12-16-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT WITH ELECTIONS Department Overview The Administration Department oversees the daily administrative functions of the City. The department also includes the City Clerk office which is responsible for recording and retaining all official proceeding and actions taken by the Mayor and City Council. The financial function is also included in the Administration Department. The financial function is to provide financial information, analysis of financial information, and financial services for internal and external customers in a timely, accurate, professional and fiscally responsible manner. Service Areas •Administer City Policies •Human Resources •Payroll •Elections •Agenda Management •Accounts Payable •Debt Administration •Record-keeping •Revenue Collection •Financial Reporting •Budget and CIP completion •Treasury Operations •Business Licensing 2021 Departmental Goals •Continue to expand City’s use of Laserfiche •Continue to purge and scan City’s paper files •Explore and implement procedures to keep only electronic records •Finish implementation of permitting software including business licensing •Reconfigure main office area •Continue to prepare City’s CAFR in-house in order to recognize cost savings •Complete annual performance reviews for all city staff •Evaluate options for alternative funding sources such as Metropolitan Council, MPA, MN/DOT, and DNR for projects Budgetary Commentary Administration - There is a 13.52% increase in the personnel services budget due to the reallocation of the City Administrator from the Engineering department, step merit increases, and reclassification of the City Clerk’s position. The Commodities budget is the same as last year. The Contractual Services budget has been increased by .57% due to increased IT contract costs. The increase in these costs are for additional software licenses (Laserfiche and Adobe Pro) to increase productivity and efficiencies. Elections – A contract with Ramsey County to administer the Little Canada elections beginning in 2021 has been included in the 2021 budget. A 2-year contract quote was received from Ramsey County for the years 2021- 2022 for $54,000. The cost is paid quarterly over the 2-year contract period, so half of the contract amount is paid each year. The budget impact during an election year is only slightly higher than the amount budgeted to run elections in-house. The County’s quote is less than the City’s financial impact if the amount of staff time spent on election duties is considered. Only 5 of the 14 cities in Ramsey County still run their own elections (Little Canada, Maplewood, Shoreview, New Brighton & Lauderdale). Most cities have opted to contract with the County due to the large amount of staff time and resources required to administer elections. The elections budget also includes $4,600 for the annual JPA maintenance agreement for the election equipment. This is slightly higher due to increased needs in 2020 for scanning equipment to process the large increase in absentee voting by mail. 28