The following VGFOA Executive Board policy statements are designed to provide a further link between the
by-laws, mission and other practices of the VGFOA in achieving a fiscally prudent and effective operation.
1) Implementation of By-Laws
Article I - Name
Article II - Mission
Article III – Membership
Article IV – Executive
Board
Article V –
Election of Executive Board
Article VI -
Annual and Special Meetings
Article VII –
Amendment of By-Laws
Article
VIII – Rules of Conduct of Meetings
2) Standing Committees
3) Executive Secretary
4) Membership and Awards Committee
5) Associate Membership Relations Committee
6) Education - Conferences Committee
7) Education – Certification and Other Courses
8) Communications and Technology
9) GFOA State Representative and Historian Committee
10) Legislative and Standards Committee
11) Treasurer Duties
12) President Duties
13) President-elect Duties
14) Collaborating Organizations
15) Contributions
16) Code of Ethics
17) Organization Structure
1)
Implementation of By-Laws
a)
Article I -
Name
i)
Filing status
and all filings with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) shall be
maintained for membership to view and retained in permanent records of
VGFOA.
b)
Article II -
Mission
i)
Mission
statement shall be materially compliant with IRS purpose statement on
file and shall remain in effect with current operation of VGFOA.
ii)
An annual
report will be prepared by President provided to membership which shall
at a minimum describe how VGFOA attained compliance with “purpose”
statements from by-laws with this annual report properly archived on WEB
site.
iii)
As Mission
Statement is stated in its entirety in the By-laws, the policies shall
define the “tag-line” for the VGFOA as “Developing Governmental and
Financial Leaders”
iv)
The tag-line
shall appear on all letterhead and communications of the VGFOA wherever
practical and any logo of the VGFOA shall also be approved by the Board.
v)
The Mission
Statement shall be clearly visible for members to see at conferences,
WEB site and other practical instances for communications.
c)
Article
III – Membership
i)
The Executive
Board will approve annually in conjunction with the budget all fee rates
and due dates for membership fees.
ii)
After
three-month period of non-payment, such member shall be notified that
their membership is in suspension.
iii)
In attaining
the most administratively efficient manner to collect membership fees,
the annual membership fees shall be built into the annual Fall
Conference with existing and targeted members not attending conference
to be billed for such annual membership fee by November 30. .
iv)
Once paid for
the year, membership shall be granted to both the employee enrolled as a
member and the entity that sponsored such employee for a period no
greater than 12 months with membership status provided to the employee
if they transition to another employer during the year as well as
granting continued employer membership for replacement position.
d)
Article IV – Executive Board
i)
The following
are the prescribed goal statements for each member of the Executive
Board and the established standing committees for which the chair of
such committee is a board member.
ii)
Officers
(1)
President – to
oversee the Executive Board in meeting goals and other assigned duties
through contract oversight of Executive Secretary, formulation of agenda
items, running board meetings in a proper manner and other contracted
services including risk management (insurance), legal counsel and audit.
(2)
President-elect – to serve in the President’s role in President’s
absence, committee oversight and other leadership roles and special
committees for assigned tasks from the President.
(3)
Treasurer – to
provide oversight over the proposed budget formulation for Executive
Board, present Board financial reports, monitor compliance with
financial polices and ensure that actual revenues and expenditures are
being recorded and supported in a proper manner.
(4)
Past-President
– to chair by-laws committee, chair nominating committee, ensure rules
of meeting (as defined per by-laws) are followed and other leadership
roles and special committees for assigned tasks from the President.
(5)
Standing
Committees
(a)
Membership and
Awards – to ensure that all efforts are being made to recruit and retain
full, lifetime and past-president membership through provision of
member-benefit services, including alumni-benefit services, and
oversight over structured awards program to provide recognition to both
individual members and/or their organizations in becoming premier
governmental financial leaders.
(b)
Associate
Membership Relations – to ensure associate members and prospective
vendors for membership are provided with pathways to illustrate their
goods/services, provide educational and technical resources and
contribute appropriately for such access to the full membership.
(c)
Education–Conferences – to provide oversight for Spring and Fall
Conference, including securing location and formulating agenda.
(d)
Education –
Certification and Other Courses – to formulate a structured educational
training schedule that includes at a minimum the VGFOA certificate
program, Winter Conference and other targeted training classes.
