Revisions
to two important documents that guarantee transparency into Yorba
Linda's fiscal operations were approved recently with unanimous City
Council votes.
One
involves changes to an ordinance dealing with claims on and payments
from city funds, while the other updates a conflict of interest code
that allows the public to see the economic interests of officials
involved in financial decision-making.
A
municipal code chapter regarding presenting, processing and paying
invoices, claims and demands has been updated to conform with the
city's actual practice regarding the payment of bills and change some
archaic language in the code adopted more than 40 years ago.
The
changes “in no way compromise the existing controls in place or
eliminate the practice of providing a list of all payments made by
the city to the City Council and the Finance Committee,” noted a
recent report to the council from Finance Director Scott Catlett.
A major
revision drops a current requirement that council review payments
before they are released (unless a council meeting isn't scheduled),
since, in practice, bills have been paid before council approval for
many years, “including emergency checks and wire transfers.”
These
are payments “that must be received prior to the next (council)
meeting to avoid an event of delinquency, default or some other
hardship or significant cost to the city,” Catlett noted, adding
that in some situations “a delay of two to three weeks...is not
possible.”
Other
updates include wording noting that personnel signing checks are
covered by a “crime insurance policy” and more accurate language
related to the review of payments by the city's Finance Committee,
which is composed of two council members usually meeting monthly.
And the
city's “warrant register” will be renamed the “check register”
to reflect that the city no longer issues a warrant (“a promise of
payment”) but pays with a check from a bank account. These
payments are posted online under the “consent calendar” on most
council agendas.
The
conflict of interest code, first adopted in 1980 and last revised in
2014, now covers 47 of this city's employee positions, in addition to
council members, appointed commissioners and city-hired consultants
dealing with financial matters.
One key
requirement is to report investments and real property interests in
broad categories of exceeding $2,000; $10,000; $100,000; and $1
million. Income and loans are disclosed in categories of $1,000 or
less; $1,000 or more; $10,000 or more; and $100,000 or more.
Gifts
with a total value of $460 or more from a single source in a calendar
year are prohibited, and each gift valued at $50 or more must be
reported.
These
“statements of economic interests” can be viewed at City Hall or
accessed online. School and water district officials also file
reports, but they are not posted online and are only available for
in-person viewing.