MANAGER'S REPORT
12/10/2020
Budget Position Report
Receipts for November look like $97,860.43. But that includes the transfer in from the Debt Service fund, which is balanced out in Expenditures by the USDA payment.
Operational income was $72,663.43. Operational expenses were $80,294.63. So we spent $7,632.20 more than we took in. The primary culprits were Water Main Repairs and the annual Insurance payment.
Transfers to reserve accounts have not taken place. The program gave me trouble and I ran out of time.
There is no Claims Payment Request in your packets because there are some important invoices that have not come in yet. We should have one to you by Monday evening.
Treasurer’s Report:
The Treasurer’s Report is still off by $9.00. I have looked. I just can’t find it. I bet it is a transposition somewhere.
Fund Balances To Date:
Regular Maintenance $ 63,934
Capital Replacement $ 47,709
Major Repair Reserve $257,128
General Facilities $129,692
Total Funds Available $498,463
An increase of $3,174 over last month.
Billing/Collections
I thought that figuring actual revenues was straightforward. However, as I was going through the various reports, I learned otherwise.
The main culprit in nailing down what the district’s exact revenues are is the credit card payments. When a credit card payment is entered in the Utility Billing module, it is recorded as a receipt. However, the cash does not go directly into the Revenue Clearing (bank) account. The cash is not deposited in the Revenue Clearing Account from the card processing company until they receive the cash from the specific credit card company.
Since some of those deposits may represent charges made in the previous month, and some deposits may not appear as cash until the following month, the receipts as reflected in Accounts Receivables, the Payment Receipt Register, and the bank reconciliation, are all slightly different.
Further differences in reported totals appear because the bank reconciliation includes General Facilities payments and other non-accounts receivable receipts. An example being the situation where the district pays itself out of the meter deposit.
For the purposes of the funds transfer from Revenue Clearing to the County Treasurer, I use the numbers in the Receipt Register. It is an attested document and includes all strictly cash deposits into the Revenue Clearing account. It is also the number that will appear in the official Budget Position Report.
Billing for November was $81,912.40. Utility payments, including credit card payments, made in November were $70,114,90, 86% of the billing. An additional $3,600 (roughly) came in on December 1st.
Section 2 billing, December 1st, was $60,183.05.
Water Rights
In accordance with commissioners discussions at a previous meeting, I have given Northwest Water Systems, Inc. the go ahead on the water right application process.
Payroll Report
Pretty typical.
Pandemic
The office is still closed to the public but fully staffed. Phase 3 allows government offices to open subject to restrictions.
There is no practical way to meet the requirements for Phase 3 in order to open the office to the public.
Isolation Valves
We have raised a considerable number of valves. The repair on Grange at Hunley was greatly facilitated by a found valve. So that initiative is starting to pay dividends already.
There is a tracking sheet in you packets. The large Brumfield expense represents a long day raising isolation valves in paved areas.
Well #5 Source Meter
Quote: $6,631.25 + tax . I am going to pull the trigger on this one. We really need reliable source meter readings.
North Bank Reservoir
We should have had the roof stripped and re-sealed this past Summer. With the main replacement and the well pump there were just too many other things going on.
This needs to be done.
I will start the process now so that we can get somebody lined up by Summer. The last time we did it Kenny and Chris Ready did the work. They did a pretty good job, but not as good as specialists. Kenny and Mick don’t have time anyway.
Ashley & Kayla
Except for the few we have replaced, all the service lateral fittings are nylon. This is a situation waiting to cause us problems. I will have some “show & tell” at the meeting.
Hydrant Maintenance
Flushing is getting done. But we are behind in tagging and painting. See “Maintenance Activity” below.
Rate Study
No change since last month. After the end-of-the-year numbers are in I will go to work updating the study.
Shop Fence
Prior to the new fire station, we had a cable lock at each entrance to the shop site. The north gate did not need additional fencing because of the thick underbrush and brambles. The underbrush and the brambles are gone.
In order to secure the shop site we are going to have to install some additional fencing.
I am working with the fire district on some cost sharing for some additional grading and gravel. Having a large radius turn around will benefit both districts.
New Regulations
The County is delegating down again. The actual workload implications are minimal, but the legal implications are not.
A copy of the announcement was included in previous packets.
Starting in January we will no longer send our signed Claims Requests to the County. Instead, we will transfer the data to their Excel spreadsheet form. I expect they have been doing that at their end, since we deliver a printed request to them.
