possible interaction between CTGFOA and other outside agencies.
E. The board discussed various issues with vendors.
F. DMV PILOT – President Mike Walsh discussed the new program piloted by DMV where Town’s charge for temporary registrations once an auto is delinquent.
Adjournment: Motion: Maryanna; Second: Ann to adjourn the meeting at 10:56 am. The motion carried unanimously.