All the May 28th, 2019
Finance Committee meeting to order place at 4:00.
If we can take roll call, just indicate whether you're representing
the administration, school board or a citizens advisor.
Mr. Mike.
Mike Prince.
Business Manager.
Jeff King.
Citizen.
Joe MacFarland. Superintendent.
Kathy Speaker. Board Member.
Teri Singer. Board Member.
Darby Vallejo Citizen.
KIPP Shore School.
Morton Regis.
Berwyn Administration.
Thank you, everyone.
We know that
one of our citizens advisors will not be able to be here
this evening, and I have not heard from Lindsey's on her way.
She is texting me. Okay.
All right. First,
the minutes were attached.
Did anyone have any comments or observations about the minutes?
If not.
Could I have a motion to approve Senate
second?
All in favor.
I thank you.
Okay.
Unfinished business.
Well, attached to the agenda.
We have a proposal from PFM
slash.
You'll have to explain to me what pledge
it is under Milton Hershey
to take a look at the Milton Hershey Investment Fund.
So make.
So we reached out to
as we were looking at next steps for our
looking into the investment trust for Milton Hershey
Trust investment and trustee.
We had started the process
a while back looking out to our solicitor
to write advice on how we would go through this process.
They did provide us some information
of essentially how the process worked,
that we would have to engage the Hershey Trust to talk about what we would want
to do moving forward and in fact get their approval to move forward.
We would also have to get approval from the attorney general's office.
That would actually be the change, the trustee.
However, we could do some work with with Hershey's approval
and the current trustee, Fulton Financial, would also have to resign.
They would have to agree
to to leave
the business.
So one of the things we've been looking for
that I've been asking for, or what are our goals?
What do we want to see if we actually go through and
are looking for a new trustee?
What are we trying to get accomplished?
Because we've been talking a lot about the fees,
but that's only a small portion of the whole engagement.
You also have the returns,
the money that's coming in based on those investments.
So we had some various ways that we looked at that.
I even have a senator, an advisor.
TODD That is,
does this kind of thing for a living.
So he looked at some of the information
and it really got obvious to me that to really get
a deep dive, there's certain pieces of information
that, for instance, are some things that I can't share with Todd
because of how it would open up certain issues for us.
I just it's engaging him as a citizens advisor.
So I reached out to our money manager, PFM and more pointedly,
Brad Remick, to ask them how PFM could help us in this process.
He got me in touch with a
person with the Polegate arm,
and it is the bank.
It's a Pennsylvania liquid
liquid asset government trust.
Basically, that's what it is.
It's a bank that any of us at his school district municipality non not nonprofit.
I think it's for school districts.
Municipalities and local governments can participate
and invest funds.
There is one point in time where it was beating everybody
in terms of returns that school districts could obtain
and specifically school districts and nonprofits, because there are certain
things we're not allowed to invest in because we're using public funds.
So they engaged
or asked them to pull together a proposal for us
if we really wanted them to dive deep into these investments,
into what's been going on, benchmarking those types of things
and providing a proposal that they could go
through that process at a cost of about $18,000.
That process
would be a a third party
not necessarily involved in any way or any skin in the game of whether or not
we stay with Fulton Financial or leave and really give us some benchmarking.
We do get benchmarking reports from Fulton Financial Quarterly.
However, they they provide that benchmarking information.
So there's been some talk of, you know, how much can you really trust
that there are always meaning there benchmarks when they seem to be the one
holding that information.
Also notes in here, there were reviews, the fees of the managers
and some of the of the other compensation that is being charged to the
to the trust fund and provide some information on
whether or not that's within market guidelines.
Basically, that's what's been proposed.
This was kind of the first step that I thought in terms of any time
I get to a place where I'm not quite
sure I need a question to answer, that's when I usually turn to the experts
that do those types of things and have them guide us through the process
to make that determination.
Now, just to point out, this would just be for the review
of the current plan that we have and investments.
I believe over the last 12 months
to let us know if that's been
part of that.
Has has what Fulton Financial been reporting to us?
