Audit Committee Chair Ray Tulloch announced the resignation of At-Large member, Derrek Aaron.
Chair Tulloch requested an agenda item for the Audit Committee to consider allowing members of the public to call-in public comment by phone. Since the meetings have been in person, public comment is only allowed for those in attendance.
The proposed Whistleblower Policy and the Committee’s Annual Report were submitted to the Board of Trustees for consideration at their 6 p.m. meeting.
Jennifer Farr, of Davis Farr, called in to give an update on the progress of the FY2020-21 financial statement audit. She intends to bring forward recommendations on internal controls at the next Audit Committee meeting. Trustee Schmitz inquired as to the audit teams’ review of the internal control documents provided for the next agenda item. Ms. Farr stated the audit process does not review the internal control documents, but observes the practice of how activities are actually done. Ms. Farr was unconcerned about the extensive use of ‘should’ in the internal control documents and was unaware the control documents were inconsistent with Board Policy.
Paul Navazio, IVGID Director of Finance, and Martin Williams, IVGID Controller, presented a status report on internal controls. Chair Tulloch will serve as the Audit Committee’s interim liaison with staff until the vacancies on the Audit Committee are filled. Trustee Schmitz commented that the word “should” appeared in many of the policies and is not a control. She explained the language doesn’t give clear direction required in a policy. She also highlighted a number of examples whereby the internal control documentation is out of date with Board Policies. Mr. Navazio stated additional changes have been made to the Procurement Card Policy with spending limit changes, however those documents were not provided. Trustee Schmitz requested they also be provided for review. Additionally, Mr. Navazio will bring a draft Contract Management Policy to the Audit Committee’s next meeting. The District expects a new contracts manager to be hired in the coming weeks. The Committee reviewed a “sample” capitalization” policy and made recommendations to clarify language and avoid ambiguity. Mr. Dobler will meet with Mr. Williams to learn how the District’s investment interest is tracked. To date, the interest on the $2M of funds for the Effluent Pipeline Project had not yet been posted to that project’s fund.
Chair Tulloch will bring back a draft of revisions to Policy 15.1, the Audit Committee Charter, to the next Audit Committee meeting.