Administrative Processes Town Hall Meeting Notes, February 26, 2015
Attendees:
Fairbanks – Michelle Pope, Kelly Sather, Deb Gonzales, Nicole Chambers, Mara Bacsujlaky, Juella Sparks, Deb Cushing, Katrina Paul, Kathy McDougall, Ronda Boswell, Marla Lowder, Lola Oliver, Terri Cothren, Melody Hughes, Adam Dewey, Jessica Radakovich, Martin Gibson,
Nome – Kari Vandelden for Kathy Tweet
Palmer – Theresa Isaac
Delta – Christy Roden and Phil Kaspari
Anchorage – DeShana York, Nina Bowers-Markossian
Juneau – Susie Wilkie
Sitka – Jasmine Shaw
Soldotna – Lisa Burkhart
Michelle Pope opened with letting everyone know this was an open discussion for any administrative discussion and started us out with any travel process questions.
Travel Discussion:
Nina from Anchorage asked if there was an email template similar to the blanket travel email that they should be using when corresponding with Adam. Adam replied there was not but requested the last name of the traveler and the AT or ER number be in the subject line.
Lisa from Soldotna asked if we were using direct local links for travel to find cheaper tickets (example was Raven Airlines) rather than defaulting to Alaska Airlines. Michelle stated Alaska Air is sometimes the easiest because you can hold the flight unlike other sites but it is not required to use Alaska Airlines.
Kelly from Fairbanks asked if there was a particular carrier or website that should be used when booking travel out of state? Michelle answered, though there are some restrictions for foreign travel, there is not a preferred carrier or travel site. Travelers will prefer some travel sites or carriers over others you can’t always be sure the cost will remain the same from the time you find the flight to when it is actually purchased. Deb suggested that when submitting ATs, use the comment section to let travel techs know the preferred carrier, arrival times, departure times, etc. The more information, the better.
Rep Allowance Discussion:
DeShana from Anchorage asked if a blanket rep allowance was possible to help when a lot of activity is going on. Michelle stated there was an electronic rep allowance capability available but not currently in use. She asked if the districts would be interested. Several stated they would be to include Anchorage, Palmer, and Soldotna. Someone also stated 4H would be interested. Deb reminded folks that the rep allowance and pro card procedures were not the same. Some have permanent pro card waivers and the Business Office is tracking that. DeShana suggested rolling out the electronic rep allowance process for those already having a permanent pro card waiver. Michelle agreed this might be a good time to start using the electronic process since Deb is moving to the Grant position. She stated we could start using it relatively quickly.
Workshop/UStore Discussion:
DeShana from Anchorage asked what everyone’s experience was using the on-line registration process for classes. Do people find it is a smooth process or difficult.
Carmen from Fairbanks said she doesn’t really use it for small events.
Michelle asked what folks used to collect required information if not using UStore.
Carmen stated she uses flyers and people contact her directly. She keeps a log and uses a sign in sheet at the event for walk-ins. She uses these logs to track attendance and collect contact information from people. She also uses this listing to get feedback from attendees.
Theresa from Palmer asked if there was an attendance or dollar amount minimum for using UStore. Deb Gonzalez said no but can be cumbersome to use for small events.
Deb Gonzalez stated there was a lot folks could do with UStore that is currently not being done. Personnel could also get access to administer their own information if they wanted.
Theresa from Palmer stated she may use it more if they didn’t have to rely on the Business Office to make all the changes/updates, etc.
Michelle asked is the districts would be interested in taking on more responsibility on UStore. Several said they would be interested.
Deb Gonzalez stated the Business Office needs to provide a better list of requirements for setting up classes/workshops to assist those who want to take this on. She also stated a master list would still be needed to account for everything.
Grant Reporting Discussion:
Michelle asked if the monthly grant reports to PIs and admin assistance were helpful.
Mara from Fairbanks said the reports are great, but she can also pull reports. Shesill is having confusion with overspending. There seems to be a lag time with what is actually spend and the reporting period.
Lola from Fairbanks stated she developed a softledger to track and is able to be very accurate with her information.
Carmen from Fairbanks stated she also keeps a softledger that helps her out as well. She did admit that payroll was tricky but is able to be close.
Mara stated the labor distribution percentages seem to be an issue as they don’t always calculate the exact dollars. It seems to only be an issue with small amounts. Mara stated she thought the Business Office should be tracking these projections for the PIs, like a previous fiscal officer had when we had paper time sheets.
Michelle stated is sounds like we need a better projection process. Time sheets used to be how you certified your time but now there is an effort certification form you get quarterly. She stated other departments are having the same issues and are looking at tools to help with this.
Melody from Fairbanks stated that IARC HR personnel would track funding on a spreadsheet blocked out by pay period to keep a running log. She said they would duplicate the spread sheet from year to year.
Michelle stated that Lola and Carmen may have a method to help and asked if they would share that with the Business Office. This discussion will probably need a follow up meeting to work on developing some tools.
Deb Gonzalez stated that the running projections were very time consuming on the fiscal officers but once we get our staff in place and are able to be more proactive, we can do a better job at projecting.
Fund 1 Reporting Discussion:
Michelle asked if the Fund 1 reports were helpful and if there was any other information people would like to see on them.
Theresa from Palmer said they were helpful but not used often.
Kari from Nome stated they were helpful to keep them on track, and are fine the way they are.
DeShana from Anchorage said they were a good tool to reconcile with what the Business Office was seeing.
Audio Discussion:
DeShana from Anchorage asked if there should be more audios or video conferences like this to share best practices. Many participants said they are interested in more opportunities to share information.
Someone suggested that they be scheduled so they could be put on the calendar and people can be prepared with questions/topics to discuss.
Michelle suggested a Google Group to share questions and provide open dialog. Also stated we were looking at providing Business Office trainings and Town Hall Meetings on alternating months.