(Nov. 3, 2016) With no regular meeting scheduled this month and work on the next fiscal-year budget already underway, the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors called a special session for Monday, Nov. 14 at 2 p.m. in the Community Center to review progress in several areas.
On Oct. 22, the directors passed a limited budget guidance document that included directives to present the FY 2018 budget against prior year numbers with “variance and effect on assessment,” justify department revenue or expense variances of 5 percent or $5,000 and use “relevant objective performance metrics … in documenting expenses and revenues.”
The board also decided that the next budget will be presented in a multiyear format that includes budgeted items from previous years that were not expensed. Requests for capital items “should include dollars and rationale,” return on investment calculations are required “where applicable,” and the capital threshold – how much each department can spend without board approval – was increased from $1,000 to $2,000.
“The meeting on Nov. 14 … is for the individual board members to discuss their suggestions and input for the FY17-18 budget, and allow the board as a whole to then offer expanded guidance, from the motion passed on [Oct. 22], to the General Manager,” Interim General Manager Brett Hill in an emailed statement on Tuesday. “The meeting is obviously public and open for anyone to attend.”
During a board meeting with the Ocean Pines Budget and Finance Committee on Sept. 21, Hill said homeowners in Ocean Pines should expect to see major changes in the next budget.
“I’m going through, right now, our complete organizational chart and assessing what I have in each department,” he said at the time. “I suspect that the budget next year is going to look very different … because there are certain elements in our organization that, should we shift them, is going to reflect in the presentation of the budget.”
Part of that “shift” will likely be the hiring of a new general manager, as well as a replacement for retiring controller Art Carmine. There is speculation that the latter role could be expanded. Several sources close to the board also suggested further shakeups in leadership positions could be coming.
Among them is former Parks and Recreation Director Sonya Bounds, who either resigned or was recently terminated according to Terri Mohr, a former board member and current member of the Ocean Pines Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee.
Asked to comment, Hill said Bounds had a “prescheduled vacation” and would return on Nov. 7.
The first draft of the fiscal year 2018 budget is due to be presented to the budget and finance committee by the general manager on Dec. 21.
Budget and finance set aside two days, Jan. 11 and 12, for review of the budget, followed by final recommendations from the committee to the board on Jan. 16.
The general manager is scheduled to present the budget to the board for review on Jan. 25, and the final budget must be approved by Feb. 28.
On Oct. 22, the directors passed a limited budget guidance document that included directives to present the FY 2018 budget against prior year numbers with “variance and effect on assessment,” justify department revenue or expense variances of 5 percent or $5,000 and use “relevant objective performance metrics … in documenting expenses and revenues.”
The board also decided that the next budget will be presented in a multiyear format that includes budgeted items from previous years that were not expensed. Requests for capital items “should include dollars and rationale,” return on investment calculations are required “where applicable,” and the capital threshold – how much each department can spend without board approval – was increased from $1,000 to $2,000.
“The meeting on Nov. 14 … is for the individual board members to discuss their suggestions and input for the FY17-18 budget, and allow the board as a whole to then offer expanded guidance, from the motion passed on [Oct. 22], to the General Manager,” Interim General Manager Brett Hill in an emailed statement on Tuesday. “The meeting is obviously public and open for anyone to attend.”
During a board meeting with the Ocean Pines Budget and Finance Committee on Sept. 21, Hill said homeowners in Ocean Pines should expect to see major changes in the next budget.
“I’m going through, right now, our complete organizational chart and assessing what I have in each department,” he said at the time. “I suspect that the budget next year is going to look very different … because there are certain elements in our organization that, should we shift them, is going to reflect in the presentation of the budget.”
Part of that “shift” will likely be the hiring of a new general manager, as well as a replacement for retiring controller Art Carmine. There is speculation that the latter role could be expanded. Several sources close to the board also suggested further shakeups in leadership positions could be coming.
Among them is former Parks and Recreation Director Sonya Bounds, who either resigned or was recently terminated according to Terri Mohr, a former board member and current member of the Ocean Pines Recreation and Parks Advisory Committee.
Asked to comment, Hill said Bounds had a “prescheduled vacation” and would return on Nov. 7.
The first draft of the fiscal year 2018 budget is due to be presented to the budget and finance committee by the general manager on Dec. 21.
Budget and finance set aside two days, Jan. 11 and 12, for review of the budget, followed by final recommendations from the committee to the board on Jan. 16.
The general manager is scheduled to present the budget to the board for review on Jan. 25, and the final budget must be approved by Feb. 28.