The Board meets on the first and third Monday of each month. Meetings begin at 1:00 p.m. and are held in the department conference room at 65 Lafayette Ave, Littleton. Board meetings are open to the public and time is allotted for public comments at each meeting.
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The regularly scheduled Board of Commissioners (BOC) meeting began at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, December 15, 2014 in the Littleton Water and Light Department (LWL) conference room. Present were Commissioner Perry Goodell, Commissioner Eddy Moore, Commissioner Ralph Ross, Financial Services Director Cheryl Wilkins and Superintendent Thomas Considine.
MINUTES REVIEW:
The minutes of the December 1, 2014 regularly scheduled Commissioners meeting were reviewed. Commissioner Ross made a motion to accept the minutes as presented, seconded by Commissioner Moore.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
FINANCIAL DIRECTORS REPORT:
1. Mrs. Wilkins reviewed the financial statements for the month ended October 2014 with the Commissioners. Several discrepancies as compared to budget were discussed and explained by Mrs. Wilkins.
2. The year ended procedure is set to automatically run on December 31st. There are several processes that will run and close the books for 2014 including the database backup. The procedures were relatively easy to set up in the new software and will capture all the required data for the auditor’s review.
3. Spot Market power prices were discussed briefly with the BOC. The average purchase price peak power in November 2014 was $55.80/ MW, on December 10th of this year that same power was selling at more than $93.00/ MW.
Superintendent Considine stated that the department power supply is hedged at almost 100% to insulate itself from market volatility. (Note: LWL purchase 850 hours (peak) for December 2014 to hedge against spot market fluctuation. The cost of that purchase was $103/ MW and represents about twelve (12) percent of the anticipated monthly load).
SUPERINTENDENT/ GENERAL MANAGERS REPORT:
1. Since July 2014 the on-line (Web) credit card charges that the department pays that are associated with accepting credit/ debit card web payments have been reduced by more than forty (40) percent. This is directly the result of changing to the new utility billing software as NISC uses a different credit card processor to process all their on-line payments. In 2013 the department paid $4.57 per credit card transaction since the implementation of the new software those same transaction charges have been reduced to $2.77.
2. The BOC reviewed and discussed a checklist that NISC uses to validate that on-line payments being accepted by the department meet the proper security standards. The department’s goal is to comply with the current PCI-DSS (Payment Cardholder Industry Data Security Standards). The over the counter transaction are the most difficult to manage as front office personnel are physically handling the customer’s credit/debit care to complete the transaction which is not allowed under the PCI-DSS.
3. Capital One notified the departments recently that they suspect that the LWL office credit card appears to have become compromised. Several large charges (totaling about $14,000) appeared on the card December 10th, and the transactions were stopped by Capital One fraud protection division. The department has one (1) card that is stringently managed, has a $2,000 limit and is only used occasionally for items that are not readily available through the purchase order process. The department filed a fraud report and the credit card was deactivated, the department will not be held responsible for the fraudulent charges.
4. The BOC reviewed a request by Corey-Simon Mobile Home Park (CSMHP) to abate water usage at one of their locations. The high usage was the result of a broken fitting under a mobile home that was not reported by their tenant in a timely manner to CSMHP managers. LWL alerted CSMHP following the monthly meter reading as high water use was observed.
Following a brief discussion the BOC agreed to grant CSMHP request for the abatement. The owners acted immediately to resolve the leak when notified and the circumstance were outside their control as there was nothing the owners could have done to prevent the leak.
5. The BOC reviewed the summary of the physical inventory count in preparation for the year end audit. A total change of about $14,700 was needed to true-up actual on-hand quantities to what was being reflected in the material inventory record. This resulted (gain, losses) in a net monetary change on the books of $170 that will be reflected in the financials.
GENERAL BUSINESS:
1. The BOC reviewed the revised 2015 electric division operating and maintenance (O&M) budget. The reviewed budget reflected the additional money approved by the BOC for Right-of-Way Clearing discussed in their previous meeting. In addition the projected ISONE pool expenses were trued up against the department draft budget. These additions to the budget resulted in a projected zero (0) margin for 2015 for the electric division.
Following some discussion relative to the proposed 2015 O&M budget the BOC agreed to review the actual margins at the end of the first quarter to determine if any tariff adjustment may be required.
Commissioner Goodell made a motion to accept the 2015 Operating and Maintenance budget as proposed, with the understanding that due to the tight margins projected that they be carefully monitored. Seconded by Commissioner Moore.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
The BOC reviewed and discussed the expenditures proposed 2015 Capital Construction Project and Equipment list. Following some discussion relative to the proposed capital expenditures the BOC agreed that each item appeared to serve a functional purpose. The BOC expressed some concern relative to the low projected margins just approved for 2015 O&M and whether or not the capital items can be purchased without reducing the reserves.
Commissioner Moore made a motion to approve the 2015 Capital Construction Project and Equipment List as proposed by the department, seconded by Commissioner Ross.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
ADJOURNMENT:
Commissioner Moore made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by
Commissioner Ross.
The vote was in favor of the motion 3-0-0.
Meeting adjourned at 2:50 p.m.
The regularly scheduled Commissioner’s meeting is held twice monthly on the first and third Monday, at 1:00 p.m., in the Department’s conference room.