February 21, 2019
PRESENT: David Burns, Luke Shorty, Peter Doak, Maryalice Crofton
The task force members met at 3 pm by teleconference.
TASK FORCE MISSION. Members reviewed the updates and agreed the Commission would be asked to charge the Financial Oversight task force with the mission stated below.
The Finance Committee’s mission is to review the budget preparation and implementation for the Maine Commission for Community Service (MCCS), as well as to communicate with and educate Commissioners as to the financial status and needs of the MCCS.
FINANCIAL REPORTS. Members had asked for an example of a more streamlined report format. The Commission Support Grant year-end report was presented and discussed. It shows budget, year-to-date, and percent of period completed. Members took the opportunity to look closely at various line items and discuss the anticipated shortage of required match (about 1%). Maryalice explained the cause of the shortfall on match and pointed out it highlights our dependence on in-kind for grantee share. CNCS has been asked if they will waive the full match requirement since it is only 1%. If the waiver is not granted, there is a potential source for repayment.
Task force members agreed that, although the format only present one source of funding, it is more comprehensible. They asked for reports from all three Commission operating funds on a quarterly basis using this format. For AmeriCorps funding, they asked to have a report that just shows award and year-to-date for both CNCS funds and grantee share. At the end of each budget period (year), they would like to see the final expense report submitted by the grantee.
BOARD EDUCATION AND REPORTS. Members agreed the Commissioners would need an opportunity to learn how to read these reports. Luke recommended developing a dashboard that would show status. Need to develop indicators first.
At the next Commission meeting, the task force decided it would use some of its time on the agenda to poll members on what they would like to know. Then this group can better plan next steps.
NEXT MEETING: Thursday, March 14, at 3pm
There being no other discussion items, the meeting closed at 3:49 pm