 Government Finance Officers Association of Alabama |
||
| Volume I | Fall 2000 | Edition #3 |
|
GFOAA
Extends Summer Workshop to Two Days
The Windemere Conference Center hosted the GFOA of Alabama Summer Workshop in Orange Beach, Alabama on August 13, 14 and 15, 2000. Approximately 90 members, guests, speakers and sponsors attended this year’s Summer Workshop. This year’s Summer Workshop represented many firsts for the GFOAA. For the first time the Summer Workshop was held at the Windemere Conference Center in an effort to provide more spacious meeting facilities. For the first time the Summer Workshop was extended to two days to provide sixteen hours of continuing professional education credits. Also, for the first time a panel of four GFOA members were selected to provide their personal experiences, insight and plans for the implementation of GASB 34. This impromptu panel discussion received many positive comments and compliments and highlighted the wealth of knowledge and experience available from your fellow GFOAA members. For the first time drawings for door prizes were held throughout the two days of the conference. The GFOAA could not offer two days of continuing education with quality speakers at a quality facility with breaks, meals and a reception without the financial support of our sponsors. We want to express our gratitude to this year’s sponsors: AmSouth
Bank A special thanks goes to Mr. Jef Freeman of Sterne, Agee & Leach, Inc. who was our primary sponsor and host for the Monday night reception. Members of the GFOAA should avail themselves of the services provided by our sponsoring firms whenever possible. The Summer Workshop committee was chaired by Steve Richey with special assistance from Travis Hulsey and Sherry Gurganus. Kudos to Clara Myers for the wonderful job of soliciting door prizes. Thanks to those attendees who completed the evaluation forms at the end of the conference. Your comments will help the GFOAA meet your expectations for future summer workshops. If you have suggestions for topics or speakers for next year please contact next year’s chairperson, Ms. Joan Ensley at the City of Montgomery. Steve Richey Board of Directors Meeting The GFOAA Board of Directors meeting was held August 13th at the Hampton Inn Meeting Room, Orange Beach, Alabama. There were 16 members in attendance. Business conducted included approval of the Minutes of May 5, 2000. The Treasurer’s report was approved as was the completed financial review report prepared by Wilson, Price, Barranco, Blankenship & Billingsley. A copy can be obtained by contacting Tracy Croom, Treasurer. Reports Submitted Membership Committee (Ronnie Burlison – Chair) The current membership is 287. Ronnie reported improved communication via the GFOAA web page. Those requiring member application forms should contact Janet Mularz at jmlar767@aol.com for an application for prospective members. Governmental Relations (Gene
Stabler – Chair) Education (Judith Kamnikar –
Chair) Linda Steele reported that invitations were sent out to governmental entities in Mobile and Baldwin Counties regarding establishment of a regional chapter of GFOAA in an effort to involve smaller cities and governments with GFOAA. Linda will continue the efforts in Mobile/Baldwin counties as a pilot project. Certification Board (Rob Terry
– Chair) Scholarship Committee (Rob
Terry – Chair) Public Information (Sherry
Gurganus – Chair) Strategic Planning (Ed
Kamnikar – Chair) Other business discussed included the 2001 Annual Conference set for February 25-27 in Huntsville, the locations for future annual conferences were set (2002 – Montgomery, 2003 – Mobile, 2004 – Tuscaloosa, 2005 – Birmingham). To receive a copy of the Board of Directors Meeting Minutes for August 13, 2000, please contact: Judith Kamnikar at (334) 244-3496 or Governmental Affairs Committee Gene Stabler The Federal Liaison Center of the Government Finance Officer’s Association, Washington, D.C. monitors all legislation pending, as well as that which has passed the Congress and been signed into law. They advise GFOAA of the status of each; we hope to be able to pass on some of this information to you. The following legislation has been enacted this year:: ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES: PL 106-229 gives the same weight to contracts signed with "electronic signature", as those signed in pen and ink. This applies only to certain types of documents. FAIR LABOR STANDARDS: This gives the same overtime exemption provisions to firefighter support personnel, as to firefighters. TELECOMMUNICATIONS: Creates a uniform sourcing method for state and local taxation of mobile telephone services. YEAR 2000: Protects business and government from liability in their efforts to fix Y2K problems. In order to obtain an update on legislation, you may check GFOA home page at www.gfoa.org or e-mail address federalliaison@gfoa.org. GFOAA Regional Group Pilot Project Linda Steele A pilot project is being established to involve smaller cities and governments in the GFOAA by setting up regional groups. Representative government entities from Mobile and Baldwin counties met for lunch at a local hotel on September 28, 2000. Six entities were represented; however, others did express an interest but were unable to attend the meeting. After introductions and lunch, we had a discussion about the purpose of the group and its connection to GFOAA. The purpose was defined as developing a network between local government finance officers so those individuals would have resources when accounting issues or problems arose in their work environment. The second purpose was to be a training ground for governmental entities that have not had, or taken, the opportunity to be trained at other conferences around the state. It was agreed initially to schedule quarterly luncheon meetings with a speaker. Topics of interest are: 1) implementing a new computerized accounting system; 2) EDP auditing; 3) internal controls; 4) banking and investments -–limitation; and 5) accounting procedures relating to bond issues. The next meeting is tentatively set for the first week in December and it is the plan to have a speaker speak on one of the above topics. Each person in attendance received a copy of the contact list so that they could make personal contacts for the next meeting. It is anticipated this pilot project will be for a year. If you have questions, can speak on one of the related topics or want to help with this project, contact Linda Steele at comptroller@ci.mobile.al.us. Kudos to Jefferson County On September 12, 2000, Sarah Williams, President of GFOAA presented the Jefferson County Commission with the "Distinguished Budget Presentation Award", the eighth straight year that the award has been achieved by the County.
