Christina Sackett, Senior Finance Manager Finance and Administration Services Activity Report, February 2012 & March 2012

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1 AGENDA ITEM L1 DATE: TO: FROM: SUBJECT: SUMMARY: RECOMMENDATION: The Finance and Administrative Services report summarizes the key activities of the financial services, human resources, public affairs, information systems, and records departments for the months of February & March Receive and File DISCUSSION: The major activities and work effort of the departments which comprise Finance and Administrative Services for the months of are discussed below. 1. Received notice that the Agency once again has received the GFOA Award for Excellence in Budgeting for the 2012 budget document. 2. Finance Staff has completed all required filings of the annual audited financial statements and the state prescribed Annual Financial Report for the year ended September 30, Staff has completed preparation of the proposed 2013 budget document and is meeting with Member staff to obtain their observations on the document. Financial Services: Financial Services has a staff of eight to manage the Agency s $164 million operating budget, $347 million in financial assets and debt of $1.2 billion. Department responsibilities include: Capital and operating budget preparation and monitoring Accounting, financial and compliance reporting, and audit preparation Payroll processing and employee benefit management and reporting Purchase requisition review, purchase order and accounts payable processing and control Water production and grants billing and receivables Inventory accounting and control Fixed assets management and control Debt management, arbitrage and compliance reporting Cash and investment management Policy and procedure development Federal and state tax reporting Gerald J. Seeber, General Manager Christina Sackett, Senior Finance Manager Finance and Administration Services Activity Report, February 2012 & March 2012 Prepared and filed state prescribed Annual Financial Report Completed all required filings of Audited Financial Statements with various agencies

2 Page 2 Continued to work with financial advisor, PFM Asset Management, LLC, to monitor investment options for management of funds. Continued to work on critical processes and documenting required process steps. Coordinated preparation of data from departments and prepared proposed 2013 budget Staff also participates in various interdepartmental meetings and program development. All monthly financial data processing, accounting, reporting and agenda preparation activities were completed; continued monthly billings to the District under the cooperative funding agreement; provided financial review of various contracts and agreements. Human Resources: The Human Resources department is responsible for assisting in the needs of the 127 full time equivalent employee positions of Tampa Bay Water in the areas of: Recruitment and Selection Workers Compensation Employee benefits Training and Development Performance Evaluation and Management Pay and Classification Employee Relations Record keeping of all personnel data. Compensation Confidential advice to internal 'customers' in relation to problems at work Employment application updated to include delimited file and additions of , cell phone, and advertising source data fields. This will allow more efficient processing of applicants and also allow us to measure effectiveness of ads. Research begun for Recruitment software to improve efficiency of recruiting process. Partnership begun with Career Connections/Pasco Employ Florida for WPO openings. This will streamline recruitment process for high volume applicant flow. HR process mapping completed Pinellas County consortium toured our training facilities for possible inclusion of Tampa Bay Water Clearwater as a training site. Interviewing for Water Plant Operator and Finance Manager positions Preparation for Public Service Appreciation Week, Annual Employee Health Fair, and Bring Your Son/Daughter to Work Day Biggest Loser Contest along with Electronic Pedometer program rollout Developed and delivered Behavioral Interviewing class to (4) finance employees Participating in Strategic Planning Process Continue Tampa Bay Water University testing

