05-07-2012 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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From: bwderk@comcast.net [bwclerk @comcast.net] Sent: Tuesday, May 01, 2012 6:07 PM To: Joel Hanson Cc: Mark Peterson; Barb Carson Subject: Re: Utility Billing Joel, as you no doubt are aware, the machinations of working with Councils very rarely work according to preferred timetables. The Council appointed Council Members Peterson and Carson to work with me on this issue. I was initially asked to investigate whether any of the East Metro cities that use Springbrook software would be willing to bid on Birchwood's business, None were willing to do so. I reported my findings back to Carson and Peterson, who then instructed me to expand my search to other communities. As of now, there are two cities that are Investigating our request and preparing quotes for the City. There is nothing about this process that is frustrating for me, Joel. Our cities have entered into a MOU that calls for either party to give the other 6 months notice if said party desires to exit the MOU. I believe Birchwood's position is that, absent any further negotiation, the City of Little Canada is obligated to perform to the specifications of the MOU. We accept that the City of Little Canada will not mail out the June utility bills and are prepared to take care of that matter ourselves. The City also has posted the quarterly newsletter on its website and that has saved the City quite a bit of money in printing and postage costs. I believe the Council finds the $5.20 per account rate to be excessive, especially when your own calculations state a cost to Little Canada, of $4:33. I might be able to sell the Council • on an increase to $4.50 per account, which represents about .a 4 percent profit margin. The issue of reimbursement for underbillings is a separate issue that the Council needs to sort out. While there is no legal obligation for the City to pay the reimbursement request, the Council may feel a moral obligation to negotiate this matter. Again, that's a Council decision. At this point, I would recommend that Little Canada prepare the June billing statements and notify me when they are ready to be picked up. There is no need for you to attend a Birchwood council meeting or committee meeting at this point in the Process,: I believe you have more than adequately stated the position of the City of Little Canada; any further appearances may very well be perceived negatively by the City Council: I am hopeful that the two cities that indicated a willingness to prepare quotes for the City will have them prepared in a timely manner such that a recommendation can be given to the Council at its June 12th meeting. One final comment. It is inevitable in metro area with several jurisdictions that occasions arise when one jurisdiction needs to work with one or more other jurisdictions on any number of matters. A critical'' element in being able to work together is trust: I know first -hand that when one jurisdiction feels it cant trust another jurisdiction, it is well nigh impossible to gain that trust back. A building block in establishing trust is for representatives of each jurisdiction to listen to recommendations, admonitions, and exhortations given to It by another jurisdiction. Conversely, building blocks can easily be destroyed when representatives of each jurisdiction fall to listen. CITY OF BIRCHWOOB VILLAGE Dale Richard Powers, \ -L1, A1CP City Clerk/Coordinator 207 Birchwood Avenue Birchwood Village, MN 55110 651 -426 -3403 tel 651 -426 -7747 fax 320 -493 -8930 cell 10