Is that inaccurate in terms of the benchmarking and other things out there?
And there's been some questions about other underlying expenses
that that we don't see in the fund, from what I can tell.
I see when the money comes in, I see when it goes out.
We do
we do pay fees, which we're aware of,
how it's three basis points
is essentially or 3/10 of a percent
is what they get on the value.
There is also an additional charge
for transaction fees that happened during the year.
And if I look over the last three years, those average to be
0.6% or 1600s basis point
in terms of the fees.
So that's the information that I have
and really was was looking for input from from the committee
and the board on how and if we would like to move forward.
Mike, even though you
you couldn't share a lot of information with time, understandably so.
Did he have a chance to look at their proposal and comment on it?
I mean, is it
this proposal?
No, he he has not.
And it was noted he he contacted you earlier, noting
he was going to be at the meeting.
And I noted that I for this to him after I reviewed it
with all the committee members.
It seems like a lot of money
for an uncertain outcome, but it's not my area of expertise.
That's why I'd appreciate the opinion of some financial people.
And so, Mike, the the 3/10 of one
basis point is just kind of the overarching
management fee. Correct.
And what does what does that come to annually, roughly?
Sure. So
and obviously, it's dependent on the value of the
the assets in the trust, because that's what it's being based on.
But $125,000 annually.
I look back at 2015, 16 school year, that was $120,000.
I looked at 17, 18 school year and that was
131,016 17 was was in between that as well.
So as an average, that's about what it is.
And for the additional service fees, if you will,
or fees, transactional fees I guess was a better
process for that.
That is about $69,000 per year.
So so combined it's
somewhere around one 7180 per year over that.
So I looked at it over a three year period, those 36 months, we've paid
a combination of compensation commissions and fees,
a total of $582,000.
The district is also received $5.9
million over those three years in returns
that we've actually used for our our budget.
We budget about.
It's down to about 1.8 million now that we budget per year.
But that would be obviously a significant tax
increase, a tax increase we wouldn't be able to do under the current Act
one guidelines if those dollars went away. So
that's why I wanted to note
some of those things that I think we haven't discussed before.
If I add those earnings
and what's been paid out to us and fees back into the ending value
of the fund
over that 36 month period, it's increased by
just a little over 17% or about 5.8% per year,
of which compared to the market
is is not shabby in my
experience.
Also knowing that there's some things that they're not investing in
because of the way we've instructed them that we would like the money used. So
I think everything that I'm finding
with when I go back and look at it,
I'm satisfied with Fulton and the work that they're doing.
However, I understand there's a need or want to make sure
that we're doing this as efficient as possible.
And so this may, you know, maybe a process to go through to get to that,
but didn't want us to just put out an RFP that says, give me the lowest
commission fees.
And, you know, if if the money coming into the school district drops
in any way, that we haven't done anything good for the school district.
Mike, when you mentioned there's five point something million
that's come into the district and that's that's not returns on investments.
That's that's just the annual
amount they're able to provide towards the school
district based on maintaining the trust in perpetuity.
Well, as part of the money.
So if the if I look at the value of the fund
at July of 2015 and compare that to June of 2018
with all those things out, then the fund increased.
So those those are returns.
That's real money that's been in the fund.
That is part of that that is coming coming to the district.
So that that comes completely out of the fund.
And once again, why I would add it back in
the actual if I look at it, you know, four, three,
three months apart or three years apart, excuse me,
the fund has only increased a little over $1,000,000.
But that would take out that almost
more than $6 million has come out of the fund to pay
the district and the fees.
So it has increased.
It talks in the proposal about looking at our investment
policy statement.
How much is there to that?
That would really be in Fulton's investment policy statement because
they would have worked with the district
in 2011 or 2012 when this first came to be
in having the district have input.
But Fulton Financial, as the trustee,
has complete control over how the money is managed.
And so that would be their plan.
They may have taken some of our input.
They don't need to take any of our input.
They could invest it how they see fit, because as the trustee, that's
what they're given the ability to do.
So it would be that information that they would probably review
it. This is a small point, but
I thought we had some say.