(e)
Communications
and Technology – to provide oversight for content of communications
(including e-mail distributions) and the technical manner in which such
content and other information can be maintained on the WEB site.
(f)
GFOA State
Representative and Historian – to be the primary liaison between the
State organization and the national GFOA as well as historian of
organization.
(g)
Legislative
and Standards – to be apprised in a timely manner of State and Federal
legislation impacts, standard setting authorities (e.g., GASB) and/or
any other impacts that may be imposed upon governmental entities for
which research will be conducted to best formulate education and
communication strategies to best apprise members.
(6)
Special
Committees (on-going, President may formulate other committees as
needed)
(a)
Nominating
Committee – to formulate nominating slate for open positions on the
Executive Board.
(b)
By-Laws
Committee – to propose changes of by-laws and ensure compliance with
existing by-laws.
(c)
Audit
Committee – to provide oversight and contact for contracted auditors for
annual audit.
(d)
Alumni
Committee – to promote activities and communication through network of
past-members and those interested current members.
(e)
Associate
Member Relations Committee – to promote the best manner in which
associate members (vendors) can be engaged in helping full members in
activities and mission of the VGFOA.
iii)
Attendance at
Meetings and Provision of Appropriate Resources
(1)
In order for
the business of the VGFOA to be conducted properly, attendance at
meetings and the provision of appropriate resources is needed from each
and every Executive Board member.
(2)
For those
members that fail to attend 50% of scheduled VGFOA Board meetings during
their term, those members can be removed from the Executive Board, upon
vote of the Executive Board, with vacancy on Executive Board filled in
accordance with By-laws process for vacancies.
(3)
For those
members that fail to perform their duties (e.g., commitments to assigned
duties, committee oversight, etc.), those members can be removed from
the Executive Board, upon vote of the Executive Board, with vacancy on
Executive Board filled in accordance with By-laws process for vacancies.
e)
Article V – Election
of Executive Board
i)
The By-laws
enables the Executive Board to prescribe the manner in which the
elections are held.
ii)
Nominating
committee shall be appointed by the Past-president at least 120 days
prior to the election to enable committee to meet and present draft
slate of candidates for Executive Board meeting at least 30 days before
election.
iii)
Nominating
committee will be chaired by Past-president and be comprised of no more
than five members, of which at least three shall be prior
Past-presidents.
iv)
Nominating
committee will solicit potential candidates and take into consideration
the following:
(1)
Service of
candidate to the VGFOA
(2)
Availability
of candidate and their employer to devote time and resources to VGFOA
which shall include consent of nominated candidate’s employer in having
employee on VGFOA Board.
(3)
Achieve
diverse and representative Executive Board covering broad areas of
geographic, governmental structures and fiscal expertise roles.
(4)
For President,
President-elect and Treasurer, it would also consider leadership
attributes in serving the organization over the long-term, managing
contractual relationships and other duties assigned to such board
members.
v)
Final
nominating slate will be presented to Executive Board at meeting prior
to annual election with Executive Board approving such slate to be
presented to the full membership.
(1)
If changes to
the slate, then such changes must have unanimous support of the
Executive Board.
vi)
Nominating
committee will present slate to annual membership at business meeting
with voice vote held to record vote and if no objections, then such
slate will be considered approved unanimously.
(1)
If not
unanimous, then form ballots will be made available for membership to
vote and results tallied within 24 hours of receiving ballot.
vii)
Upon election
to new term in office, all Executive Board members will have a letter
sent to their employer from the Past-President thanking the member for
their service and commitment to the VGFOA, unless member otherwise
requests to not have such letter sent.
viii)
All new board
members will be provided with an orientation package from the executive
secretary prior to the first Board meeting following the annual
conference.
f)
Article VI - Annual
and Special Meetings
i)
The annual
meeting that includes the business meeting shall be the “Fall
Conference”.
ii)
The annual
meeting notice of 30 days prior to the meeting shall be met via
conference solicitation for such fall conference.
iii)
Special
meetings shall meet all notice requirements (at least 10 days prior to
the meeting).
iv)
Executive
Board meetings will enter into closed session for those discussion items
that meet criteria for organizational closed session discussions.
v)
Executive
Board may correspond with one-another via e-mail and/or conference call
with consensus of Board’s opinion documented in subsequent minutes of
meeting.
vi)
Regularly
scheduled Executive Board meetings will occur at least four times per
year with the following schedule to be used as a guideline (actual
meeting schedule determined at the last Executive Board meeting of the
calendar year at times and places most convenient to Executive Board
members):
(1)
March – at a
mutually agreed-upon site and time
(2)
May – in
conjunction with the Spring conference, traditionally held in Virginia
Beach, with such Executive Board meeting beginning just prior to such
conference.