The big item is the statement in italics at the bottom of the announcement. That statement, combined with the statement in their instructions for preparing next year’s budget (which states that the County does not track or monitor the district’s budget) clearly transfers all treasurer responsibilities to the district.
At this point (well, starting in January):
The Auditor’s office prints the district’s claims warrants;
The Treasurer’s office is our “bank”, calculates payroll tax deposits (and nothing else), and
makes the ACH deposits in employee bank accounts.
In the past the County reports were the official record and district’s internal accounting was for the district’s use. That situation has very definitely flipped. Fortunately, our internal, now “official”, accounting practices conform to the State’s “Budgeting, Accounting, Reporting System”, BARS.
I am not sure how this squares with Title 57, nor what we should do about it.
Recurring SCADA Power/Communications Problems
SCADA communications are now entirely internet based. As of this writing everything is going along extremely well.
We had one problem just as I was getting sick that turned out to be a bad battery in the UPS.
I think we should convert the antenna pole at the office into a flag pole.
Personnel
No news
Maintenance Activity:
Usual daily/weekly/monthly maintenance activity. I have found a somewhat more readable work order report.
In reading the report, it is a good idea to check to see what kind of work it was. For instance, the district did not install a swing set. That was a work order for a locate for a property owner’s installation of a swing set.
Note that the report is organized by Maintenance Type.
We are not keeping up. It is not for a lack of trying. Everyone is working smart, hard, and long. The maintenance tasks just keep piling up.
Roads
We have two access roads that are ongoing headaches. The North Bank access road and the Clemons Reservoir access roads are both steep and, when maintained, gravel. They are constant maintenance problems. Every time we drive up there we end up digging holes in the gravel. The recent heavy rains have really made these roads a mess.
I don’t know when yet, but we really need to consider paving those roads. It obviously won’t be until Lakeside opens up in the Spring. I will be working it into the rate study.
Contractor Repairs/Assistance
Raising isolation valve boxes.
Central Park Drive
Tank Cleaning
This is on hold until the “Stay-at-Home” order is lifted.
As-Builts
On hold, except that the valve locating project will improve the information we have.
Shop Organization
The process of inventory has begun. And ground to a halt. This keeps falling victim to higher priority projects.
One area in which I have been remiss is doing a weekly tour of the entire system. Some things are falling through the cracks and I need to list those and make sure they get addressed. As of this writing the pumphouse and the shop are not in a tidy condition.
Training/Certifications
Mick does not yet have the exam scheduled. I keep nagging.
No action yet on setting up for webinars and online training. But I have to do something soon so that we can all keep up with our CEU’s. Though I can do some training with my laptop computer. I would prefer to do those at home, since I am subject to constant interruptions here in the office.
Safety
We have a mini safety meeting every morning. We have gone a long time without an L&I claim. We are all striving to keep that trend going.
Vehicles
Service Truck: The driver’s seat is beginning to wear out. We will need to have this seat re-covered. No action yet.
Pickup Truck 1: No Issues
Pickup Truck 2: No issues
Backhoe: No issues.
Web Site
The November newsletter and the 2021 rates have been posted.
New Connection
None
Fire Station
Just about complete. The dirt contractor has not leveled our well site. I talked to contractor and they haven’t forgotten us.
See the notes above about gravel and fencing.
Grant Funding Pursuit
The “Stay-at-Home” order has pretty much shut this effort down for the time being.
Capital Asset Management
No news. Everything is proceeding according to the plan.
Disaster Management Planning
One of the things that has come out of my discussions with staff around this planning exercise is that our vehicles are too light to tow a generator capable of providing sufficient power for our well pumps.
I need a better understanding of the power grid in our area in order to assess the district’s degree of vulnerability.
Progress has slowed due to recovery issues. I still can’t talk for any length of time.
Isolation Valve Exercise Program
We will have a great deal more information on valve locations as we go through that effort. I don’t know how we are going to fit another maintenance item into staff availability.
I haven’t ordered a powered valve key yet as I am keeping expenses as low as possible. I wait to spend the money until we absolutely have to have the part, tool, supply, or whatever.
Shop Insulation
On hold until the “Stay-at-Home” order is lifted.
Long Distance Service Laterals
No new thoughts or events.
Respectfully Submitted:
Reg Hearn
General Manager