HomeMy WebLinkAboutNovember 5Finance and Investment Committee Regular Meeting
Town of Los Altos Hills
Town Hall, Monday, November 5, 2018
The meeting was called to order at 4:00 pm by Chairman Silver.
Members present: Allan Epstein, Kjell Karlsson, Betty Kayton, Stan Mok, Bill Silver, Roddy Sloss
and Chris Welborn
Members absent: Chris Nam, Susan Mason
Associate members: Frank Lloyd (present); Jim Lai (absent)
Council present: John Radford, Mayor; Roger Spreen, Vice Mayor
Staff present: Kelly Mayes, Administrator Services Director
Guests and public present: None.
Approval of minutes:
The November 5, 2018 meeting minutes were approved by members who attended that meeting.
Council Activities of Interest – John Radford
Mr. Radford commented on the proposed Town Hall expansion. Mr. Lloyd inquired about the planned employee
office seating growth for the post expansion facility as compared to the related growth of the Town as measured by
households or similar metrics. A discussion of the proposed Employee Value Proposition project was held. Mr.
Radford departed the meeting after this discussion.
Finance Department Activities of Interest – Kelly Mayes
Ms. Mayes noted that the Town’s auditors, Maze and Associates, have completed their field work, she has
completed a draft of the financial tables for the CAFR which will be sent to the auditors for review, the auditors are
preparing the financial statement footnotes, and she will begin work on MD&A. The draft CAFR is scheduled to
be presented at the FIC’s December meeting along with an updated draft of the proposed new Reserves Policy.
Requested information has been transmitted to Matrix Consulting that will enable the creation of a draft Overhead
and Cost Allocation Report which is expected to be available in December. The Committee requested an update on
current year Sewer spending in light of the forty-four percent YTY increase on the FY17-18 billing from the Palo
Alto sewage treatment plant. Mr. Epstein noted that the Town’s reported comparative usage increase and to a
lesser extent higher capital spending are driving the increases. The usage portion of the increase is believed to be
related to different measurement techniques that unfairly disadvantage the Town as compared to other cities and
towns. The Town Staff is reviewing the matter. The benefits of OpenGov, a financial reporting project initiated in
2017, is still being evaluated comparing its utility to the existing Tyler accounting system and ongoing staff
maintenance costs. In August 2017, the Town entered into a three-year agreement with OpenGov for $35,604.
Ms. Mayes noted that recently received quarterly reports from PFM and PARS on performance of the Town’s
investments were included in the handout package. Committee members requested that they receive soft copies of
these reports along with other pre-meeting handouts and that a brief summary be included in the meeting handouts
describing significant changes in investment activity during the period, if any. Mr. Mok noted that FED interest
rate hikes accomplished and planned should substantially improve the Town’s investment earnings. The
Committee also requested that quarterly OPEB valuation reports be distributed in the same manner.
Continued
November 5, 2018 FIC minutes, continued page 2.
August 2018 CalPERS Actuarial Reports – Roddy Sloss
Mr. Sloss referred to handout material distributed before the meeting including analyses presented on an Excel
spreadsheet and summarized in PowerPoint slides. He then reported on highlights including comparative annual
billing costs, headcount and actuarial assumption changes. A calculation prepared by Mr. Sloss compares the
estimated actual interest rate to the expected interest of the $1,360,000 January 31, 2018 Unfunded Actuarial
Liability prepayment made by the Town. The comparison shows that reported results in August 2018 reports were
comparable to expectations. Mr. Sloss noted that CalPERS pension costs are expected to continue to increase and
the Town’s single largest opportunity to mitigate the increases is to continue to prepay the Unfunded Actuarial
Liability. He recommended that before a Committee recommendation is considered and forwarded to Council, the
Town’s independent actuary, review new issues raised and advise the Committee. Mr. Sloss will work with Ms.
Mayes to arrange the independent actuarial review.
Proposed Investment Policy for OPEB and PARS Section 115 Trust – Roddy Sloss
The subject policy, included in meeting handouts, if adopted, will replace a similar policy adopted in January 2018.
Mr. Sloss briefly described the policy. After discussion, the Committee in attendance unanimously recommended
the Council adopt this policy.
Review of future meeting calendar:
The next FIC meeting will be a Regular meeting on Monday, December 3, 2018 at 4 pm at Town Hall. The primary
non-recurring topics will be a review of the proposed June 30, 2018 CAFR and a new Reserve Policy. Other topics
for future meetings were noted on the meeting Agenda. The Committee agreed to cancel the regular January 2019
meeting and have a special meeting on January 14, 2019.
Presentations from the floor: None.
Adjournment:
At approximately 5:35 pm, there were no further matters to be discussed and the meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted by Roddy Sloss, Committee Secretary
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