6 lagunabeachindy . com JULY 26 , 2024

LETTERS CAN BE MAILED TO : EDITOR @ LBINDY . COM

Let ’ s Not Lose Focus on Treasurer ’ s Importance

I have reviewed Treasury functions as an external and internal auditor , and as an internal controls consultant . I also had a Treasury function report to me when I worked for an international organization . I ’ m concerned that recent Council decisions likely will result in reducing the Treasurer position pay to an amount that will attract someone with fewer skills .

This position is not trivial . Currently it is involved with approval and opening of bank accounts and wire transfers , managing bond funds and reporting to the SEC . It ’ s perplexing as to why the compensation for a position this important is being discussed in terms of hours . This is a professional job and compensation for professional positions is generally salaried , with the expectation that the position occupant will work whenever and for however long it takes to get the job done .

The real discussion should be what is required of a Treasury function ; the skills , responsibilities , the number of staff needed to ensure appropriate segregation of duties , and the related market compensation ( s ). Currently , the Treasurer makes $ 125,000 and has an unpaid Deputy . As a result of outsourcing investment responsibilities , which were previously performed by the Treasurer , Treasurer pay is recommended to be reduced to

Due to printing logistics , home delivery of the paper for next week will take place on Saturday , August 3rd . Bulk copies will be available at our more than 100 locations on Friday as usual .

VIEW THE FULL ISSUE OF THE INDY ONLINE AT LAGUNABEACHINDY . COM

$ 80,000 , a saving of $ 45,000 .

But what about additional costs ? The City Manager will have responsibility for overseeing the outsourcing contract . But no one expects him to do the necessary tasks himself . He will assign them to one of his staff . And unless there is someone with investment expertise currently on staff that has enough slack in his schedule to add these new duties , the City will need to hire new staff . The current pay of the lowest-paid staff in the Finance

LAST WEEK ’ S QUESTION

Due to air quality concerns , should the use of roofing tar kettles be banned in Laguna Beach ? Yes : 25 % ( 8 votes ) No : 75 % ( 24 votes )

Department is more than $ 80,000 .

We are about to transfer oversight of a new outsourcing contract to unnamed staff with unknown skills from someone who has been doing the job for the past twenty years , so knows it inside and out . And the result may be that the City spends more money and reduces overall skills .

To their credit , council has authorized an audit of the new Treasury process . This is an

LETTERS , PAGE 18

THIS WEEK ’ S QUESTION

Should city council have voted down the potential ballot measure on the proposed business license tax ? - Yes - No

TO VOTE , VISIT THE POLL TAB AT LAGUNABEACHINDY . COM . SUBMIT POLL QUESTIONS TO CLARA @ FIREBRANDMEDIAINC . COM .

The LagunaBeachIndy . com poll is conducted using Crowd Signal polling software . To minimize fraudulent entries and votes , the software is set to block duplicate votes by cookie and IP address . While we cannot control users who change locations and use separate devices on different networks , this measure is the most stringent way to deter participants from voting multiple times . No polling software available online can block all attempts at fraudulent voting , as there are ways around most blocking methods . For this reason , we can ’ t fully verify the accuracy of this poll . Language from Crowd Signal ’ s software settings : Voting in a poll is rate limited by IP , even when no blocking is enabled . This means that a large number of votes coming from a single Internet address will trigger a cooldown block to help prevent cheating . Sometimes this is tripped by many people at one location ( for example in schools and offices ) voting in a short period of time .

PUBLISHER Steve Strickbine

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS Nadine Johnson

EDITORIAL

MANAGING EDITOR Clara Beard clara @ firebrandmediainc . com

DESIGN

DESIGN DIRECTOR Tracy Powell

SALES

ADVERTISING SALES TEAM Carol Josepher Adrienne Kruse Mara Hertel

PRODUCTION PRODUCTION MANAGER Tina Leydecker tina @ firebrandmediainc . com

ADVERTISING & CIRCULATION : Tel : 949 715-4100 ; Fax : 949 715-4106

MAILING ADDRESS :

CITY HALL MEETINGS :

July 31 - Administrative Design Review Meeting at 3 p . m .

HOW TO CONTACT THE CITY COUNCIL

900 Glenneyre St ., Suite B Laguna Beach , CA 92651 Tel : 949-715-4100 ; Fax : 949 715-4106 www . lbindy . com