Pamela Howard, Cecil County Treasurer, responded to our questions and I cannot thank her enough for doing so.  She is increasing the public’s ability to access in-depth budget information and that is of great importance to Cecil County taxpayers.  Her willingness to give the public answers is commendable and exemplary of good public service.  Her responses are listed below with the questions.

1)      Can you explain what the cost to the county is for the purchase of the Port Deposit system in both the short and long term? I realize that Schedule B only speaks to the Treasurer’s Office, but would expect that the Treasurer’s Office would also have a better understanding of the purchasing costs for the Port Deposit facility. It is unclear to me what the actual cost for this obligation will be and I have not received clear answers on what the actual dollar amount cost of the purchase is?

The County has an option to purchase the plant for $10.  It is my understanding that the costs of operation are currently being studied along with various scenarios of how to provide water and sewer service to the western end of the County.

2)      Can you explain the “Advertising Revenue – Tax Sale” category?  Do we charge brokers to advertise a property foreclosure or auction?

When a property is advertised for tax sale, we pass the cost (currently $49.75 per property) of that advertising back to the property owner.  It is collected as revenue from either the property owner when he / she finally pays or the buyer on tax sale day.

3)  With regard to the County Recordation Tax, I saw that the
State of Maryland waives the tax on first time home purchasers and puts the obligation for tax payment on the seller.  Does Cecil County have a similar policy for first time homebuyers?

Yes.  We are required to follow State law.

4)      What programs or services does the Recordation Tax money go
toward or is it spread across several programs?

Recordation Tax goes to the General Fund and is not applied to any specific expenditures.

5)      Could you please explain the hotel tax, how it is applied,
what the rate or fee structure is, etc.?

The authority for the hotel tax can be found in Article 24 Title 9
Subtitle 3.  Cecil County and the towns of Elkton, North East and
Perryville charge a 3% hotel tax. The Treasurer’s Office collects the tax.  If the hotel is outside of town limits, the County gets the
entire 3%.  If it is in town limits, the tax goes to the town, but
the County retains 5% (of the 3% tax) to cover our costs of
collection.

1)       What makes up the $45,750 in “Bank Fees”?  What is the rationale behind the roughly $1,000 projected increase in FY 2011?

Bank Fees are costs we incur for bank services. Prior to PNCs takeover of County Bank and Bay First Bank (formerly FNB of North East), our bank fees were minimal although we were required to maintain compensating balances which equates to lost interest revenue.  Now, PNC charges us for every transaction according to a very detailed price list.  We estimate PNCs fees will be $39,000 in FY11.  We expect to pay $7,300 to Columbia Bank / Peoples Bank of Elkton for lockbox services.  This service allows us to process tax payments in bulk during the busy summer months thus eliminating the need for more staff.   Finally, we pay “safe keeping” fees to M&T bank.  All investment transactions are now done electronically and are held by a 3rd party in safe keeping.

As a side note:  We put banking services out to bid and are currently evaluating the proposals.

2)       With regard to travel, what did the $5,966 in FY2010 funds
pay for?

To date, we have only spent $144.83 of this money and it is unlikely that we will spend more than $150 for the rest of this fiscal year so about $5,600 will go back to the General Fund.  Our original request consisted of $3,000 to attend the annual training conference for our financial software.  However, there were no new releases so we did not need to attend.  $240 was proposed for the quarterly MD Government Finance Officers meeting, but so far I only attended the winter session.

I may go to the spring session, depending on the topics.  $1,000 was set aside for travel for staff to attend various training sessions.  So far this year, we have been able to get all of our necessary training via teleconference. $640 was budgeted for monthly trips to Annapolis to attend the MDGFOA Tax Collectors’ Affinity Group meeting, but most times we have been able to borrow a County vehicle from another department.

$480 was budgeted to attend quarterly MDGFOA Investors’ Affinity Group meetings, but the person from our office who attends those sessions lives as close to Annapolis as she does to Elkton so she pays her own way.  The balance is for miscellaneous trips that we have to make in the course of business.

3)       For dues, publications, and memberships, could you please
provide a listing of Treasurer’s Office subscriptions?

FY2010:   MGFOA dues for Treasurer and senior staff – $210; GFOA dues Treasurer and senior staff $756.70; Wall Street Journal $119; Public Investor Newsletter $55; Cecil Whig $85; CAFR report fee $725; Spec Print map service $350; MD Tax Property Article $88.94; Technical manuals from GASB $900.  This list is a mix of actual and budget.  We anticipate returning between $300 and $500 to the General Fund.

FY2011:  Same list with anticipated price increases.

4)       For professional services, could you please provide a
detailed line item breakdown outlining the $82,850 in spending?

