PERIOD REPORT
DATE: May 2, 2017 Report No. FIN-17-007
TO: Laurie Hurst, Chief Administrative Officer
FROM: Ian Irvine, Director of Financial Services
SUBJECT:TITLE Financial Services and Information Technology Departments - 2017 First Period Report
Body
The following is a report on the activities pertaining to the Financial Services and Information Technology Departments from January 1, 2017 to April 30, 2017.
I. DIVISION ACHIEVEMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
1. Budgeting, Financial Reporting and Accounting Operations
• Draft budget was prepared during the period of January to March. This involved the compilation of departmental submissions, senior management discussions, and the formalization of recommendations to Council.
• Various presentations to Council including a budget overview, challenges, and a policy and objectives review. The draft 2017-2021 Financial Plan and a range of tax rate scenarios were presented to Council with both required bylaws adopted prior to the end of April.
• Provided year end reconciliations and draft financial statements to our auditors for their review, testing and issuance with their audit opinion of our financial position expected in May.
• Assisted the Recreation Department with the configuration and monitoring of the PerfectMind application to ensure financial information was accurately and completely captured in the Township’s financial system. Worked with the Recreation and IT departments to initiate the rollout and configuration of online registration functionality.
• Completed the configuration and rollout of the new budget software application for use during the 2017 process. During the remainder of 2017, we will be implementing enhancements to improve the functionality and reporting capabilities in advance of the next budget cycle.
• Entered into an agreement with AON Insurance for the Township’s property insurance coverage. The agreement requires a two year commitment and provides a 14% reduction in premiums from the previous agreement.
2. Risk Management
• There are no new significant or unusual liability claims with the Municipal Insurance Association
3. Information Technology
• An IT visioning survey was sent to senior staff and the results were compiled by an external provider. The feedback provided will help guide the department in the short and long term.
• Assisted with the site preparations for the Esquimalt Town Square project. This involved working with other departments and contractors to coordinate the relocation of the transformer and backup generator with little or no impact to Township operations.
• Deployed a mobile display system within the Fire Department. This system is designed to display real time information in the Chiefs’ offices and the foyer regarding the status of incidents and the deployment of equipment.
• Received feedback from the external consultant that was responsible for updating the Township website. The recommendations were documented and a plan is being created to incorporate them into future website updates.
• The department opened 374 internal support requests during the period with 356 tickets, or 95%, being closed during the same period.
II. COMMITTEES
• The Local Grant Committee met in February to review all 2017 local grant funding requests. The Committee’s recommendations were approved by Council in March and the total approved amount was included within the adopted 2017-2021 Financial Plan.