07-24-2017 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION July 5, 2017 DRAFT 2 Metro TV’s new producer on updated programming for the channel as well. Mayor 45 Reinert suggested that there needs to be a regular review of that channel by staff to ensure 46 it remains pertinent. Mr. Waldron suggested that staff could have regular meetings with 47 the new producer. 48 49 Council Member Rafferty discussed his concern about a very small bid pool for the 50 project; he’d like to see the quality that comes from competition and options. Mr. 51 Waldron remarked that the availability of companies to do this type of work and do it 52 well is limited and that is represented in the number of bids. 53 54 Mayor Reinert asked if the city will be obligated to accept the low bid. Administrator 55 Karlson said not if the city doesn’t feel it is the right bid. Mayor Reinert suggested that 56 the council will see the results of the bid process in a couple of months. Council 57 Member Manthey suggested that the city must be fair from the onset about what is 58 requested so that bidding is a fair process. 59 60 Council Member Rafferty asked what is proposed for the little televisions currently on the 61 dais and Mr. Karlson explained that the units would be updated and still within the well. 62 63 Staff will proceed to go out for bids on the equipment and installation for the project. 64 2) Investment Portfolio Review – Finance Director Cotton introduced Lynn Cornwell 65 with Wells Fargo Securities. Ms. Cotton recalled that the council asked for more review 66 of city investments as part of the recent audit reports. 67 68 Ms. Cornwell provided information on her bio. She specializes in working with city 69 governments and school districts. They worked with the city’s previous finance officer 70 Al Rolek previous to Sarah Cotton. She sees pretty much the same objectives as she 71 works with local governments; safety of investments is generally the number one priority 72 (noting statutory limitations). Ms. Cotton then explained her cash flow tracking process, 73 something she set up by the month which provides information can be used to determine 74 what is available for investment. 75 76 Council Member Kusterman asked if there is a difference between the designated and 77 restricted funds. He has reviewed the law thoroughly and he doesn’t see anything that 78 would preclude use of funds in a non-investment manner such as loaning funds to 79 ourselves. Ms. Cotton explained that inter-fund loans are allowed but there must be a 80 policy approved and attached to any transaction of that type. Ms. Cornwell noted that 81 she doesn’t know the details but knows that the City of Bloomington bought their own 82 bonds. Ms. Cornwell also briefly explained a new concept of direct lending from the 83 bank, avoiding the financial adviser and the rating elements; it’s something much more 84 common in other states. The point being that there are a lot of options and the city should 85 explore them all. 86 87 Mayor Reinert mentioned investment policy and liquidity. Ms. Cornwell suggested that 88