Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
West Bend BID board elects Rebecca Sarwat as vice president, clarifies purchasing authority for executive director
Summary
At its monthly meeting the West Bend Business Improvement District board elected Rebecca Sarwat as vice president, confirmed John as executive director and approved a bylaws change allowing the executive director to approve invoices that fall within the board-adopted operating plan. The board also approved minutes and the financial report.
The West Bend Business Improvement District board on an audible vote elected Rebecca Sarwat as vice president and formally approved John as the BID executive director, then voted to amend bylaws to let the executive director approve invoices that fall within the board's adopted operating plan.
The changes were offered as clarifications of long-standing practice. The board approved the minutes from its May meeting and accepted the financial report as presented.
The board discussed a clause in Article 7 of the BID bylaws that currently limits executive-director approval of purchases to amounts less than $500. Staff said that practice has required bringing routine, budgeted items back before the board even when those items were already included in the board-approved operating plan. John (executive director) told the board that under the proposed wording he would continue to report detailed line-item transactions in the regular financial report.
"If it's in the plan that you adopted in September, then we could approve it," a board member said during debate. John said bringing every routine invoice over $500 to a monthly agenda would likely force monthly meetings and slow routine work such as seasonal landscaping or contractor scheduling.
The board voted to change the bylaw language so the executive director may approve invoices that are in accordance with the BID operating plan; items outside that plan would still be brought to the board for approval.
Board members said they expect staff to continue sharing detailed financial reports and to flag any unanticipated costs. Several members emphasized that the board's role in approving the annual operating plan remains the principal oversight mechanism.
Votes at a glance
- Elect Rebecca Sarwat as vice president — approved (voice vote) - Approve John as BID executive director — approved (voice vote) - Approve minutes from the May meeting — approved (voice vote) - Approve financial report — approved (voice vote) - Amend Article 7 of the bylaws to allow executive director invoice approval when consistent with the BID operating plan — approved (voice vote)
The board chair said staff will continue reporting detailed line-item expenditures and that larger or unplanned requests will continue to come before the board during its regular budget process in August and September.
