Minutes from the Funding Reforms Work Group - Meeting #1

The first work group meeting met tonight at the Hollywood Constituent Center to talk about the funding motion.  We prepared a detailed agenda, which you will see below, but it became clear that rather than address the motion points one by one, the work group wanted to dive straight into the problems with the Neighborhood Council funding system as a whole.  The group figured that if they could identify and solve those problems, then they'd be addressing most of the funding motion as well.


You can read the minutes of the meeting below, but we've pulled out the funding issues identified by the work group and the start of some potential solutions for the first two problems before the meeting ended:

1. Communication – don’t get information about funding updates and staffing changes

Potential Solutions Suggested

·         send emails to the Board to update their information

·         tell Boards who the contact people are

·         need clear written procedures

·         ask specific point person on the NC to disseminate information to the rest of the Board

·         identify those NC’s who are not web savy so that when new information comes out, a PC is assigned to go out to give them the information in person

·         posting everything on the website – “what’s new today?”

·         Board members also have their responsibility to update information online and read their eblasts

·         Department needs to update and improve their database system overall

·         Department needs to clearly note policy changes in communications

·         Funding database is not updated in regards to quarterly audits so folks don’t even know if they are received, especially last 2 quarters

2. Processing Time – has always been a problem

Potential Solutions Suggested

·         GM should present to the Board of the Neighborhood Commissioners a report of how many DW received, paid, etc.

·         Must go to electronic system

·         Cut down paperwork needed for DW’s to simplify

·         Provide a check list for the funding paperwork so it will be easier for everything

Issues to Consider

·         4 Project Coordinators pulled from the field to assist with the DW’s and also doing a day of Help Line each week

·         How long to process DW?  If you get a DW, it gets date stamped, put into database, assigned to a Project Coordinator, if complete it gets put into financial management system, then can be cut by the Controller.

o   If everything is clean, we can do 7 DW’s a day

o   Most DW’s are not clean, e.g. out of 17 DW’s we received, only 2 are clean

o   Question – why is it taking so long?  Don’t understand why it takes an hour to process a DW.

o   How many DW’s are coming in each month?

3. Lost Documents
4. Lack of Consistency, such as updated Treasurer’s Manual or being told the wrong form/information a few times
5. No Accountability
6. No Go To Person – No Point Person for Funding
7. Lack of Treasurer Control of Financial Information
8. No Tools (easy to use) – simplify Treasurer’s job
9. No systematic oversight to ensure compliance by the Neighborhood Council and the Department levels
10.  Reconciliation of all expenditures – preferably online
11.  Lack of clarify of encumbrance process
12.  No acknowledgements of reports
13.  Lack of audits
14.  Lack of enforcement of deadlines and policies
15.  Inconsistent training schedules
16.  No petty cash
17.  Cash based system vs. an accrual system
18.  Floating year end expenditure cut off date – lack of sufficient notice 

For those reading this blog, please comment and let us know if you see other problems not listed here as well as potential solutions.


If you want to join us for the next work group meeting, check out the schedule on the right side panel.

Neighborhood Council Funding Program

Work Group Meeting

Monday, October 3, 2011

Agenda and Minutes

Goals:

1.  Gain a better understanding of the NC Funding Program

2.  Formalize regular discussions and NC recommendations

3.  Address Controller audit and City Council motions

4.  Establish process for future discussions

Purpose To develop processes and policies to create a more efficient and transparent funding program.

Welcome and Introductions

a.  Present

• Gustavo Moreno – Greater Echo Park Elysian NC
• Alexia Teran – Greater Cypress Park NC
• Glenn Bailey – Encino NC
• Mike O-Gara – Sun Valley Area NC
• Theodore Thomas Sr. – Park Mesa Heights Community Council
• Eddie LockHart – Empowerment Congress Southeast
• Estrella de la Rosa – Empowerment Congress Southeast
• Yudy Machado – Mid City West NC
• Angie Guzman – Mid City West NC
• Harvey Goldberg – Tarzana NC
• Leonard J. Shaffer – Tarzana NC
• Tom Williams – LA 32 NC
• Esther Glaze – Community and Neighbors of the 9^th District
• Lark Galloway Gillian – Empowerment Congress West
• Frank Wada – Lincoln Heights NC
• Marisol Espinoza – Controller’s Office
• Daniel Gatica – Board of Neighborhood Commissioners
• Grayce Liu – Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
• Rita Moreno – Department of Neighborhood Empowerment
• BongHwan Kim – Department of Neighborhood Empowerment 

b.  BongHwan’s statements

need to report back on a number of items and want to go through each one

would like this work group to continue working with the Department

biggest problem is a paper based system and would like to go to an electronic process

motion is not the entire solution for all the funding problems, but points out major ones

Rita Moreno will be taking everyone through the process for the 3 meetings

c.  Rita’s statements

Gave overview of funding motions

Templates are necessary for budget, quarterly purchase card reconciliation report

Motion also involves establishing budget deadlines, which have been implemented already by the Department last year.  For example:

Budget – July 15^th

Quarterly P-Card Reconciliation Report – 30 days after the quarter

Question – are the Department’s forms adequate though? 

-For example, the NPG application had a conflict of interest question that was very basic, but we revised it to ask follow up questions that would delve into the conflict some more.

-we need feedback from the NC’s to know which forms are confusing or not working, etc.

