WORKING TOGETHER MEETING
Thursday April 4, 2013
2:00pm-4:00pm
Minutes
Chair: Helen Huang
Attendance:
Joanne Bedasie / Elizabeth Broccoli / Jun ChengGina Dangoy / Joey de Pax / Penny Deligiannis
Blanche Douglas / Bessie Giannikos / Dominic Goveas
Pierre Lee / Nelly Leizerovich / Mary Lovatsis
Debbie Mparoutoglou / Wing Ng / Madelaine Panoulias
Cheryl Rhind / Morgan Selvanathan / Yasmeen Tafhti
Ann Trakosas / Douglas Ullrich
Note taker: Elaine Taguchi
1) Welcome & CAO Update – Helen Huang
To perk us up, Helen ordered special refreshments for this meeting – cake and fruit. She encouraged us to enjoy these treats.
Year End/Basement Cleaning Party: The basement clean-up is continuing and should be completed by the end of the week of April 8th. Helen thanked everyone for their efforts. She suggested that there should be a once-a-year purge of records. All agreed and picked the month of June for the “Record Week” purge. Pierre will be organizing a year end/basement cleaned-up pizza party.
IT Director EC: Kurt Binnie will be starting April 15th. He will be meeting each of his staff privately and there will be a focus group meeting.
Sustainability Project: The University’s Reduction Revolving Fund (URRF) is a program designed to invest in major energy reduction projects. The OISE building’s HVAC system has been selected as the inaugural project for the fund. The building’s automated control system will be upgraded with sensors on each floor to provide heating, cooling and ventilation based on real-time occupancy of the building. It is aimed at increasing efficiency and improving reliability of the HVAC system. The project, fully financed by the university, will start this month and is anticipated to finish in 8 months. Installation will entail shut downs during the day but these temporary interruptions will be communicated to everyone in advance.
Kiosk Machine: A kiosk machine will be installed outlining UofT’s and OISE’s sustainability efforts. It will display the building’s daily energy consumption.
Facilities and Services: As part of efforts to improve student experience, the 5th floor washrooms will be redone this summer. An architect will be hired and the plans will include switching the washrooms: the men’s washrooms will become the women’s washroom.
Merchandise Sales: A reminder from Pierre that there will be a sale of OISE merchandise next week – April 10th and 11th. Flyers will be sent for posting in departments.
Emergency Plan: Departmental emergency plans should be completed and updated by the end of May.
SOP Development: Helen requested items/topics for the development of SOPs i.e. contract approval, CFI, etc.
2) Operational Items – Elizabeth Broccoli
Basement Clean-up Status: The clean-up is progressing nicely. The main room is 80% clear. There are 70 more boxes for shredding. Excess furniture will be picked up next week. There will be some items kept for emergencies. Three rooms will be kept for storage. These rooms will be shared by everyone. Departments are asked to contact Elizabeth regarding their need for storage space.
3) Information Technology Items – Pierre Lee
Print/Copy Tracking: A decision has been made to engage with Xerox. Implementation will proceed when the IT Director is on board.
Xerox Problems: Some departments are experiencing problems with their copiers: colour default settings, meter reading counts, double-sided default and reconciling reading counts. The print tracking component should help with the reconciliations. Print problems should be referred to Xerox. If problems continue, Pierre should be notified so that these issues can be reviewed with Xerox as part of their customer service agreement.
4) Other Items and Next Meeting
As an information, OISE USW job postings will be sent by listserve to all staff.
There will be a celebration party for Marg Brennan’s and Doug Hart’s time and contribution to OISE. It will be held in October in the library and alumni will be invited.
The next meeting will be Thursday May 23, 2013 at 2:00pm in Room 12-199
5) General Business Officer Specific Items
“Back to Basics” Session
Wing advised that departmental faculty recruitment expenses for hospitality are capped at $450.00.
Fiscal Year-End:
Cheryl reviewed year-end procedures as outlined on the CAO’s website. She also distributed a “Fiscal Year End Checklist”.
She reviewed the Q & A on Accruals/Deferrals and emphasized the importance of recording expenses in the proper period.
Processing Xerox Invoices: Xerox rental invoices paid against purchase orders should be cleared. These should not be paid as invoices. The general ledger account currently defaults to 821020. In August, departments are requested to change this to 821420 equipment copier lease. Usage of copier consumable supplies is 825810. Gina has devised a method to pay rental costs and meter read costs on 1 transaction. Departments should contact Gina to follow this method.
Other Items: Reconciliation of costs and service order items are a concern for some departments as invoices do not reflect detailed information. Pierre will follow up with Elizabeth regarding giving a copy of the service order to departments for a more accurate reconciliation of costs.
Bessie has asked for clarification regarding spending all SSHRC grant dollars by March 31st and will share the answer with the Group.
April 4, 2013 Page 1