(3)
October – in
conjunction with the Fall conference with such Executive Board meeting
beginning just prior to such conference (in addition, a brief meeting is
also held just subsequent to the annual full membership meeting).
(4)
December – at
mutually agreed-upon site and time.
g)
Article VII – Amendment of
By-Laws
i)
The By-laws
Committee shall be comprised of the Past-president and two active
members (per the By-Laws).
ii)
The
Past-president shall establish the committee by January 1 of each year
with goal to have the by-laws reviewed, and if any edits are proposed by
the committee, to have such edits presented to Executive Board no later
than spring conference meeting with any edits to proposed by-laws having
unanimous support.
iii)
Proposed
by-law amendments shall be made available to full membership at least 30
days prior to their adoption at annual meeting with any edits to such
proposed by-laws prior to annual meeting also requiring unanimous
support of the Executive Board.
h)
Article VIII –
Rules of Conduct of Meetings
i)
The
Past-President shall serve in the role as understanding the Robert’s
Rules of Order in order to best conduct the meetings should such
consultation be needed.
ii)
Unless it
appears that a unanimous vote is not reached via a voice vote, then a
roll call shall be done for Executive Board meetings and a ballot format
for annual business meetings for the membership.
2)
Standing Committees
a)
Overall Structure
i)
Committee members shall be appointed by the
chair of the committee with consent of the President.
ii)
Committee size shall be determined by the
committee chair, but unless otherwise determined by committee chair,
each committee shall be comprised of no less than three and no more than
ten members.
iii)
Committees shall meet at a minimum once per
year at the annual conference in a pre-scheduled meeting.
iv)
Committees shall formulate and maintain
agreed-upon guidelines, responsibilities and duties that at a minimum
prescribe manners in which committee can meet and communicate (e.g., via
conferences, e-mail, conference call) as well as
attendance/participation goals for active membership in committee.
b)
A goal of the committees is to encourage
greater participation from the membership, and to rotate committee
assignments as needed to mitigate anyone from serving on one committee
too long.
c)
Committee slots may be occupied by a
representative of a targeted governmental entity on an on-going basis,
if agreed-upon by committee chair and President.
3)
Executive Secretary
a)
The Board will contract for executive
secretary services with calendar year contract terms subject to
renewable one-year terms for a period of up to five years.
i)
Every five years a standing committee will
be convened to determine how best to solicit and procure executive
secretary services for which formal proposals will be submitted by all
prospective service providers, including the incumbent executive
secretary.
ii)
During last calendar year Executive Board
meeting a formal contract review will be done, including closed session
discussion, in order to best evaluate the existing contract and agree to
contract renewal terms for the succeeding calendar year.
iii)
If transition of services to new executive
secretary, then contract terms should ensure that extension of existing
executive secretary services will negate any lapse in service during
transition; this shall also apply for any circumstance that defers
renewal of existing contract past January 1.
iv)
Contract will meet legal contractual terms
with legal counsel review done, as applicable.
b)
The following represent the minimum scopes
for such contractual services for which remuneration for services would
be based:
i)
Record retention of VGFOA records.
ii)
Deposit all receipts and payment of
expenditures incurred within budget appropriation in a timely manner and
with supporting documentation properly maintained.
iii)
Day-to-day activities of association.
iv)
Administrative duties for all educational
training and conferences.
v)
Maintain minutes of all Executive Board and
annual business meetings of the VGFOA with all actions properly and
clearly recorded.
vi)
Maintain a book of accounts for the VGFOA
and report to the Executive Board the status of the financial activity
of the VGFOA.
vii)
Work with the
President and Treasurer to present a proposed budget for the VGFOA and
five-year plan for the VGFOA by the last calendar year meeting of the
Executive Board each year.
viii)
Coordinate
Executive Board meetings and provide applicable meeting materials prior
to Executive Board meeting via e-mail with any Board member responsible
for brining such materials to meeting.
ix)
Maintain the
Membership Directory.
x)
Invest any
anticipated idle funds of the VGFOA.
xi)
Other duties
may be assigned by the Executive Board with the concurrence of the
Executive Secretary.
c)
Reimbursable
expenses shall include, in addition to any other defined in the
contract:
i)
All lodging
and meals costs at conferences, training sessions and board meetings.
ii)
If approved in
budget, all travel, lodging and meal costs for national GFOA conference
subject to IRS per diem for meal reimbursement and lodging costs
pre-approved by the President.