Framework
NC Funding ProgramSystemic problems
1.  processing time
2.  lost documents
3.  inconsistencies
4.  communication  – people who are not getting eblasts need to provide us the information and check the website information

-Statement made that the Department always loses the information when they send it so they were tired of sending it

ŸPlan for program improvements

1. Focus on grants system and project specific rollover

2.  How to handle transfers to other City departments?

3.  How to change from paper platform to electronic platform?

a.  BongHwan has already had meetings with Controller and told that it would take 2 years to develop

b.  Need to develop a parallel system that is electronic in the meantime and reconcile with the City system separately

c.  In a month, the Department will update all the funding database to include pending demand warrants, balances, etc.

4.    How to make 360 degree accountability with Neighborhood Councils, stakeholders, and Department?

Work Group process

Timeline

Outcomes

Expectations

City Council motions

Other issues that participants brought up

• How often should people take funding training?

                                          i.    Everyone should take it yearly

                                         ii.  Once and then only if there are changes

                                       iii.    Department should be doing their job and telling NC’s when they are doing things wrong

• Enforcement – how is the Department going to handle the deadlines when they don’t have enough staff to handle existing deadlines 
• Conflict of Interest – Participants were concerned with how conflicts can be handled by Board members, but not on the agenda today though it is an important issue

                                   i.    Board members need to seek advice from City Attorney

                  ii.    Difference between reporting criminal activity since Board members are still criminally liable
                                 iii.    This issue should be on the agenda because the motion is talking about increasing accountability

                                  iv.    Department should have a policy as to what we should do with conflicts of interests

• NC’s should submit a final year end list of DW’s and P-Cards subtracting each amount from the yearly allocation 
• Should put up every problem everyone has with funding and then go through them one by one instead of doing a little bit here and there because this would solve the motion issues, too.

                                          i.    Others stated that they need to understand the problem

Deviated from agenda at this point to make a List of Problems with funding:

1. Communication – don’t get information about updates and staffing changes

Potential Solutions Suggested

send emails to the Board to update their information

tell Boards who the contact people are

need clear written procedures

ask specific point person on the NC to disseminate information to the rest of the Board

identify those NC’s who are not web savy so that when new information comes out, a PC is assigned to go out to give them the information in person

posting everything on the website – “what’s new today?”

Board members also have their responsibility to update information online and read their eblasts

Department needs to update and improve their database system overall

Department needs to clearly note policy changes in communications

Funding database is not updated in regards to quarterly audits so folks don’t even know if they are received, especially last 2 quarters

2. Processing Time – has always been a problem

Potential Solutions Suggested

GM should present to the Board of the Neighborhood Commissioners a report of how many DW received, paid, etc.

Must go to electronic system

Cut down paperwork needed for DW’s to simplify

Provide a check list for the funding paperwork so it will be easier for everything

Issues to Consider

4 Project Coordinators pulled from the field to assist with the DW’s and also doing a day of Help Line each week

How long to process DW?  If you get a DW, it gets date stamped, put into database, assigned to a Project Coordinator, if complete it gets put into financial management system, then can be cut by the Controller.

If everything is clean, we can do 7 DW’s a day

Most DW’s are not clean, e.g. out of 17 DW’s we received, only 2 are clean

Question – why is it taking so long?  Don’t understand why it takes an hour to process a DW.

How many DW’s are coming in each month?

3. Lost Documents
4. Lack of Consistency, such as updated Treasurer’s Manual or being told the wrong form/information a few times
5. No Accountability
6. No Go To Person – No Point Person for Funding
7. Lack of Treasurer Control of Financial Information
8. No Tools (easy to use) – simplify Treasurer’s job
9. No systematic oversight to ensure compliance by the Neighborhood Council and the Department levels
10.  Reconciliation of all expenditures – preferably online
11.  Lack of clarify of encumbrance process
12.  No acknowledgements of reports
13.  Lack of audits
14.  Lack of enforcement of deadlines and policies
15.  Inconsistent training schedules
16.  No petty cash
17.  Cash based system vs. an accrual system
18.  Floating year end expenditure cut off date – lack of sufficient notice 

III.   Items for Discussion

·         Controller audit

·         City Council motions

IV.  City Council Adopted Policies

·         Require NC use of budget and reconciliation report templates

·         Require NC adherence to all budget and reconciliation report submission deadlines

·        Require NC conformance with prescribed accounting system

·         Empower DONE GM and BONC to suspend NC funds when NC:

·         is out of compliance with City Council policies and Department directives

·         fails to submit budget in timely manner

·         reconciliation report is past due

·         makes prohibited or inappropriate purchases

·         is out of compliance with training requirements

·         board does not have a Treasurer

·         board is deemed dysfunctional

·         other

·         Prohibit rollover of unencumbered funds

V.   Department mandated to:

·         standardize financial templates, forms and reports

·         streamline approvals and program management

·         increase accountability

Ÿ  cases of fraud

Ÿ checks and balances

1.    P-card

2.    Board accountability

·         develop process to notify NCs of adopted changes to funding program policies and procedures

VI.  Next Steps

October 11

Ÿ  Clarify and discuss process of encumbering NC funds

Ÿ  Alternative funding models

1.    grant-based

2.    other

Ÿ  Project-based rollover policy

1.    qualifying projects

2.   application and approval process

3.   deadlines for project completion

Ÿ  FY 2010-11 NC equipment purchases for City and proprietary departments

1.    guidelines to maximize benefit to department and NCs

ŸDevelopment of electronic system for funding program

1.    Integrate P-card and FMS data for real-time tracking of expenditures and balance

2.    Accept electronic submission and approval of budgets, demand warrants and reconciliation reports

3.    Provide interface to track and create financial statements and treasurer reports for board

·         October 17th - Continue discussion from last meeting