VILLAGE OF NORTH AURORA
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES
JANUARY 12, 2015
CALL TO ORDER
Trustee Laura Curtis called the meeting to order.
ROLL CALL
In attendance: Trustee Chris Faber, Trustee Mike Lowery, Trustee Laura Curtis, Village Clerk Lori Murray, Village Administrator Steve Bosco and Finance Director Bill Hannah.
AUDIENCE COMMENTS – None
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
1. Approval of the Finance Committee Meeting Minutes dated 10/13/14
Motion for approval made by Trustee Faber and seconded by Trustee Lowery. All in favor. Motion approved.
NEW BUSINESS
1. Mid-Year Financial Update
Finance Director Bill Hannah provided an overview of the current fiscal year.
General Fund – Sales Tax Revenue
Through the first five months of the year, sales tax revenue is up 7.1% which is a strong number. Smaller growth of 1% to 3% is expected the rest of the year. Overall, the Village is looking at sales tax revenue of 3.25% more than last year.
Auto sales continue to be very strong, offsetting the effect of the falling gas prices in the past months. Sales of food are flat and drinking and eating categories are up.
General Fund – Income Tax Revenue
Income tax revenue is up less than half of a percent for the first 7 months of the year.
Current projection is 2.3% more than last year or $1,637,000 versus a budget of $1,715,000.
General Fund – Building Permits
To date the Village’s General Fund has $690,000 from Building Permits. Of that, $153,000 is related to the Liberty Development and the rest is from permits for roofing and siding damage.
Video gaming distributions have increased to a projected $45,000 versus a budget of $30,000.
Trustee Curtis said that projections made to the Village Board were much higher. Trustee Faber said that a lot of the projections were based on the maximum number of licenses, which was 40. Village Administrator Steve Bosco noted that those estimates came from the Municipal League and they were projections. Trustee Curtis said that someone should be held accountable for those numbers not coming in as presented.
Finance Director Bill Hannah said that the IGB website shows each establishment and the number of machines per establishment.
Hannah stated that the projected Used Tax Revenue was $325,000 vs a budget of $310,000.
Hannah said the Village is looking at revenues of about $500,000 over budget for the year.
Expenditure highlights
The increase in parkway tree removal and replacement was part of a recent budget amendment of $275,000.
General Fund
Summary projection revenues over expenditures for the General Fund will be about $460,000.
MFT Fund
MFT allotments through the first 6 months are 0.20% compared to last year.
The Village is planning on using MFT reserves for the second phase of Randall Road resurfacing.
Route 31 TIF Fund
TIF increment for the current year is $468,000 which is less than the $518,510 received last year, due to assessment changes at the Township level.
The Village will have about $1.7 million in TIF funds at end of the current year.
Moving forward with the reconstruction of Smoketree Phase II at approximately $700,000.
Capital Projects Fund
Utility Tax Electricity is down about 4% from prior year through the first 5 months and Utility Tax Gas is up about 24%
Telecommunications Tax is down about 17% through the first 4 months of the year. Over the last 3 years the average decrease has been about 4% per year.
Non Home Rule Sales Tax is up about 1% through the first 5 months.
Water Fund
Water charges are down 2.5% compared to the prior year.
Water Connection fees are $54,565 to date.
Approx $1.6 million projected reserve at the end of the current year.
Hannah said that the Water Fund is in good financial health overall.
Other Funds
Police Pension Fund had a 2.6% YTD return.
Insurance Fund continues to monitor loss and exposure, continue to evaluate alternate options for the future.
2. Discussion of Audit Services Proposal
Sikich has recently completed a 3-year agreement with the Village. The Village has requested they submit a new agreement along with a new engagement partner to replace Fred Lanz, as well as a new audit manager. The Village is requesting this in order to get a new team that will have a fresh perspective on finances within the Village.
OLD BUSINESS – None
OTHER INFORMATION – None
TRUSTEE COMMENTS – None
ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn the meeting made by Trustee Lowery and seconded by Trustee Faber. All in favor. Motion approved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Lori J. Murray
Village Clerk