4)
Membership and Awards
Committee
a)
Awards and
Recognition Program
i)
The Membership and Awards Committee
provides recommendations of award recipients to Executive Board for
approval and subject to budget appropriation.
ii)
Each award shall be based upon eligibility
for award guidelines as defined by the committee.
iii)
Presentations of all awards will be based
upon the time/place most convenient to award recipient with the goal to
be recognized at a conference and consideration of communicating content
of the award’s merits to members to provide further education to
members.
iv)
Membership and Award Committee and
Executive Board members shall be precluded from applying and receiving
any individual award (e.g., scholarship), but may have their employer
receive an award, in which case such member would abstain from such
award vote.
v)
The following represents such award and
recognition programs:
(1)
Award of Excellence: to recognize
governmental entities that developed innovative programs.
(2)
GFOA
Advanced Government Finance Institute Scholarship: to provide funding in
the budget for a scholarship to mitigate costs to a recognized national
program in developing governmental and financial leaders.
(3)
Certificate
Program Scholarship: to promote VGFOA Certificate by providing an
incentive to members in pursuit of certificate.
(4)
Pettigrew
Scholarship: to recognize undergraduate or graduate students in pursuit
of a governmental fiscal career, named in honor of Edward T. Pettigrew,
VGFOA’s first president.
(5)
Black Lifetime
Member Award – to recognize a member who
has retired from active service in governmental finance field and has
made an outstanding contribution to the field of public finance in the
Commonwealth, named in honor of Joseph N. Black, founding member of
VGFOA.
(a)
As this is a prestigious award and
recognizing the fact that Executive Boards have transition over time and
may not be cognizant of a the merits of someone who is now retired, the
membership and awards committee, through established guidelines, will
maintain a list of potential candidates and their contributions that
were noteworthy.
(b)
All lifetime members will be recognized on
plaque that the VGFOA shall display at annual conference and individual
recognition on WEB site
(6)
Other awards, resolutions or other forms of
recognition (e.g., Certificate of appreciation) to an individual,
governmental entity or an organization may be initiated by a Executive
Board member
vi)
The Executive Board shall try to establish
scholarships and awards under the name of a member or past-member who
has made significant contributions to the organization and/or to the
establishment of such applicable scholarship/award.
b)
Alumni
Member
i)
As the only
members who have a connection to VGFOA after they have retired and/or
are in non-governmental finance career are lifetime members and
past-presidents, there shall be a pathway for such members to stay
involved with the organization.
ii)
Alumni contact
list to be maintained on WEB site with such alumni provided e-mail
notices about conferences and other VGFOA related events.
iii)
Executive
Board will provide support as needed to encourage participation of
alumni in VGFOA activities and design programs to accommodate such
alumni interest with coordination of a sub-committee combined of alumni
members.
c)
Fellowship
programs
i)
Regional and
other fellowship programs shall be advocated in providing pathways for
members to exchange information and related interests in providing for a
stronger association
5)
Associate Membership
Relations Committee
a)
Committee will also include representative
associate members in order to best ascertain the best manners for such
relations.
b)
Organizations wishing to advertise will be
given access to sponsor programs, scholarships, training programs,
newsletters and other materials as deemed appropriate by Board member
overseeing such materials with fees based upon established associate
member fee schedule adopted by the Board.
c)
Exhibitor space will be provided at
conferences as facility space permits with agreed-upon fees provided for
such use of space and access of exhibitors to conference events
d)
Vendor
relations will focus on ability of VGFOA to promote services of vendors
via WEB site and/or newsletter in a manner that is fair and equitable to
all vendors who are associate members.
6)
Education -
Conferences Committee
a)
All conferences shall be held at a location
as approved by the Executive Board and recommended by the Education -
Conferences Committee with scope of this committee limited to the Spring
conference, traditionally held at Virginia Beach in May, and the Fall
conference, traditionally held in October at a location agreed-upon by
the Executive Board.
b)
Facility arrangements and other
conference/training-related items shall be coordinated between the Board
member/Committee member assigned oversight and the Executive Secretary.
i)
Conference
facilities – for those facilities that educational training and/or
conferences will be held, standard contractual agreements will be
negotiated between conference facility and VGFOA person in-charge of
such conference with the following attributes.