Let's just say, for example, there was a pharmaceutical company
that got in trouble for doing X, Y, Z and had SCC violations
and stuff like that, but they were still in business.
But we found what they were.
We thought as a board that that
we didn't support the kind of actions that they took.
I mean, we could say, well, I thought as part of our investment
policy statement that we'd want to invest in for pharmaceutical companies,
we can recommend that, but that is not the way
I would look like something like that.
Having our input
is the board could take action and then Fulton would have to do that.
That's not the way this is set up.
They can take our recommendation and most times have I think we talked about
before that alcohol and pornography
were two things that that are not invested in, and they agree with that.
I think they would have may have something different.
Those obviously aren't large earners
in the investment cycle.
They may have a bigger push back.
If we would go and say, well, this bank doesn't make me comfortable.
Well, if it makes them comfortable, they don't have to
take our money out of it.
But that would be only trustee Terry.
That's not just Fulton Financial. That's right.
But how the permanent trustees is arranged.
So I think that
when we added this call to the Finance Committee, it was to try to
determine if we could save any money or if we should do a review
and now we're finding out that we have to spend $18,000 to do that.
So but then I hear you saying, Mike, you're satisfied with Fulton Financial
on your kind of doing an overview back over a three year period
and the returns are decent and the principal is still there plus.
Correct.
And I am musing about what the teachers gets in returns,
which has just been south of 6% over that same period of time, year over year.
So if we're
if this is doing as well as one of the largest pensions, you know,
that's where I draw my conclusion that it's running fairly well.
Is there someone out there that could offer less fees
and offer a better return?
That's a possibility, in my opinion, a fairly smaller possibility
than when we first started looking at this information. So.
So the cost is about
10% of what we're spending on
with Fulton Financial right now, if you look at it that way.
So you have to find the 10% cost reduction
with another supplier.
And I don't know how feasible that is or not.
I haven't seen the benchmarks that Fulton provides
and all the conversations, off the record conversations that I've had with
Bryn Mawr Trust and some of the others that we do
business with, but not directly.
And their answer is, well, I of course
I think I can do better, but that doesn't look too bad to me.
But, you know, as only thing, if you're willing to give me
all the information I need, I'll give you a proposal.
We just haven't gone down that road because once again, it's not I don't see
this as an exercise in determining who can provide the least amount of fees,
who can provide the best return with the least amount of fees.
And I think we're Fulton Financial is doing a pretty good job of that.
They've also worked with us, giving them credit.
But my second year here, they came back and said
the calculation we're using isn't good enough.
We need to switch that they had because they're the trustee, the ability
to make that switch all in one year,
which would have cost us about $400,000 all at one time.
We agreed that they would do this over a six year period, which they've done
to get that back there and help us slow
or slow any effect on our our budget, that having those
having less of those trust dollars in it would affect.
So I'm also giving them credit that they they worked through a process with us
that they didn't have to do
and we both both seem satisfied about the outcome.
They would like to see the fund or the trust a little bit bigger.
I'd like to make sure we have enough money in each year's budget
that we don't have to to do certain things to make sure.
So I think we've struck that balance the best possible way.
So what I'm hearing is a partner who you've been happy with.
You had a question,
but in the interim you've been very happy with their performance.
They work with you
$18,000 for a
and admittedly a very low probability of finding someone better.
Once you've now done your due diligence.
That's what I if I play it all back, that's what it sounds like
right.
Did Brad have any just general observations.
I mean he put a proposal together, you know, to look at it for $18,000.
Did he share any thoughts in terms of
just the amount of as it notes in the proposal, they believe that
that whole process will take them about between 40 and 50 hours.
So when I look at it in that way and what a professional service costs,
I'm not really blown away by the I was more surprised
that it was going to be 40 or 50 hours worth of work.
But then as I reflected on that, that made me feel, well, that's
I think they're going through it A to Z, that there's no stone left unturned
going through in that amount of time
with the information that that would be able to present
and look at.
I guess my only other my only other suggestion.
