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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-12-19 RMLD Oversight Task Force Minutesrl RMLD Oversight Task Force Meeting u , M A S S December 19, 2001 noi btC 3 ! '1, 12 The meeting convened at 7:30 p.m. in the Conference Room, 16 Lowell Street, Reading, Massachusetts. Present were: Finance Committee: Chairman Richard McDonald, Member James Francis RMLD Board Chairman Alan Ames, Member Dan Halloran Board of Selectmen Chairman George Hines, Member Matthew Cummings Citizen Advisory Board Member Roger Lessard, Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner, North Reading Chairman of the Board of Selectmen Joe Veno; FinCom Member Chuck Robinson, Chronicle Reporter Mary Murray, Advocate Reporter Nadine Wandzilak, Boston Globe Reporter Caroline Cole, Town Accountant Richard Foley, Bill Brown, Gerry MacDonald. The meeting was called to order by the Board of Selectmen Chairman George Hines. Members introduced themselves. Organization The Task Force organized themselves. The chairing of the meeting was turned over to Town Manager Peter Hechenbleikner to conduct the selection of a Chairman. In the selection of a Chairman, there was a motion by Francis seconded by Ames to nominate Richard McDonald; a motion by Halloran seconded by Cummings to nominate George Hines as Chairman; a motion by McDonald seconded by Francis to nominate Matthew Cummings as Chairman. Allan Ames expressed that he preferred a member of the Finance Committee as Chairman. Jim Francis agreed. On a vote, Richard McDonald received two votes, George Hines received four votes and George Hines was selected as Chairman. The Chairmanship was turned over to George Hines. On motion by Cummings seconded by Francis, Richard McDonald was nominated for the position of Vice Chairman. Richard McDonald received seven votes and was selected as Vice Chairman. Operating Guidelines George Hines went over the guidelines for the operation of the Task Force and there was a consensus on the following: ♦ The Task Force would be guided by the open public meetings law. Dan Halloran asked for some additional information which the Town Manager will get to him. Minutes will be kept. The Town Manager will do the Minutes. RMLD Oversight Task Force Meeting - December 19, 2001 - Page 2 ♦ There was discussion on participation by non-members through the Chair. It was decided that the agenda would contain a section for public comment near the end of the meeting. ♦ Staff support will be provided by the Town Manager, Town Accountant, Town Counsel if needed, and other staff from the Town and Light Department as requested. Allan Ames asked what the length of service for the Ad Hoc Committee would be and whether or not it is included in the Charter. Chairman George Hines noted that it was not included in the Charter and it would be as long as needed. He also noted that FinCom will be doing a longer and broader review of the Light Department. Jim Francis brought up the fact that FinCom had significant concerns about the composition of the Task Force they did not feel that the Reading Municipal Light Department should be represented on the Task Force. George Hines noted the concerns and indicated that he hoped that Francis and McDonald would participate in the Task Force. He thought it was important to get going quickly and to involve people on the Task Force who could have an affect on recommendations. Each of the constituent bodies will report back to their members in any case. Allan Ames noted that cooperation would be the quickest process, and that the DTE has jurisdiction in these matters in any case. George Hines noted that it is not clear that DTE has any jurisdiction based on his conversation with the Inspector General's Office. George Hines further reported that he had met with the Inspector General's Office today, and asked the Inspector General what precipitated the report. It was stated that it started with an "anonymous but credible report." George Hines had asked the Inspector General's Office to brief the Task Force. The Inspector General noted that this is an active investigation and they would not participate in that manner. However, they did turn over all of their investigatory material to George Hines, and the Town Manager has made copies for the Task Force, staff, the Library and the Town Clerk's Office. George Hines noted that since the release of the Inspector General's report, the Inspector General's Office has been inundated with additional information and allegations. They will compile additional material. George Hines also noted that the Inspector General's Office is required to file the report with the Governor, and with all of those listed on the cover memo to the report. They also copied it to all municipal light departments in the State because of a concern that the practices uncovered with the RMLD may be common to all municipal light departments. Dan Halloran asked if there were written allegations and whether or not we can have them available to the Task Force. George Hines will ask but didn't think so. Matt Cummings noted that he didn't think it mattered anyway we're to do an independent review and investigation. George Hines raised the question of whether or not the Task Force would object to Cable TV coverage. There was no objection and we will try to schedule that. Allan Ames felt that we needed to make sure that we kept the roundtable format even if it is televised. RMLD Oversight Task Force Meeting - December 19, 2001 - Page 3 Mission Statement George Hines distributed a draft Mission Statement. There was much discussion on it, with a feeling that they ought to focus on the Inspector General's report. The auditor needs to look at all travel and entertainment expenses and all use of public resources predicated on the Inspector General's report and whether