(1)
No contract
will guarantee payment of funds above an attendance figure that is not
reasonably projected.
(2)
Standardized
contractual agreements shall be reviewed by legal counsel and upon
consent, approved by the Executive Board within desired parameters, with
final contract reviewed by the Treasurer and signed by the President.
(3)
In order to
assure facility accommodations at desired place and time, such
contractual arrangements for facilities shall be made at least 12 months
in advance (for such recurring facility locations as Virginia Beach,
multi-year agreements are acceptable).
c)
Conference fee
shall be formulated and approved by Executive Board to achieve desired
margin, after consideration of estimated attendance, facility fees,
other expenses, net of estimated sponsorship.
d)
Sample
conference parameters shall include:
i)
Proper times
for speakers, concurrent sessions and adhering to such times.
e)
Continuing Professional Education (CPE)
hours
i)
CPE hours shall be based upon established
standards of the Virginia Board of Accountancy
ii)
For those CPE hours required in certain
areas (e.g., ethics), conference planning shall occur to ensure that all
CPE goals can be met through VGFOA conferences and/or other
related-training
f)
Reimbursable
expenses for conferences and training speakers are as follows:
i)
If an
associate member or non-member/non-governmental employee, then no
reimbursable expense is necessary unless otherwise approved by the
Executive Board and/or addressed in another policy section (e.g., vendor
relations).
ii)
If a full
active member, then a free registration shall be permitted.
iii)
If not a
member, but a governmental employee, then a free registration and if
requested by speaker, one night’s hotel lodging shall be permitted.
iv)
For “keynote”
or banquet” speakers, accommodations can be made for one night’s lodging
if requested by the speaker.
g)
Reciprocal
member recognition shall be given to the following organizations which
shall entitle such members to receive information on conferences and
educational training:
i)
Treasurer’s
Association of Virginia
h)
Refunds shall
be provided back to “payee” for any registration fees if such notice was
received prior to established date w/ facility in providing estimate for
attendees for meals, facility space, etc.
7)
Education –
Certification and Other Courses
a)
Elements of
the Education – Conferences Committee shall also pertain, as applicable,
to this committee and therefore are not repeated in this section.
b)
VGFOA
Certificate Program
i)
The VGFOA
Certificate Program will be comprised of courses and electives as
approved by the Executive Board with appropriate Executive Board
approved waivers granted based upon other certifications and/or college
coursework taken.
ii)
All records of
individuals in pursuit of certificate program will be maintained by the
executive secretary.
iii)
Through an
agreement with Government and Non-Profit Assistance Center (GNAC), the
VGFOA shall net an agreed-upon return per student attending such
classes.
iv)
A rolling
five-year plan shall be maintained by the committee to illustrate the
manner in which the certificate program could be achieved within a
five-year period.
c)
Other training
classes that are not part of the Certificate Program will be structured
and formulated to best meet membership training needs, as necessary,
which may also include opportunities for such training to occur via WEB.
8)
Communications and Technology
a)
Website
i)
Communications
- to provide oversight over the solicitation and production of virtually
all content delivered to the membership via newsletter, WEB site and/or
e-mail distribution outlets.
ii)
Technology –
to manage the WEB site and related technologies (e.g., e-mail
distribution) in order for content providers to best communicate to the
membership and other interested parties at-large; including monitoring
of other applicable WEB sites for further enhancements to VGFOA WEB
site.
iii)
The Website
will contain the membership list of all members with e-mail addresses
also provided.
iv)
E-mail
distributions to entire mail list will be coordinated through the
Communications and Technology Committee chair that would allow
communications to members if it met educational and information
standards for VGFOA members at-large.
v)
Job postings
should be posted for a period through application deadline and/or
three-months from any position of a governmental finance perspective.
vi)
All award
winners shall be posted to the Website including a standing page section
for lifetime member awards.
b)
Newsletter
i)
A newsletter
shall be published every three months and distributed to all members of
the organization with emphasis upon distributing such newsletter via
e-mail and/or WEB site posting.
ii)
Advertising
considerations can be accepted for newsletter upon consent of the
Executive Board.
c)
Prototype
Policies and Documents
i)
The VGFOA will
advocate for prototype financial policies, request for proposals and
other related information to be disseminated in an organized manner via
the WEB page and/or other communication means.
ii)
Regional Focus
Groups shall be encouraged as a manner to promote fellowship and
regional discussion groups about issues relevant and current for members
to address.