So dealing with agencies
from time to time, I mean eight people, I mean, they put in a full staff.
I guess you could go back and say this is how much we have to spend.
What do we get for it that, you know, you make 15,
14 something along those lines that typically works.
And there are some things they can strip out sometimes
if you really want to do it and at least know that you've tried to
squeeze them a little bit
and I'd be more than okay having that conversation.
Only in the fact, though, that we need to talk about what
what are our goals because what are we what are we stripping out that may
then not allow us to obtain those goals?
One of the things I don't like to do,
if I have the ability to negotiate and know where the parameters are, absolutely.
We don't have to accept this, but only doing that if we're looking at
seriously undertaking this and saying, well, if it was $8,000 cheaper,
that that would be something we would undertake.
But what what are we missing for?
For that amount of money?
It is not going to help us reach our goal.
Anybody else have any comments or thoughts?
Well, this isn't something we have to make a decision on today.
I really appreciate you're putting all this information together.
Make sure and
and and I think that to Jeff's point,
PFM is an art is an entity that we work
with on a regular basis that you consider a good partner.
I do.
And so, you know, maybe
18,000, maybe it doesn't have to be $18,000.
But we can't strip out the things that, you know, would mean something.
But part of that was actually
our discussion, Terry, because the way we work with PFM
and and even RBC really with with
Lew is they'll give me advice any time I want to pick up the phone,
they'll answer.
They understand that they're not getting paid until we go through
a bond process, which may not happen for a couple of more years.
I was appointed to tell them I don't I don't want to cash in a favor for this
because I think this is more important to make sure we're spending the time
and the energy
and the resources that are necessary to do the work that needs to be done
before we just go out and and find something different.
So that conversation did come up and I specifically said
I would like you to put a cost associated with this because please don't treat this
as if it's some of the regular things.
Or like I said, knowing that any time I have a question,
I can pick up the phone and those gentlemen will answer
you. I mean,
as Kip said, I mean, this this is not anywhere near close
to any expertise that I have or even understanding.
So just
spending that much money annually
and we've done it for,
I don't know, ten or 12 years, however long it's been, it just seems like
it would be prudent here and there,
you know, to to take a look at it
and, you know, have a bunch of different eyes
looking at it with among people who have that expertise.
But, you know, if there
if there isn't ultimately going to be an appetite
for spending that kind of money to look at that, maybe for now at least,
I can maybe take Jeff's suggestion and just see if there might be some
ability to sell it at a lower cost.
What about asking
Todd's opinion of Todd as an expert in this area?
Because you mentioned
it's a low probability of finding another vendor at a lower cost.
Is that really a low probability or is that A That's what I was, yeah.
Or is that a I mean, he's he's a real expert in the room on this.
Right.
But maybe just ask Todd's opinion.
What is the probability of that.
Well, those conversations that Tony have had, that's it.
Basically each time we get to there is like,
I would need a little bit more information to really make that decision.
But he agrees.
What we're what we're seeing here is not out of the realm of what he's
experienced and, you know, we're not getting gouged is at the best.
And I think that's what we're really trying to answer here is is,
you know, maybe we have something we're trying to verify
whether we have the best or is it just good?
It's not something we're we're trying to pull back from.
So I think getting that I just don't want to frustrate
either one of us that there's there is a point that you know,
you get what you pay for.
And I don't want to go too far down this road
with having, you know, one expert's
advice on what's going on there, which I value.
I just concerned how many decisions and how far we go
without
without paying for something.
And like I said, I really do have that
philosophy that there aren't too many things that we can get.
Absolutely free.
Well,
we meet every month so we can, but we we don't meet June, July and August.
June.
We do have a we have a meeting schedule.
And so we can we can review this.
Like I said, I've got to this in Todd's hands after the meeting today,
and we can just know to keep this unfinished business and,
you know, take it up at that period of time.
I mean, as you pointed out, Mike, this is critical to our ability to be
as fortunate as we've been in managing our annual budgets
and to know that we're,
you know, having it managed both efficiently and effectively.
