Council talks transfers

Finances continue to be a main talking point for the Town of Saratoga’s governing body. During the October 20 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, Councilmember Jon Nelson expressed concern about the council not being presented with documentation in regards to transfers between fund types and transfers being made without explicit council approval.

“I know I’ve harped on this, but we’re still not seeing documentation of the monies that are being moved between fund types,” said Nelson. “If we look back at the September 15 meeting, there was a specific action item on the agenda to allow the transfer of $5,000 into a WYOSTAR fund for Ekola and TB Flats based on that receipt that had come from the county. We’re still not seeing that being presented to the council, regardless of which way it’s going.”

During the August 18 meeting of the Saratoga Town Council, it was discussed that any transfers to be made would first be presented to the governing body and would only be transferred upon approval. At that meeting, both Nelson and Councilmember D’Ron Campbell stated that they would like any amount needing to be transferred to be presented in a report to the council.

“We still need to have that documented and presented to the council in packets, it still needs to be a motion for something that wasn’t previously moved,” Nelson said. “Again, this is something that I think I’ve brought up at every meeting in the last four of them. What’s it going to take to get that rectified?”

In response, Mayor Pro-Tem Bob Keel asked Nelson about the end-of-month report that is provided to the council in their packets. This report, often called an FS10, shows a reconciliation of the budget on a month-by-month basis.

“If it’s something that you want as a report for the approval of the bills, I have no objection to that. We can do that, obviously, but it’s not anything we’re hiding from anybody,” said Keel. “It’s available in your packets.”

Nelson responded by pointing out that the end-of-month report wasn’t a document that required council review or approval.

“It’s showing that money moved and that’s been kind of the whole issue for 18 months now has been that money’s moving without it being discussed, specifically identified, in a council meeting and we’re getting these financial reports and seeing numbers that aren’t tied to any record or action,” said Nelson. “So, I will reiterate that again, that we need to be doing that.”

Keel brought up the transfer of $5,000 of Ekola Flats and TB Flats into a WYOSTAR investment account, stating that he had presented both Nelson and Campbell with documentation of that transfer in addition to other transfers that had occurred between different funds.

“I have no problem doing this,” Keel said. “I want to make sure that I understand what you’re asking for and can fulfill that request.”

Keel provided Nelson with the transmittal receipt showing the transfer of funds from the general fund into the WYOSTAR investment funds. Nelson stated that he believed that any transfer of money should be presented to the council and recorded in the minutes, adding that, in the past, such transmittal receipts had not been signed by the mayor but only by the town clerk and town treasurer.

“So, ensuring that this comes through the council and is on a public record (is essential),” said Nelson.

Town Clerk Suzie Cox stated that, due to the timeframe in which some of the funds are dispersed to the Town of Saratoga, waiting on approval in a public meeting from the governing body to transfer funds would provide difficulty for town hall staff.

“You can come in and sign them with Sammy (Flohr) any time but that money needs to be put into those accounts that it’s meant to be in,” said Cox.

Keel then asked if the council objected to such transfers being made prior to council approval. Both Nelson and Campbell replied that they were opposed. Cox responded by telling the governing body that town hall staff would inform the State of Wyoming as to why funds were not being transferred immediately upon receipt.

On the same subject of transfers, Nelson asked Keel about the transfer of excess revenues over expenditures from Fiscal Year 2019/2020. As was previously reported (see “A little bit at a time” on page 10 of the September 9 Saratoga Sun), the Saratoga Town Council voted unanimously to transfer the following funds and amounts in four equal installments over four months:

• Airport Fund: $13,270.75

• Water Fund: $277,656.07

• Sewer Fund: $149,544.08

• Weed and Pest Fund: $36,908.17.

“What’s the status of those transfers?” Nelson asked.

“They have been made,” replied Keel.

When Nelson asked for clarification if the transfers had been made or were going to be made, Keel replied that they had been made. The mayor pro-tem added that it was his understanding that the governing body had approved all four installments in September and would not need additional approval on those transfers. Nelson agreed.

“Documentation would be nice to see, though,” said Campbell.

In regards to the airport fund, Nelson added that, along with the $13,270.75 in excess revenues that the council had agreed to transfer, he had assumed that there would also be a transfer of the cash allocation fund, which totaled $14,570.62. Keel responded by stating he didn’t see an issue with transferring that amount into the airport investment fund.

“That includes money that was left in the budget and if that money, at the end of the year, does not get allocated again we start with another new budget,” stated Cox. “So the amount of money in that allocation should not necessarily be the anticipated income that we were going to get.”

“I don’t believe that the cash allocation account has anything to do with the budgeted amount. What the cash allocation is, it’s the software keeping track of how much—if that had its own bank account—how much is sitting in it on paper,” replied Nelson. “My point has been that we need to take those amounts and get them into the actual bank accounts that they’re associated with so that they’re secure.”

A motion to transfer the balance of the airport cash allocation fund passed unanimously.

The next meeting of the Saratoga Town Council will be at 7 p.m. on November 4 at Saratoga Town Hall.