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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 09131994 - 1.143 144 TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS .,�� F•. Contra FROM: Kenneth J. Corcoran, Auditor-Controller Costa County DATE: August 25, 1994 rq coii��` SUBJECT: Response to S.2 Referral from Board Meeting of August 2, 1994 SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: Accept -this report from the Auditor-Controller in response to Board referral from meeting of August 2 , 1994 (item S. 2) concerning the offer of County financial expertise to various public agencies in the County. FINANCIAL IMPACT: None. BACKGROUND: Over the years, the Board has acknowledged the fine work of the County Administrator, Treasurer-Tax Collector and Auditor-Controller in the area of municipal finance. Both the Treasurer-Tax Collector and the Auditor-Controller have received state and national recognition for excellence in their respective fields. Rating agencies have consistently commented on the strong management of the County and have assigned the highest rating categories to various County note and bond financings. Given this level of expertise and in recognition of the financial difficulties currently impacting several jurisdictions in the County, your Board directed that consideration be given to offering the services of County staff to other jurisdictions. This proposal was analyzed with respect to each of the three departments with the. following results: Treasurer-Tax Collector The Tax Collector currently performs all property tax collection functions for every juri diction (i.e. , all CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE (S): ACTION OF BOARD ON RFP 13 1994 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED ,� OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS(ABSENT AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD ABSENT: ABSTAIN: OF SUPERVISORS ON TZilE DATE SHOWN. CC: Treasurer-Tax Collector ATTESTED CAO PHIL BATCHELOR,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY DEPUTY M382 (10/88) J a : 2 Board of Supervisors August 25, 1994 cities, districts, schools, etc. ) in the County. Therefore, it would appear that additional service or assistance would not be necessary. The Treasurer currently invests funds for the County and all jurisdictions required to use the County Treasury as their depository. Existing statutes allow certain districts to use either the County Treasury or a private financial institution as their depository; under this authority, some districts have opted to use the County Treasury while others have not. Currently, cities are not allowed to use the County Treasury, i.e. , the Treasurer has no legal authority to accept and invest city funds. Auditor-Controller The Auditor-Controller has statutory accounting and auditing responsibilities for the County and County governed districts. The authority with respect to cities and autonomous districts is solely in the property tax apportionment area. It is my opinion that the major autonomous districts in the County and all cities have generally adequate accounting systems and procedures. All of these jurisdictions are audited annually by certified public accountants. I am not aware of any audit reports which have included qualified opinions due to accounting deficiencies. The well publicized financial problems of Danville stemmed not from accounting deficiencies but rather from management decisions made with respect to the components of their investment portfolio. The accounting records were accurate and clearly reflected the investment losses. The Auditor-Controller and appropriate staff have been meeting with city finance directors 3-4 times per year. This has been an excellent forum to discuss items of mutual interest and concern and one in which the Auditor- Controller and other finance directors can exchange their expertise to the benefit of all parties. County Administrator In the area of municipal finance, the County Administrator and staff, working together with the Treasurer-Tax Collector, Auditor-Controller and the County' s financial advisors have developed a high level of expertise in capital and other financing. The County has completed a number of very successful financings (COP' s, TRANS, Pension Obligation Bonds, etc. ) which have been well received in the financial markets and by the rating agencies. Appropriate staff have, and will continue to share information with any of our municipal colleagues relative to the structure we have used in these financings. Conclusion At this time, it is recommended that the Auditor-Controller, Treasurer-Tax Collector and County Administrator continue to assist and share their expertise on an ad hoc basis with finance staff from cities and districts. CONSEQUENCES OF NEGATIVE ACTION: None.