And from a dollar point of view so that it is sustained forever
is, you know, important
so we can put it out as a, you know, unfinished business
and just hear back from you next time.
Thank you again.
Make sure that together. Absolutely.
Okay.
Next item.
Anybody have any more questions on that?
Okay.
Next item is just a review of the capital plan.
In our last meeting.
It was a request that we maybe take a take
a peek at the capital plan and make sure that we put some stuff together for us.
Yep. You people, that one.
So there
are two item, two items attached to the agenda.
The first one just being
a summary, going back to 1516
of what we've spent
in the capital plan as well as the funds that have come in
to the capital plan from there.
We do have a plan
or items on for the 1920 school year.
That information is is attached as well.
And then I also did put kind of the placeholders
that we've been talking about.
One, obviously being the safe schools.
And that is just a budget consideration at this point
as we're going through the process with warehouse that budget number
will change based on the information, based on our planning.
What we want in the project and then ultimately,
you know, what the bids cost for those,
but that'll be updated as we work through the process with with warehouse.
We have an item for the the 322 building
looking at the renovations that need to happen there
so that that facility can be used more year round.
Once again, we have an approximate number there,
I believe at today's regular board meeting.
There's a proposal to to take that to
the next step, to get that to a more real number.
And then finally is just once again, this is more of a placeholder.
I'm not necessarily
recommending at this point
that it comes out of the Capital Projects Fund, but in essence, it's
where the funds that we have are right now.
And that would be for the remainder of the work on the building that we're in.
We noted that we had hoped that a roof
and complete exterior renovation would come in around $3 million.
Unfortunately, it came in above $6 million.
So we we reworked that and looking at just doing a roofing project
first to identify or address some of the major concerns.
And we're doing that because we have the funds to do so.
That was part of the bond issuance.
So about a million and a half of the 3.1 million that we borrowed,
we will spend on that roof and then go back
and build out the remainder of the project for it to be finished.
And so the two and a half million is just a reflection.
If it stays in that $6 million figure, once again, more or less just a placeholder.
We don't have a lot of good information on that.
So if we look at before adding those revised plans,
we would look at we have about $1.6 million worth of projects
that we had already scheduled and reported for our initial five year capital plan.
The transfers in our normal budgetary transfers,
$1,000,000 coming from the general fund and then $257,000
coming from the rent that we collect on this building from the Met Center.
To to show where those funds are coming in in through there.
So this is just the real quick financial update,
essentially wanting to show that the things we've been talking about,
we're doing to have cash available to do those projects
and it's not been earmarked anywhere else.
I also did go through a process and one of the things that I was asked
when I first got here was to make sure that there's a requirement
that when money is moved over into this capital plan,
that within three years it is expanded from that.
And so it did a little process
that if we're adding these additional $5 million
in ex projects for 1920,
some of that for safe schools and the other for the Granada property,
we will have actually exceeded the amounts over the three year
period that we need to.
So money will have been expanded
by that 1920 year.
So when we implement the other projects that we have
and even if the Granary property project does not come out in the extent
that it does, there's more than enough expenses, that money going in there.
We will look at that year over year
to make sure that that is something that is continued
over that process, that we can ensure we're meeting those requirements.
And the other item attached is just the detail of how
that $1.6 million in expenses that's noted on that revised.
It's just that the breakdown of of what those projects are.
One of them
being the turf field, which we kicked from 1819
from the current year into next year's plan.
We will also be
I should place a caveat on the items
that are here at our June 10th General Services meeting.
We have a couple of the directors coming back
to make requests to essentially say, Look,
I thought we were going to need to do this in 1920.
I don't think we need to do it anymore, but I'd rather do X.
So they'll be coming forth to provide that proposal
as well as during
that meeting will start to look at the 2021 school year
so that hopefully before we begin the school year,
we'll have an approved capital plan for 2021.
So that
the things that are on here
will be reviewed at General Services, but not to the full board.
What is
happened traditionally is that the General Services Committee
listens to any reviews and provides comment on that.