9)
GFOA State
Representative and Historian Committee
a)
National GFOA
Relations
i)
VGFOA shall
understand GFOA’s position with regard to national practices and
standards for governmental entities as well as how other State
organizations operate in the most efficient and effective manner.
ii)
The VGFOA
Board shall annually nominate a candidate to the national GFOA Executive
Board.
b)
Historian
i)
Through a
liaison with the Alumni Committee, the goal would be the continued
documentation of VGFOA’s history.
ii)
Through
newsletter and WEB site communications, the historian will continue to
focus on the past highlights of the organization and its members.
iii)
Oversight is
also provided in recording the permanent history story maintained on the
WEB and providing timely updates in the organization’s history.
iv)
Record Retention
(1)
All record retention guidelines of the
Virginia Archives shall be followed, unless otherwise specified below:
(a)
Permanent retention - Minutes of board
meetings, by-laws, IRS filings, audit reports, adopted budgets,
certificates of insurance and other documents deemed appropriate.
(b)
Critical records – general ledger records
of revenues and disbursements, membership status lists
(2)
For permanent records and those records
deemed to be critical such record retention area shall be secured and
fire-proof with back-up of such records at an off-site location.
10)
Legislative and Standards
Committee
a)
Legislative
i)
A State
legislative update shall be provided to members in a timely manner from
Governor budget proposals to General Assembly actions and through
adoption of budget.
ii)
Federal
legislative update shall be provided to members in a timely manner.
iii)
For both State
and Federal updates references to other sources can be substituted if it
meets members’ objectives for timeliness, propriety and completeness of
information.
b)
Standards
i)
Updates shall
be performed as needed in order to best apprise members of standard
setting body impacts (e.g., GASB, GFOA, etc.) with education program
also designed to best orient members to proposed changes in standards.
11)
Treasurer Duties
a)
Audit
i)
There shall be an annual audit and related
management letter, if applicable, of all funds under the control of the
VGFOA performed by an independent certified public accountant contracted
by the Board through a request for proposal process for a contract of up
to five years.
ii)
For any non unqualified opinion or
management letter, a corrective action plan shall be formulated by the
Treasurer and adopted by the Executive board within three months of
getting such opinion or letter.
iii)
The Treasurer shall coordinate all
audit-related services and oversight over Executive Secretary in
ensuring that all records are complete and control/compliance inquires
are addressed.
iv)
An Audit Committee comprised of the
Past-President, President and President-elect with President serving as
chair shall make their preliminary report to the Executive Board at the
Spring conference meeting of the Board for the preceding fiscal year
with final report approved for distribution at the Fall conference to
members.
v)
Year-end unrestricted net assets shall be
greater than 15% of actual revenues with any balance less than such
percentage to be addressed by Treasurer in corrective action plan to
achieve such threshold during next fiscal year
vi)
The audit shall also ensure compliance with
required IRS reporting (e.g., Form 990, Form 1099) within prescribed
deadlines.
vii)
The audit, to the extent practical, shall
also determine compliance to by-laws and polices established.
b)
Budget
i)
By October 1, all committees and contracted
services will submit requests for budgetary needs for next fiscal year
to the Treasurer.
ii)
By November 1, President and Treasurer,
with assistance of executive secretary, will have formulated balanced
budget for next fiscal year and updated five-year plan that will
include:
(1)
Revenues: Assumptions for membership dues,
conference fees, vendor donations, exhibitor space charges (w/related
access to conference events), investment income and other educational
training courses/fees.
(a)
Targeted goal of having contributions be at
least equal to 10% of total budget.
(b)
Targeted goal of positive conference and
educational training margins.
(2)
Expenditures: Assumptions for contracted
services, committee needs, contributions/scholarships,
conference/education training costs and other operating expenditures.
(a)
Targeted goal of providing awards and
scholarships at least equal to 5% of budget.
(b)
Targeted goal of retaining at least 2% of
budget into restricted fund until such fund attains 10% of VGFOA budget
that may be needed to establish endowment for the recruitment and
retaining of future executive secretaries; thereafter such endowment
shall be maintained at 10% threshold.
