MINUTES
Finance Committee of the
Clean Power Alliance of Southern California
Regular Meeting
Wednesday, April 24, 2024, 11:00 a.m.
Meeting videos are available on CPA's YouTube Channel.
http://www.youtube.com/@CPApublicmeetings
Committee members participated in this meeting from the following locations:
Camarillo City Hall
Mayor’s Office
601 Carmen Drive
Camarillo, CA 93010
Clean Power Alliance
Executive Conference Room
801 S. Grand Ave., Suite 400
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Claremont City Hall
Conference Room
207 Harvard Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711
Carson City Hall
Executive Conference Room
701 East Carson Street
Carson, CA 90745
Rolling Hills Estates City Hall
Conference Room
4045 Palos Verdes Drive North
Rolling Hills Estates, CA 90274
Thousand Oaks City Hall
City Manager’s Office, Council Office #1
2100 Thousand Oaks Blvd.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91362
CALL TO ORDER & ROLL CALL
Committee Chair Santangelo called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m. and Gabby Monzon, Clerk of the Board, conducted roll call.
Roll Call
Camarillo Susan Santangelo Committee Chair Remote
Carson Reata Kulcsar Committee Member Absent
Claremont Corey Calaycay Committee Member Remote
Rolling Hills Estates Steve Zuckerman Committee Member Remote Santa Monica Pam O’Connor Committee Member Present
Thousand Oaks David Newman Committee Member Remote
All votes are unanimous unless otherwise stated.
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
CONSENT AGENDA
1. Approve Minutes from the February 28, 2024, Finance Committee Meeting
2. Approve Selection of Baker Tilly to Continue as the Independent Financial Auditor of CPA’s FY 2023/24 Financial Statements
3. Receive and File March 2024 Risk Management Team Report
4. Receive and File February and March 2024 Investment Report
5. Receive and File February 2024 Financial Dashboard
Motion: Committee Member Zuckerman, Rolling Hills Estates Second: Committee Member Newman, Thousand Oaks
Vote: The consent agenda was approved by a roll call vote.
REGULAR AGENDA
6. Report from the Chief Financial Officer
David McNeil, Chief Financial Officer, provided an update on the February Financial Results, in which CPA closed ahead of budget, and for the year to date, CPA remained below budget, however, made a strong contribution to the net position. CPA’s cash position is strong, and the organization continues to have access to the line of credit, making solid financial progress through the year. CPA is experiencing exceptional energy market conditions, most notably with low energy prices in March and April 2024. CPA is assessing the financial impact of extreme daytime negative prices.
7. Recommend to the Board of Directors at its May 2024 Meeting the Selection of Municipal Capital Markets (MCM) to Serve as Municipal Financial Advisor and Chapman & Cutler to Provide Prepay Legal Services in Support of up to Three Additional Prepay Transactions Mr. McNeil presented the recommendation for selecting Municipal Capital Markets and Chapman & Cutler for Municipal Financial Advisor and Legal Services, respectively.
Motion: Committee Member Newman, Thousand Oaks
Second: Committee Member O’Connor, Santa Monica
Vote: Item 7 was approved by a roll call vote.
8. Review FY 2024/25 Budget Priorities and Draft Operating Expenses Mr. McNeil presented the 2024/25 budget process timeline, operational priorities, operating expense context and overview, and operating expense increase drivers. Mr.
McNeil also reviewed how CPA compared to different CCAs, in which CPA compared favorably.
Committee Member Santangelo asked if the rate of increase in the staffing budget will continue to decline, to which Mr. McNeil responded that it would as turnover and hiring stabilize but noted that merit increases and cost-of-living adjustments would contribute to some continued growth in staffing expenses. Mr. Bardacke added that additional growth drivers include new positions and the full-year impacts of those positions filled mid-year.
In response to Committee Member Zuckerman’s question regarding the Customer Programs budget, Mr. Bardacke indicated there is significant growth related to communications to support the programs.
COMMITTEE MEMBER COMMENTS
None.
ADJOURN
Committee Chair Santangelo adjourned the meeting at 11:42 a.m.