PERIOD REPORT
DATE: January 6, 2020 Report No. FIN-20-003
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Ian Irvine, Director of Financial Services
SUBJECT:TITLE Financial Services and IT Departments - 2019 Third Period Report
Body
The following is a report on the activities pertaining to the Financial Services and IT Departments from September 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019.
I. DIVISION ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Budgeting, Financial Accounting and Reporting
• In preparation for the 2020-2024 Financial Plan, initial capital and operating budget information was compiled by each department. Once all submissions are received, they will be consolidated for Council’s review during March 2020.
• Interim audit work by the Township’s auditors was completed during late November. The year end requirements, reconciliations and analyses are being completed in preparation for the annual financial statement audit scheduled for March 2020.
• Completed a variance analysis of budget versus actual revenues and expenditures in September. No unexplained significant variances or anomalies were noted.
• Provided an information session regarding the financial plan and property taxation which was made available to the public, businesses and staff.
• Completed the transition for an online tax certificate process which requires legal firms and other agencies to acquire certificates through an external website. This results in no loss of revenue to the Township and frees up staff time for other duties.
2. Property Taxes
• Property tax notices were mailed in November to all outstanding accounts and as of December 31, 2019, approximately 95% of the total tax levy was collected. This collection total represented almost 98% of the total property tax folios within the Township.
• The total 2020 amount received from Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) for Property in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) was $24,886 more than the budgeted application amount. This was primarily due to the expiration of leases relating to federal land which were previously taxed outside of the PILT.
• All delinquent property taxes were collected in advance of the September deadline and, as a result, no tax sale was required.
3. Risk Management
• There are no significant or unusual liability claims against the Township.
4. Information Technology
• Upgraded the server which will provide increased support to the email system and easier transition to Office 365 during 2020.
• Involved in the privacy assessment, vendor selection and proof of concept related to the acquisition of video surveillance capabilities. Installation and deployment of cameras is scheduled for January 2020.
• Completed the migration to a new backup software program which provides improved integration with our existing environment.
• The department staff closed a total of 547 internal support calls during the period. This represented a 56% increase over the third period of 2018 and was attributed to being fully staffed in the department and the rollout of new applications across the Township.
II. COMMITTEES
• The Local Grant Committee met in September to review 2019 Permissive Tax Exemption applications. Recommendations from the Committee were reviewed and approved by Council and the bylaw was adopted in October.