(3)
Profit margins: Profit margins shall be
illustrated with each conferences and educational session.
(4)
Fund Balance: Projected year-end fund
balance shall be no less than 15% of total projected revenues
iii)
By January 1, balanced budget and five-year
plan will be adopted by Board.
iv)
For those items in the budget for which an
overage is anticipated, the President has the authority to transfer up
to $10,000 with Board consensus needed and documented for those amounts
above such threshold.
c)
Investments
i)
All investments shall be within prescribed
limits of Code of Virginia as it pertains to local governments
ii)
In recognition of its fiduciary role in the
management of all public funds entrusted to its care, it shall be the
policy of the VGFOA that all investable balances be invested with the
same care, skill, prudence and diligence that a prudent and
knowledgeable person would exercise when undertaking an enterprise of
like character and aims under circumstances prevailing at that time.
iii)
Investment
Objectives
(1)
Safety - the safeguarding of principle
shall be the foremost objective of the investment program by mitigating
credit risk and interest rate risk with all other objectives
subordinated to the attainment of this objective.
(2)
Liquidity -
the investment portfolio shall be managed at all times with sufficient
liquidity to meet all daily and seasonal needs, as well as special
projects and other operational requirements either known or which might
be reasonably anticipated.
(3)
Yield - the investment portfolio shall be
managed with the objective of obtaining no worse than a fair value rate
of return over the course of budgetary and economic cycles, taking into
account the constraints contained herein and the cash flow patterns of
the VGFOA.
iv)
The following
securities shall be expressly prohibited, unless specifically approved
in writing by the Treasurer:
(1)
Derivative products that include any of the
following characteristics: high price volatility, illiquid markets,
products that are not market tested, highly leveraged products, products
requiring a high degree of sophistication to manage, and products that
are difficult to value.
(2)
Reverse
repurchase agreements (repos).
(3)
Any other
security not specifically authorized in this policy or related
regulation.
v)
Each Board meeting a summary year-to-date
report for the most recently completed quarter will be presented and
accepted by the Board and at a minimum, contain the following
information:
(a)
Bank reconciliation with detailed
reconciling items.
(b)
Income statement with actual revenues and
expenditures compared to budgetary balances with projection by budget
area for fiscal year-end.
(c)
Detailed posting of all expenditure
disbursements with payee name, dollar amount and date noted.
(d)
Net revenue and expense summaries for each
educational training session or conference held.
(e)
Accounting method for non-year-end
financial reporting will be based upon cash basis.
d)
Controls
i)
It is recognized that the VGFOA is a small
organization, that is primarily volunteer-based (except for executive
secretary resource) and board members that are not in close proximity to
one another, therefore, the all controls noted in this policy are best
attempts to mitigate risk given existing control environment.
ii)
Receipts
(1)
All receipts shall be recorded in a cash
receipt log by payee, date, account code and dollar amount.
(2)
Deposits should be prepared in a timely
manner and, at a minimum, with deposits being done within 5 business
days of receipt.
(3)
All returned checks shall be require payee
to include returned check fee of $15 above established bank charge in
addition to new check prior to depositing such check with all services
related to check (E.g., conference registration), placed on-hold until
new check and returned check fee have been paid.
iii)
Disbursements
(1)
All disbursements shall be logged in a cash
disbursement journal recording payee, date, good/service incurred,
dollar amount and account code.
(2)
All disbursements prior to check
distribution shall be communicated to Treasurer via e-mail, with
authorization of such checks received prior to disbursement of funds
with the Treasurer requesting supporting documentation for any
expenditure transaction desired.
(3)
Authorization received from Treasurer shall
be maintained in supporting documentation records for check
disbursements.
(4)
All checks above $5,000 shall require
e-mail approval of President in addition to Treasurer .
(5)
To mitigate misuse or theft risk, for
credit card or procurement card transactions, card constraints should
allow for no more than $2,000 unit costs in a day and/or $5,000 in a
month.
(6)
All contractual agreements will require
approval of the Treasurer prior to any payments made of a contractual
nature.
e)
Board Member Reimbursements
i)
The VGFOA shall provide all lodging and
meal costs, for which the Board is participating in together, pertaining
to all Board meetings.
(1)
For lodging
costs, one night of hotel accommodations are provided for every day that
the Board meets, except for conference in which just one night will be
provided (possibility that Board may meet more than one day in
concurrence with conference).