And so far that has
I bring this to the full board usually at the July meeting
for ratification, but the process has always gone
as long as we get the okay from the general services Committee.
The full board needs to ratify it, but we've never had any
any dissension or discussions.
Otherwise, if the committee approves it,
then historically the full board has approved it.
So that's that assumption is also coming along with that.
Is there anything that you anticipate is going to be coming off of here based on
what's on this list?
Yes, I, I do.
And that'll be reviewed.
And I don't have that information with me.
But basically it was some of the projects that directors felt were not things
that needed to be addressed right now, but other things have come up.
One of the issues we found this 1920 is the final year of a five year
capital plan.
We did about the second year into the capital plan.
We realized going five years out was a little ambitious.
And so some of that information for the outlying years
has not proven to be helpful that some of that has switched over.
That's what I'm trying to wrap my hands on,
because I've seen the four or five year broken down by year
in an Excel spreadsheet and just kind of watching how things
carry across in the actual versus the projected.
And so I'm trying to wrap my head around
where the best
places to to get more information on that.
You know, like in
1819, I think that there was something
about a middle school parking lot
being used.
And then when we got into 1920, now it's staff parking at high school.
So just trying to figure out where there's
narrative and understanding to see how that flows through.
Yeah, so unfortunately a lot of that would have to go through
would be housed in those
at those General Services Committee meetings.
Ultimately, because I don't while the updates are made, you make a good point.
When we pull something off, we don't necessarily sometimes
we're purposely just kicking it to another year.
Other times it's it's been identified as well.
This isn't something that that we really need to have happen.
I should mention once again, this being the first,
at least to my knowledge, the first process,
we were able to get a capital plan plan identified.
We had a facility study done
training only six years ago,
so about six or seven years ago
and information would use are just pulled from that facility study.
Unfortunately, we found in
going through that facility study and using that information
that once again, some of the things in the outlying years weren't things
that were close to being needed to be done or at times were doing that.
Well, if you have a ten year boiler, here's when you have to when we know well,
ours at least last 13 years,
if not better, to be able to do that.
We found that the outlying years, a lot of things were just pulled from that plan.
And as we got closer, it was like, no, we don't.
We don't really need to address that
or it's been addressed in different ways or the need went away
through one means or another.
I know the parking lot expansion is something that we were talking about
then, knowing some of the constraints we had with paving ground,
we kind of stepped away from that.
Now that has changed that.
That may be another discussion that we we get into.
However,
I know Transportation Department has some needs that have come up
that maybe start to to go above
in terms of the need for some of these
things.
Anybody else have any
any questions?
So, Mike, what you're saying is
going out one or two years is kind of.
Yeah, What I can say is so the
for the July board meeting,
the full board should expect to see the revised 2019
2020 plan with a recommendation from the General Services Committee.
We'll have start to talk about the 2021 at that General Services Committee.
I doubt, though,
I don't have any anticipation that should be a couple meeting process,
which I said is why I think it will be close to September
till we get that approved and moved
to the full board to see what that that next year's process
and that's the anticipated rolling is that we would like to have
the year we're
in one year out and then planning the next year.
So essentially have a rolling three years that we're starting.
We started with this year.
Where is something that we would or is it possible
to put something together that we could look, I completely understand the
it changes year to year because it's already changed so much
since the conversation this time last year.
But looking at just those bigger items, so the the roofs, the,
you know, some of the heating and cooling things that maybe
typically they say are ten years, but we know that they're 13 years,
kind of like what you're talking about,
just so that we can get a picture in our minds looking down the road
two, three, five, ten years of where
those larger expenditures are going to be,
that I think that might help sometimes as we're shifting on various projects
and things that come up with safe schools and building improvements and not
projects.
So we we can talk about the best way to to get that information
for you, Lindsey, because I think what
from a I don't know how to put this necessarily
from a putting it on paper planning perspective.
I think only looking two or three years down the road is the best we can go for.
Looking out further than that, you know,
I could go to directors and some things and get a wish list,
but once again, if we said, well, what is that going to cost?
You know, we're a big ballpark to be able to get that.