This award has been received by 807 governmental units from the over 100,000 units which are eligible to apply. Only two other governmental entities (the Cities of Birmingham and Auburn) in Alabama have received this recognition that requires at least a rating of "proficient" in four major categories as a Policy Document, as a Financial Plan, as an Operations Guide and as a Communication Device which is evaluated by a panel of three anonymous international raters on 76 questions. This year’s budget scored "proficient" on 54% of the criteria and "outstanding" on 46% of the standards. The Commission expressed appreciation to Sarah for her explanation of what the award meant and how it impacted County issues such as bond ratings. Congratulations to Jefferson County and the staff of the Budget Office. Joe Kerr, Budget Officer FYI The Distinguished Budget Awards Program is designed to encourage governments to prepare budget documents of the highest quality to meet the needs of decision-makers and citizens. Since the program was first established in 1984, participation has grown from 113 to 881. During FY2000, approximately 925 governments are expected to submit budgets to the program. Further information about the Budget Awards Program can be obtained by sending e-mail to BudgetAwards@gfoa.org. Please include your name, jurisdiction, mailing address, and phone number in your e-mail message. Application forms and instructions are available for download as well. Procurement Card Program The purpose of a procurement card program is to provide an efficient, cost-effective method of purchasing and paying for small-dollar as well as high-volume, repetitive purchases. This type of program is designed as an alternative to the traditional purchasing process and can result in a significant reduction in the volume of purchase orders, invoices, and checks processed. Purchasing cards can be used whenever a purchase order, check request, or petty cash would have been processed and with any vendor that accepts credit cards. There are numerous benefits to a purchasing card program. Benefits to the cardholder include
Benefits to the government’s internal departments include
Benefits to the vendor include
Purchasing cards may be issued in a designated individual’s name with the government’s name clearly indicated on the card as the buyer of goods and services. The purchasing card and any transactions made with the card may become a liability of the governmental entity. For this reason, it is important that governments be aware of the risks related to the use of purchasing cards and develop plans to address those risks. Reference: GFOA Recommended Practices for State and Local Governments. RU-486 Travis A. Hulsey The Food and Drug Administration ‘s recent approval of the RU-486 abortion bill has created a dilemma for many employers. The majority of major health insurers have generally agreed to cover the abortion pill as a standard benefit. However, in keeping with standard abortion coverage, most insurers will give employers the choice of whether to offer the benefit to their workers. The abortion pill will be sold under the brand name Mifeprix. A price on Mifeprix has not yet been established but including doctor visits and counseling sessions the cost is expected to be about the same as a surgical abortion—approximately $700. The abortion pill is different from other new drugs in that the pills will be dispensed directly from a physician’s office and not through a pharmacy. Therefore, some health insurers have decided to cover the abortion pill as a standard medical benefit rather than a pharmaceutical benefit. Advancements in medical technology and developmental drugs have become tricky issues for many health insurers trying to keep control of rising health care costs. Often the burdens of deciding "to cover or not to cover" falls upon the employer. Not only are we faced with the cost versus benefit analysis and the medical necessity issues but now the abortion pill has created a new dilemma involving the highly controversial moral issues associated with the pill. Submit address changes to: Office
Automation Specialist: The fall issue of The Balance Sheet is being sent via e-mail to 164 members. If you would like to receive the newsletter electronically, please notify Sherry Gurganus at gurganuss@jcc.co.jefferson.al.us or Janet Mularz at jmlar767@aol.comDeadline for the Winter Issue of The Balance Sheet is January 1, 2001. Please contact Sherry Gurganus at (205) 325-5763/Fax: (205) 325-5841 or e-mail: gurganuss@jcc.co.jefferson.al.us
|
||