The following is for FY2010 and is a mix of actual and anticipated for the balance of the year.  Auctioneers $3,750 ( charged back to delinquent tax payers at tax sale);  Payroll processing  $72,000; Programming for tax bills $1,000; License fees for fixed asset software; $1,584.99; Weighmaster software installation $700; Report writer service $2,000. Between $1,815 and $3,000 will likely be returned to the General Fund.

5)       For advertising, again could you please provide a detailed
line item breakdown outlining the $80,755 in spending for FY 2010?

$76,230 tax sale most of which is recouped as tax sale revenue.
$825 legal ad for tax sale.    $3,700 contingency in the event we
need to post an ad or include an insert with the tax bills.

6)       Why are there two equipment repair categories?  Is this a
typo?  If not, what is the difference between the two and what
expenditures are included in each category?

It is a typo.  The first is equipment repairs and is for parts and
maintenance on the tax bill folding / stuffing / sorting machine as well as maintenance parts for our laser printers.  The second is equipment RENTAL and is the copier lease.

7)       With regard to machinery and equipment, it looks like the
Treasurer’s Office purchased $8,000 worth in 2010 and will not
purchase any more equipment in 2011, so why don’t the repair costs go
down in 2011?  When I buy new equipment my repair costs go down, as
the new equipment ages repair costs go back up.

Actually, we have NOT purchased any new equipment.  The $8,000 was budgeted in FY10 as we anticipated having to replace an aging tax bill printer.  However, IT was able to acquire a comparable used printer in excellent condition that will serve as a backup in the event this printer “dies”.  This money will be returned to the General Fund and we have not requested money for any new equipment in FY11.  None of the repair cost included in the budget was for this machine as IT can perform the maintenance on it.

1) Can you please explain and provide a listing of the roles and responsibilities outlined for each position.

There are many positions listed above and it would seem that job responsibilities overlap.  I would benefit from in-depth explanation of the unique roles that each employee fills.

Many of our job responsibilities do overlap to some extent. Good internal control requires not only backup in the event of absence of an employee, but a review process to ensure accurate data.  All employees are cross trained.  Following is a partial list of the major duties of each position:

Accountant – Accounting for fixed assets; housing department; inmate trust fund account; circuit court account; assessable base reconciliation; CARC account; various other ledger account reconciliations; review of purchase requisitions; review of miscellaneous receipts; review of accounts payable

Accountant – Accounting for Health Insurance; reconciliation of various bank accounts; accounting for debt service; purchase card review and reconciliation;  Billing for Health Department occupancy charges; various other ledger account reconciliations; prepares Uniform Financial Report and Cost allocation report.

Accounting Manager – Supervises accounting staff; provides training to other departments’ clerical staff; coordinates procedures with other departments; prepares financial statements including Comprehensive Annual Financial Report.

Accounts Payable Specialist –  Both people do similar work.  The work is divided between the two with one largely responsible for the government funds and the other largely responsible for enterprise funds.  Review vouchers for accuracy; process vendor payments; maintain vendor files.

Billing Coordinator – Prepares water, sewer and landfill bills and provides customer service. Works with DPW to resolve problems.  Prepares various monthly reports for comptroller’s office.  Assists with tax billing.

Cash Analyst – Manages county investments ensuring sufficient liquidity while seeking maximum return on allowed investments.  Reviews daily cash transactions as part of internal control process.  Prepares Public Safety Pension Plan and OPEB financial statements.

Collection Specialists – Process tax and utility bill payments. Enter cash receipts for all county revenue.  Review deeds and collect recordation tax. Maintain bankruptcy files to ensure legal compliance.  Pursue collection efforts for delinquent personal property tax payments.  Handle all counter services:  dog tags; bus money; petty cash; etc.  First line of customer service.  Review returned mail to find correct addresses.

Deputy Treasurer – Position is set by law.  Acts as backup for Treasurer.  Day to day responsibilities include: Preparation of tax billing; Management and oversight of accounting and tax collection software system; supervision of billing coordinator.

Junior Accountant – Enters payroll into payroll system; reviews payroll for accuracy; prepares journal entries relative to payroll; reconciles certain general ledger accounts.

Junior Accountant – Prepares bills for miscellaneous items such as mosquito control; weed control; enters all journals; small equipment inventory; accounts for forfeited / confiscated funds; various office administrative duties.

Office services Assistant – Scans documents into electronic filing system; opens mail; files;

Senior Accountant – Accounts for capital projects; accounts for all grant programs to ensure compliance; assists with preparation of CAFR and other financial reports

Treasury Manager – Supervises collections specialists; ensures accuracy of daily deposit; second of customer service – handles problems.