So I don't know. The last time the roof on the elementary school.
Oh, that's very yeah, absolutely very easy so that we can look at that
because as buildings are aging, as we're reaching,
you know, the exception of this building, every building, every roof in the school
district has been replaced by in the last five years.
My first year on the board was the last building to be done.
That is all going to be done except for this one.
And that's where for those of us that are on the board,
you know, since that happened, there's not an easy place
to be able to understand that.
So as we're thinking ahead to space and need,
what I can do, Lindsey, is update in a better way the
the actuals for what's been done each of those years.
And it won't necessarily be all cold together, but at least within
that four year period, you can say, oh, okay, there was a roof done there.
There was a roof done there, though.
You really hope that we can go back and see what was done.
Yeah. Last year. Yes. Yes.
Thanks.
So, Mike, with
the the three year window,
once the funds go into the capital fund, what's the trigger that starts?
The three or so is against their.
Yeah.
Yes essentially so we have rolling rate so whatever goes in one year
you got three years from that year. Correct.
And we were treating everything with the old I mean it once
it goes in there it loses its identity, its gets its dollars.
But the way we treat this is the oldest money would be spent, obviously, first
and the newest money.
That's why when I look at I made the comment of
we've we've spent those dollars.
I look at what we
we had a large influx in 1516.
We have to go all the way out to almost the end of 1718
before I can show that we've spent those dollars.
How do we look at that?
I mean, how is it is there any penalty or consequence associated with.
So no. Well,
it would be a comment by PD.
So our normal auditors probably may not look at that as intently
unless we had a conversation or a question about that.
And really the large part of that from a school coach perspective,
is to make sure we're just not stuck in my way
and then saying, well, look at this, great,
but our buildings are falling apart and everything.
I know that's not the case here,
but it really is looking at it.
Joe, could you pull up that the other?
Yeah.
So I just I this I've done this a couple of times fairly quickly,
but if I look at the beginning balance of 1516 and add in the transfer
that happened at the end of that year, I get a little over $8 million.
So then if I look at the expenses in 15, 16, 16,
17 and 17, 18, they come to about $9 million.
So I know over that period of time, okay, everything from 1516 is spent.
Yeah, I look at 16, 17, those dollars
kind of what we already have planned in the next 18, 19 and 1920.
If I look at those, that takes those dollars away.
And I said, like the comment were about
we in 1920 or 2021, we could
someone could perceive it as three or $4 million short.
I know we have more than three or $4 million of projects
that we're going to continue to add in here and we're going to do so.
Okay, That's my comments that it is safe.
We're doing what we're required to do by the school code.
If we would come in and it would be more of an asset.
This happened somewhat in one of the suburban Philadelphia schools
who was sucking away their capital funds and they weren't spending them.
And PD did come in and say, Well,
you're not allowed to raise taxes anymore until you deal with this.
But once again, I
looking at
those numbers and what we're doing, we're not in the same situation.
Okay. Thanks, Mike.
Anybody else have any questions
Again, Mike, thank you for pulling this together and sharing with us.
The last item on the agenda is
any updates that were available on the assessed values of the property
that was part of the original, the last proposed TIF?
Yeah, for the post office property
and so just look those up.
I do have to I pretty much want to make sure I qualify.
We don't go too far down this road.
The proposals we heard were that it would be the assessed
value would be a little over $15 Million as it stands in 2019,
it's 10,000,006.
I don't have any verification of the projects are done
or if everything's been done and all the assessments
have come through and been updated.
So that is one.
Note to make of that, I've asked for that information to be updated.
It's I didn't it was going to take some time
and I just made that request last week as I looked at this and thought,
I don't want to I want to make sure we're getting the true picture of the story.
I think this is part of it.
You know, it did increase the assessed value by a little over $8 million.
That's about $150,000 in additional real estate taxes for us.
So it's always good to see businesses expand
and particularly even better if we don't have
to give up anything for that to occur.
Thank you for that.
You're
anybody have any questions on that?
Can you just update us as you get additional information?