3 Page 3 Public Affairs Programs: The Public Affairs department is responsible for communications internally and externally for the agency. Public Affairs is responsible for planning, organizing and supervising the dissemination of information concerning all aspects of the agency s operations, overseeing the agency s graphic identity, coordinating all public information & involvement programs and working on Tampa Bay Water s web site. Attended and participated in team meetings on the Reservoir Renovation Project; worked on website copy and design, and frequently asked questions document for the public; reviewed and edited presentations; updated website content. Shot footage and wrapped video collaboration with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to produce a video vignette on how Tampa Bay Water uses NOAA s climate services to aid in supply/demand planning. Responded to media requests from Tampa Bay Times, Tampa Tribune, Bay News 9, Channel 8, Channel 10, and Engineering News Record regarding the reservoir. Met with Pasco County Schools and Pinellas County Utilities regarding Cross Bar Education Center Funding. Continued public outreach and website updates for the Brandon Urban Dispersed Wells Replacement Well Project (BUD-5R Project); attended bi-weekly construction meetings. Continued website upgrade and redevelopment project to improve outreach and education through use of website and social media integration. Maintained and updated agency website and intranet site as needed; updated agency Twitter account, Facebook page and LinkedIn profile. Drafted and distributed The Source the monthly employee newsletter. Coordinated and scheduled facility tours for Desalination Plant, Surface Water Treatment Plant and Reservoir. Distributed daily news clippings. Maintained agency s stationary and business card orders. Drafted and mailed Alafia WUP Renewal Outreach Letter to stakeholders. Continued work on a mobile website for the WaterWise Awards program. Assisted staff with various graphic and presentation reviews and composition Drafted key messages on various topics and distributed to staff as necessary. Information Systems (IS) Agency wide Computer Support: Software & Hardware: The Information Systems department, which supports the agency s technology, communications and computer systems, is made up of three groups: Applications, Systems and GIS. IS Applications The IS Applications Group creates databases that hold our enterprise data, and writes custom software application programs for all other departments of the Agency, such as computerized scientific models and data analysis programs. Once a computer program is written, it must be maintained (changed or updated) periodically due to user requests, technology advancement or the changing business needs of the Agency. In addition, IS Applications provides various end user support, such as loading bulk data into our databases, manages our MUNIS financial system, enduser testing, training, and users manuals for custom application programs.

4 Page 4 : IS Applications major activities, in addition to support, for this month included: Continued development of the Integrated Hydrologic Model (IHM) Water Balance integrated time series software; development of IHM Monte Carlo statistical analysis; work for the Well Field Annual Report system; and the Reservoir Annual Report system delivery. Internal efforts represent costs savings by performing this work in-house. Continued support for the Monthly Operations Report (MOR); Continued development of the new Budget Rate Model; continued modification of the Project Capitalization application; continued conversion of optimization mathematical modeling; continued support for Laboratory Information Management System reporting needs, and initial analysis of QA/QC enhancements. Continued modification of the Enterprise Maintenance Management System in support of the Repair and Replacement project, and development of the Energy Management application. Continued development of the Chemical/Energy SCADA Demand Tracking systems. Continued upgrade of the Water Use Permit Management system. Continued development of the Reliability and Future Needs Analysis project. IS GIS The IS GIS Group creates and manages Geographical Information System (GIS) databases for the Agency, loads Global Position System (GPS) and survey data into our GIS databases, creates GIS maps for engineers and project managers, develops custom software application programs for our users that have GIS interfaces for display and analysis of geographical data, and manages the audio/visual systems during Board meetings and other special business meetings. IS GIS major activities for these months included: Staff continued development of an enterprise geodatabase for real estate, energy, and infrastructure datasets to be used for system modeling and permit compliance. IS GIS also continued to support agency staff and management with data and map production, modeling and analysis for internal projects (CWUP, EMMS, Repair and Replacement, Reservoir Renovation, Well Field Recovery, Well Mitigation, Corrosion Control, etc.), and the provision of IT infrastructure support for the Tampa Bay Area Purchasing Cooperative (a group of local government entities, which this Agency belongs to, that are working together to achieve mutual cost savings via cooperative volume discounts). IS GIS staff is playing a key role in the agency s energy management program and has started development of the databases and software that will deliver metrics for the energy program to the Tampa Bay Water Board, stakeholders and agency management. IS Systems The IS Systems Group installs and maintains the Agency s computer hardware (servers, PCs, mobile laptops, printers), data networks (within buildings and between locations), computer operating systems and communication systems. IS Systems also performs computer maintenance support throughout Tampa Bay Water, including daily and weekly tape data backups, maintaining our network security systems, and configuring and performing maintenance on our Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems.

5 Page 5 IS Systems major activities for these months included: Started to evaluate and test RSA SecurID two-factor authentication to better protect the Agency from internet attacks. Started to rollout the Symantec Endpoint Protection on all Agency devices. Implemented phase I of the SCADA Redundancy project (from a dual- to a quad-server configuration, to achieve greater system resiliency and redundancy in our SCADA systems). Records: The Records Department is the central repository for the Agency s records. The department is responsible for responding to public records requests and assisting staff in complying with applicable public record laws regarding the Agency s retention, management and disposition of records. The department also provides for the front desk administration; fleet management services at the Clearwater office; office supplies and equipment; equipment maintenance; mail distribution services; and assistance with agenda preparation, distribution and posting. The department also assists with facility maintenance for the administrative building. : Continue to restructure permit files both electronic and paper Continue review of all real estate documents that establish the agency s title interests Continued participation in Strategic Planning Process Review of files ready for disposition