Memo Re Parks Financials

Commission STEPHEN ALLEN, CHAIR JOHN EWING CAROLYN HANSON DAVE HARTNETT BARBARA NOLFI

CITY OF BURLINGTON DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION 645 PINE STREET, SUITE B, BURLINGTON, VT 05401 (802) 864-0123(802) 865-7090(TTY) (802) 862-8027(FAX)

Director WAYNE E. GROSS

MEMORANDUM TO: FROM: RE: DATE:

Mayor Bob Kiss Wayne E. Gross, Director Report on Review of Financial Issues December 14, 2008

This memorandum will update you our on-going efforts to review and improve various financial practices related to operations of parking gates at various parks and at the Community Boathouse. We have conducted a review of the marina software program that has been used at the Boathouse for a number of years. There have been several deficiencies noted with this program that prevent us from performing functions properly and this has created questions about the reliability of the system. Other features of the system that are desirable do not exist as they are shown in the users’ manual. The software company has been contacted about some of these issues and has been unable to resolve them to date. I have requested assistance from the IT staff of the Chief Administrator’s Office to evaluate this system and determine whether it can be improved or if new software should be purchased. This needs to be resolved in advance of the 2009 boating season. During the last few months, I have received and reviewed information about various financial issues related to park operations. As a result, I am examining the supervisory structure and determining how our financial operations can best be managed. Since the operation of our park facilities is heavily dependent upon young seasonal staff that has a fairly high turnover rate, these matters present some unique challenges. However, clearly there is a need for better training and oversight of this staff to ensure that proper procedures are understood and followed. In this process, the issues of deposit frequency and use of petty cash will be areas of special attention. We are also investigating the purchase of new cash registers which would be much easier to operate and provide us with better information than our current equipment. This would eliminate some of the errors made by our gate staff and provide us with better controls. Work will continue on these issues and we will have improved equipment and practices in place prior to the summer season. I will keep you updated on our progress on these matters.