And I mean, I will on the your radar.
Yeah, the outstanding question I have, if it's if it's yes, they're done.
We'll come back and talk about that
because that does have some interesting implications.
If I get know, then hopefully I'll get a time period when we can
let the board know that it's not updated and when we can expect it to
to be finalized.
In terms of that project and then do that comparison back to
to the 15 million, because I think it is a great exercise
in terms of what we went through to make sure you're taking it full circle
to understand what those implications were
and what finally happened right at the end of the day.
Okay.
Thank you again, Mike, for pulling all that together.
I guess everyone noticed we
didn't have anything on the agenda today about the 20 1920 budget.
That's because it's pretty much all buttoned up and Mike is just
Joe is handing out a a summary of
what's in the board brief for the board members
and actually on the agenda for the board tonight.
And Mike, if you want to say anything about it, please feel sure.
So what the board will be acting on tonight is to advertise the full budget,
which is part of the process set up by IPD that we have to do.
This is the projections for the current year that we're in.
And this is always important part of the process to the budgeting process
because we set a lot or make certain decisions on what our budget is for
the coming year based on what we thought was going to happen in the current year.
And I want to start out we did start out this year
assuming about a $745,000 deficit in our budget.
However, mostly due to the once again
our strong local economy
as well as some of the things we've been able to do,
has always keep an eye on expenses and make sure we're doing that,
especially as we possibly can.
We're projecting that will turn the year positively,
not by much, and that is something a little different than in prior years.
Usually we've had as much as in my tenure here.
We've ended the year as much as $3 million more than we thought we would have.
And all that money went into the capital fund
that we were talking about, and that's how those dollars get there.
But don't
anticipate that transfer being as large for next year.
But I also showing here don't anticipate that it's actually going to be the deficit
that we thought it might be.
Looking at the expenditures where we're we're looking at there,
there are some some positive things happening with salaries, benefits.
I think I provided some of this information
back in the end of April.
We continue to I was hoping some of our costs
for some of our benefits would would level out.
That may not happen.
I don't think it's going to be over the budgeted amount that we have, but
I was hopeful that that would be about $150,000 under.
And I just
think it's going to be around 80.
So that is something the changed are not employee expenses
once again are
down from from where we believe that they'll be all those together.
We're looking at our expenses being about $740,000 under our budgeted,
which all lead to how we were able to
look at last year, have a deficit and look at the not have any doom
and gloom associated with that just because of some of the
margins of error, for lack of a better term that arise during the year.
Those margins of error can always go against us as well, which is difficult.
But fortunately, once again to our local strong economy
and the work being done by the faculty and staff at administration
to to make sure the budget is under wraps,
we're looking at that being more positive than we had anticipated as well.
So not
necessarily one area I can point back to specifically, but a lot of things
coming together at the same point in time for a positive
effect.
So, Mike,
when you say this, is this what will be advertised exactly like this?
No, no.
This is just the projections for for 18 for where we're at now, 1819 The
the what the board has in front of them
today is just the budget information.
We can discuss this or update the board
during your report today
to include this with with the information for them.
You want to hand this out? Okay. Yes. Yeah.
And that to make sure that they have a copy of it.
Okay.
Anybody have any questions?
Okay.
Well, thank you
for all that information. Mike.
When will the I'm just curious,
when will the when will the legal and actually be closed?
I will not go in the paper until Sunday.
That's just because of the cut off lines.
I we won't make that Thursday patriot
so I have to wait till the Sunday to get in there.
So even with all the advancements in communications
technology, we've still got still got to go into a print document.
Yes. And that print document takes
the cut off is amazingly earlier than you would think
it would be to get something that they send to them electronically
put into to a paper document.
They have they're they're cut offs and those types of things
which which is understandable.
But yes, going from a paper that was normally printed every single
day, 2 to 3 times a week,
make some of this a little
more challenging than it should be.
Okay. Well, thank you, everybody.
I mean, final questions.
If I could have a motion to adjourn.
So moved to second on paper.
Hi. Hi. Okay. Thank you very much.