OFFICE OF THE SELECTBOARD
Finance Committee
TOWN OF HALIFAX, VERMONT
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING
9 May 2024
CALL TO ORDER
McAllister called the meeting to order at 1:00 pm (Recording started)
Patrick McAllister and Karen Christofferson, Finance Committee members present
No other participants joined the meeting in person or remotely
CHANGES AND ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA
Christofferson asked to amend the date of the minutes to be approved from March 28, 2024 to January 11, 2024.
APPROVAL PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES
McAllister moved to approve the 11 January 2024 minutes with no changes.
Christofferson seconded. Minutes were approved.
OLD BUSINESS
None noted
NEW BUSINESS
Review Q3 Financial Statements
McAllister pointed out structural changes in the Balance Sheets when different Balance Sheet dates are compared. McAllister and Christofferson noted specific variances and possible explanations. In particular, a discussion regarding the Bridge Reserve Fund noted the following:
- 4Q23 (June 2023) $59,994.86
- 1Q24 (Sept 2023) $59,994.86
- 3Q24 (March 31, 2024) $12,369.86
As an action item, McAllister and Christofferson agreed to request a work session with Treasurer to discuss and consider reporting parameters for Financial Committee review.
McAllister further noted that the Scott & Eames Fund Balances at March 31, 2024 should not be held in Town Accounts . Christofferson thought they might be showing up in Cash Account to identify the “use’ of the funds. This needs to be resolved.
A discussion of the Equity portion of the Balance Sheet ensued. McAllister noted that the line item descriptions are insufficient for review and Christofferson noted that perhaps “sub account” designations are not being presented.
McAllister and Christofferson agreed not to spend more time on reviewing 2Q24 Financials until following the Work Session with the Treasurer.
Discuss Financial Software Options
Due to the amount of time spent on reviewing 3Q24 financial reporting, McAllister and Christofferson agreed to defer discussion of financial and accounting software upgrade options to a later date to be determined. A discussion would be better informed following the pending Work Session with the Town Treasurer
Review Finance and Accounting Policies
McAllister noted that the Town does not have a Finance and Accounting policy. Christofferson pulled up the Town Policy book and confirmed that to be the case. McAllister noted that VLCT has a very basic model policy. Christofferson asked if it would be best to focus on financial reporting first.
McAllister pulled up the VLCT pdf Model Accounting Auding and Reporting Policy and shared with Christofferson.
A discussion ensued with McAllister and Christofferson agreeing to use the VLCT model policy as a starting point and draft an accounting policy for discussion with Town Treasurer and Selectboard.
McAllister suggested using OneNote to draft. A discussion ensued. McAllister and Christofferson will try to use the existing Google Docs for ease of access. McAllister noted that access would have to be granted to his personal gmail account as his Town email is an Outlook account. Christofferson will discuss with Town Secretary to see if this is possible to set up. [Note: This will need to conform with Open Meeting Law]
McAllister sent Christofferson a Google Docs version of the Draft Accounting Policy which at this point is just a reformatted VLCTR model policy.
McAllister and Christofferson compared calendars and agreed to try and schedule a Work Session with Town Treasurer on May 29, 2024. Christofferson sent an email request to Town Treasurer with a couple suggested times. Response pending.
OTHER BUSINESS
Continuation of Finance Committee was discussed. McAllister and Christofferson will recommend to Selectboard that the Finance Committee be continued.
HEARING OF VISITORS
None present
ADJOURNMENT
Christofferson moved to adjourn the meeting. McAllister seconded. McAllister adjourned the meeting at 2:51pm (Recording stopped)