02-10-2016 Workshop Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

MINUTES CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP FEBRUARY 10, 2016 service providers and consultants at least every five years. The City Administrator stated that staff feels that five years is too short of a time period, so this language should be amended. He explained that RFP's are very cumbersome for both staff and the contractor, and the city should be serious when asking for one. He stated that staff can usually tell when costs are getting high and the city should rebid for a service. McGraw suggested an annual review discussion about consultants rather than having a set time period. He noted that these contracts should not sit untouched for too long, but an annual review of pricing is probably enough. The City Administrator stated staff can make a report that shows the annual total that is paid to each consultant for the Council to review. He stated staff would bring the financial policy with the final amendments back to the Council for review. FINANCIAL The City Administrator stated Councilmember Fischer had commented REPORTING that the periodic financial reports the Council receives does not do a good DISCUSSION job of showing them where the city finances are at. Staff agrees, but the problem is that it is very hard to match up revenues with expenditures given the uneven cash flow that a city experiences. He explained that a city's finances do not operate like a business. He stated that the expenditures are typically tracked on a monthly basis, so it is possible to gauge where the city is at over the course of the year. He further explained that revenues do not flow consistently on a month to month basis, or even a quarter to quarter basis. The City Administrator gave examples of the bigger sources of revenue, and when the city receives the payments. Property taxes essentially come to the city in two payments in June and November; Local Government Aid comes in two payments in July and December, license fees are billed annually, and water and sewer revenues are collected quarterly with the larger amounts from summer water usage. The Finance Director stated she has created financial reports to try to show where the city is actually at, and also included information on previous years so the Council can compare year to year to see if things are way off. The City Administrator noted staff does not have a good solution to this issue, but wants to make sure that the Council is receiving all of the information they want. SANITARY The City Administrator stated he is concerned that the minimum sewer SEWER RATE rate ($50) is fairly high in comparison to our sewer rate per 1,000 gallons MODIFICATION of water usage ($3.58), and feels this gap should be narrowed. He stated PHILOSOPY the issue is fielding a balance so any changes don't impact other people too much. He explained the minimum charge currently equates to usage of