or not standing RMLD policy was adhered to. Jim Francis felt that we ought to also look at whether or not the policy is appropriate to the Town of Reading, and it was noted this was perhaps what the FinCom will be doing. Dan Halloran asked if the RMLD policies are different from the Town, and it was noted that the policies probably are significantly different. Allan Ames noted that issues spelled out by Counsel to the Light Department include determining where the policies may be deficient, and indicated that if oversight is a problem, the RMLD members may have to recuse themselves. Allan Ames noted that the RMLD has charged the General Manager to produce the report on all of the information contained in the Inspector General's report, what oversight there was and where oversight may be lacking. This is due by the last Monday in January. Members of the Task Force asked if it could be moved up in priority. Matt Cummings noted that it doesn't matter whether or not we have that report prior to the auditor starting their work. George Hines felt that if we could get that document together quickly, it would be good to have it as a resource. McDonald noted that the auditing firm would take a fresh sample in any case. The Task Force agreed that the Mission Statement would be first on their next agenda and should be finalized at that time. Scope of Work for Independent Auditor George Hines asked Allan Ames if we would have the full support of the RMLD with respect to what the auditor needs. Allan Ames noted that if the Task Force thinks that the Task Force can hire an auditor and send the Light Department the bill, that can't happen. George Hines noted that we do that in other situations. The Board of Selectmen is anticipating full cooperation. Allan Ames noted that only the General Manager could authorize such expenditures. Jim Francis asked if the Light. Board could direct the General Manager to cooperate. Matt Cummings noted that all of the information that we will be asking for is a public record. Allan Ames agreed but noted that if you go through a normal public record process, it could be a very long process. He thought that the General Manager's report should be adequate for this purpose, and noted that if the allegations are not valid and all policies were adhered with then what does the Task Force need with a huge amount of additional information. If the policies are adhered with, then one might want to look at the policies. Roger Lessard noted that he anticipated that if the Light Board tells the General Manager to cooperate, then he will cooperate. The Town Manager was asked to work with the General Manager on how the payment of the auditors could be handled. Allen Ames expressed concern with the scope of work, and noted that he felt it was okay if it is specific. The Task Force agreed that it would look at all travel, entertainment and credit cards from 1998 to current, and George Hines noted that if we start there and problems are uncovered the scope of the audit could change. RMLD Oversight Task Force Meeting - December 19, 2001 - Page 4 Matt Cummings asked if the Task Force will have a problem with the Attorney for the RMLD on any of the issues raised. The only concern that Allan Ames expressed was the amount of information and the affect on workload. He did not object to the concept of expanding the audit beyond travel expenses and credit cards if those issues are the focus of the audit but the audit points out other issues and problems. Selection of Independent Auditor Town Accountant Richard Foley noted that he had talked with a member of one of the big five firms who is a CPA and certified fraud examiner. The auditor indicated that he would want to talk with the Task Force directly, before submitting a proposal. They bill on an hourly basis, depending upon the level of the person who's doing the work. They could do a "not to exceed" contract but the Task Force might get to a point where the auditor would say "this is how much money you have and this is what we can provide." Richard Foley noted that a quick turnaround on starting and completing the process would be possible. The Task Force agreed that they would meet at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, December 27th, and hope to have up to three firms present to review and discuss with the Task Force how they would approach the project. At the very least, a subcommittee of the Task Force consisting of Matt Cummings, Allan Ames and Jim Francis or Richard McDonald will be present. The entire Task Force is welcome to attend, and it will be a posted meeting of the Task Force. The Task Force went back to information that will be required and the scope of the audit. The following information will be requested by Town staff it will be required of whoever does the auditing. The Task. Force will focus on travel, entertainment, and credit cards for 1998 through current. They asked the Town Manager to get the following information from the Light Department: • dues, publications and seminars; • payroll/time records; • audits for the Light Department including management letters for 1998, 1999 and 2000; • all policies in affect during that period for the Light Department; • all employment contracts in place during that period; • all petty cash records and • an organization chart. Public Comment The Chairman opened the comments to the public. Gerry McDonald noted that in considering auditing firms, the Town should stay away from anybody that they have used or that the Light Department has used in the past. The Town Accountant noted that is why we did not include Peat Marwick for consideration because they are the current auditors. Adjourn On motion by McDonald seconded by Francis, the Task Force voted to adjourn their meeting of December 19, 2001 at 9:25 p.m. by a vote of 7-0-0. itted, RfVectful Witted, S ary