MINUTES OF THE METRO COUNCIL BUDGET & FINANCE COMMITTEE

Wednesday, November 15, 2000

Council Chamber

Members Present:  Susan McLain (Chair), Bill Atherton (Vice Chair), David Bragdon, Rod Park

Members Absent:  Jon Kvistad, Rod Monroe, Ed Washington

Chair McLain called the meeting to order at 1:42 P.M.

1.  Consideration of the Minutes of October 11 Committee Meeting.

2.  Response to Budget Notes

Tony Mounts, Administrative Services Department (ASD) Financial Planning Manager reviewed his memo, Update on the FY2000-01 Budget Notes. A copy is included in the public record of this meeting. Chair McLain offered to meet with AFSME union representatives to revisit the fund balances after audit and possible restoration of eliminated positions as noted in Budget Note 1. She suggested that Peggy Coats, Council Analyst, and Bruce Warner, Chief Operating Officer, should also attend. The Committee concurred.

Councilor Park asked what amount the Regional Arts Council (RAC) received from Metro as well as through Metropolitan Exposition-Recreation Commission (MERC). Mr. Mounts responded that the direct contribution from Metro to RAC was $25k, but he did not have the indirect figures. Ms Coats noted that staff’s goal was to trace down all of Metro’s contributions to RAC including indirect contributions from MERC to Portland Oregon Visitors Association (POVA). Councilor Park requested a copy of Metro’s support, including all indirect contributions; e.g. in the form of reduced rental fees for halls, reduced excise tax intake, support services, etc. Mr. Mounts agreed to research these figures.

Chair McLain said that she still was interested in reviewing outside contract services for Regional Environmental Services (REM) services (Budget Note 3) further in the future. Councilor Park asked for the REM criteria of “significant” beyond the dollar amount. Chair McLain suggested that the Committee might wish to review the Metro Contract Code as well as the review process for hiring consultants. Mr. Mounts said that Terry Petersen, REM Director, would present a written follow-up to Budget Notes 4-6 at the November 29 meeting. SWAC met today and would present a recommendation on Note 7 to the REM Committee. He reported that the Sustainable Task Force, working on Notes 8-9, had not begun work on their report yet, but expected it to be ready by March 1.

3.  First Quarter FY 2000-01 Review

Mr. Mounts reviewed Metro Quarterly Report, First Quarter, FY 2000-01 through September 30, 2000. A copy is included in the public record of this meeting. He asked for input from the Committee as to the focus of the report. Councilor Atherton asked if budget costs were on track for the year so far. Mr. Mounts explained that each Fund had different timing as to when it received its income/outgo; e.g. the Zoo Fund monies came in with the property tax turnover in November-December, while gate receipts picked up in the summer months.

Chair McLain said she liked the narrative form. Councilor Bragdon said he would like to see both dollars and percentages comparing Q1 2000 Actuals with Q1 1999 Actuals. He asked about the lack of comparison between 1999 and 2000 on Metro services for MERC. Mr. Mounts responded that no money was actually transferred in last year. Essentially last year was shown as a charge for services line item like a contracted professional service, while this year it was a transfer to the Support Services Fund from the General Fund. Councilor Park asked Mr. Mounts if he felt this was a clearer way of seeing the charges. Mr. Mounts said it was.

Councilor Atherton asked why the Planning Fund balance was zero. Kathy Rutkowski, ASD Analyst, said this fund operated on a different basis; most Planning revenue was received on a reimbursement basis. No funds were carried over. Mr. Mounts said that more money from grants was actually carried over than was estimated.

Chair McLain asked when actual rather than target Zoo donations would appear on the report. Mr. Mounts said the Zoo had received $18k in donations in Q1 and $70k was the target for the year.

Councilor Park noted the Regional Parks Fund was drawing down the Fund source and would be depleted in approximately two years. He asked why this trend was not identified. Mr. Mounts responded that the draw down was shown in the drop in the fund balance between beginning and end. Councilor Park felt that if there was a deficit budget in any fund it should be highlighted.

Chair McLain asked if a survey had ever been done to see why the Metro garage was not competitive. Jennifer Sims, ASD Director/CFO, said the primary reason was its location relative to the whole Lloyd district; however she believed that with the Oregon Convention Center (OCC) construction over the next two years, OCC’s usage would mitigate the deficit. She said OCC would take over the garage operation as of January 1, 2001.

Chair McLain said she felt more information about the Strategic Plan was needed before any more changes were made. Councilor Park said the current forecast was based on the current tonnage system. The change would be the excise tax divided by the estimated tonnage next year. Chair McLain said she was concerned about the changes in the system itself; i.e. more waste was leaving Metro’s system. Mr. Mounts agreed that it should be monitored closely. He pointed out that percentage figures on page 45 for the Auditor’s Office and Office of Citizen Involvement were obviously incorrect and would be reviewed.

Mr. Mounts handed out a sample of fund revenues in a graphed format, Metro Chief Operating Officer Financial Report. A copy is included in the public record of the meeting. Ms. Sims noted that this document was a PeopleSoft report that could be made available to any Councilor who was interested. The Committee agreed that judicious use of graphs should be included in the Quarterly Review. Councilor Park liked the format, and requested an executive summary at the beginning to highlight any unexpected results.

4.  Councilor Communications

None

Chair McLain adjourned the meeting at 2:59 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Pat Weathers

Council Assistant

ATTACHMENTS TO THE PUBLIC RECORD FOR THE MEETING OF NOVEMBER 15, 2000

The following have been included as part of the official public record:

i:\minutes\2000\budget&finance/11150bdm.doc