(2)
For other costs incurred on behalf of Board
members when four or more Board members are participating in an event or
activity just prior to or after Board meeting shall be reimbursable upon
approval of President.
(3)
If pre-authorized in the budget, the
President and/or President-elect may be reimbursed for costs associated
with business meetings that they may need to conduct on behalf of the
VGFOA with such costs not exceeding IRS allowable per diems for lodging
and meals and IRS mileage reimbursement rate.
(4)
Other costs,
including mileage, incidentals and other non-Board related meals shall
be borne by the Board member with the desire that each Board member’s
governmental entity provide such reimbursement as would pertain to any
other governmental travel for educational training or business.
ii)
Other
reimbursable costs are as follows:
(1)
To ensure representation at the Government
Finance Officer's Association's annual national conference, the VGFOA
may provide, if specifically approved in the budget, assistance for the
President to attend the conference.
(2)
Appearance on
behalf of the VGFOA to testify, make a presentation or otherwise
represent the VGFOA, when required or authorized by the Executive Board
with meal, lodging and mileage at allowable IRS per diem reimbursable
thresholds.
(3)
Committee expenses as pre-authorized in the
budget (e.g., award plaques, etc.)
(4)
Committee meetings for which a Board member
is present are permitted to have their meal and/or related activities
reimbursed if within IRS guidelines for meal reimbursement per diems,
within budget and approved by the President.
12)
President Duties
a)
Retreat
i)
As part of any
strong organization, a formal Board retreat should be held at least
every five years in order for the Board to best position itself over the
long-term
ii)
Strategic
plans would be reviewed and updated as part of such retreat with final
product available to membership via WEB site.
iii)
An established
Code of Ethics will also be reviewed and updated, as applicable, as part
of strategic plan with Code available to membership via WEB site.
b)
Risk
Management
i)
Insurance
(1)
All insurance
coverages of the VGFOA and contracted vendors shall be require a
certificate of insurance to be filed in the VGFOA permanent records.
(2)
Insurance –
the VGFOA shall always maintain adequate coverages for
directors/officers liability, general liability and surety bond
coverages in a contractual relationship that is reviewed annually with
vendor to ensure that proper insurance coverages are in-force.
(3)
General
liability coverage - coverage shall be at least $1 million per
occurrence and $2 million in the aggregate per year
(4)
Directors and
Officers - coverage shall be at least $1 million per occurrence and $2
million in the aggregate per year
(5)
Surety Bond –
coverage shall be at least equal to 50% of previous year-end’s cash
balance.
(6)
Professional
liability insurance (e.g., Continuing Professional Education (CPE) risk,
mis-interpreted guidance provided, etc.) shall be mitigated through
oversight of Executive Board.
ii)
Business
Contingency Plan
(1)
A business
contingency plan shall be formulated and maintained by the organization
which shall address loss of permanent records, contracted service
discontinuance (e.g., executive secretary), WEB site shutdown and other
events that would cause the organization risk in membership, educational
training and fiscal loss.
c)
Other
Contractual Relationships
i)
Legal – the
VGFOA shall always have access to legal counsel services that can be
accessed in a timely manner for those issues that may involve counsel
and if under a contractual agreement, such agreements would be reviewed
annually.
13)
President-elect
Duties
a)
Coordination
and oversight over all standing committees that have Board chair.
b)
Authority to
act on behalf of the President in the President’s absence or
concurrence.
c)
Special tasks
that further the mission of the VGFOA and preparation for assumption of
President role in subsequent year.
14)
Collaborating Organizations
a)
As the VGFOA
recognizes that it is a value to its membership to encourage and solicit
educational and other informational items from other organizations, it
has provided collaborative opportunities for such organizations to
provide information to the VGFOA.
b)
The following
organizations have been identified as collaborative organizations
i)
Treasurer’s
Association of Virginia
ii)
Association
for Governmental Accountants, Virginia Chapter
iii)
Local
Government Auditors Association
15)
Contributions
a)
The VGFOA may
be solicited for contributions to various causes that promote
governmental financial standards, education and practices.
b)
The following
represent those contributions that have been provided on an on-going
manner
i)
GASB
16)
Code of Ethics
a)
A code of
ethics shall be followed which defaults to the current GFOA Code of
Ethics.
17)
Organization Structure
a)
The following
organization chart illustrates the manner in which the reporting entity
operates
|
VGFOA Executive Board Policy Statement (May 2005)