07-13-2020 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION DRAFT 1 CITY OF LINO LAKES 1 MINUTES 2 3 DATE : June 1, 2020 4 TIME STARTED : 6:00 p.m. 5 TIME ENDED : 9:00 p.m. 6 MEMBERS PRESENT : Council Member Stoesz, Lyden, Ruhland, 7 Cavegn and Mayor Rafferty 8 MEMBERS ABSENT : None 9 Staff members present: City Administrator Jeff Karlson; Community Development 10 Director Michael Grochala; City Engineer Diane Hankee; Human Resources Manager 11 Karissa Bartholomew; Director of Public Safety John Swenson; Public Services Director 12 Rick DeGardner; Finance Director Sarah Cotton; Utilities Supervisor Justin Williams 13 1. Review 2019 Annual Audit – Finance Director Cotton introduced Andy Hering, 14 of Redpath and Company to present the results of the 2019 internal audit. Mr. Hering 15 reviewed a PowerPoint presentation that is on file. Overall it is a clean audit with good 16 results. 17 18 The council discussed investment earnings. Ms. Cotton noted that investment earnings 19 were up in 2019 but unrealized. She has provided the exact amount to the council. 20 There is no change planned in the City’s investment strategy but it should be understood 21 that earnings are varied based on the economy and the market. 22 23 When Mayor Rafferty noted the ebb and flow of the budget reserve balance, Ms. Cotton 24 took the opportunity to overview her recent discussion with a rating agency. It was noted 25 that the City has used general fund reserve for budgetary purposes for several years, 26 including in the 2020 budget, and that is seen somewhat negatively by the rating agencies 27 especially due to the economy. Mayor Rafferty noted that those funds are surplus and the 28 council has viewed their use as a return to the taxpayers. Councilmember Stoesz asked if 29 there is guidance from the rating agencies on a good use of reserve. Ms. Cotton said it’s 30 important to follow established policy and the City is doing that; the agencies want to see 31 the City in a flexible position because of the current pandemic. Ms. Cotton added that 32 she has spoken with Anoka County and has been informed that property tax collection 33 remains strong. 34 35 Councilmember Ruhland questioned the drop in the Sewer Fund and Ms. Cotton 36 suggested that would probably be related to an increase in sewer access charged by the 37 Metropolitan Council. Councilmember Ruhland also asked if there are savings 38 anticipated in this year’s budget and Ms. Cotton reviewed some possibilities but suggested 39 that she anticipates the City meeting forecasts but probably not exceeding them. 40 41 The council thanked staff for their work in bringing forward the report. Ms. Cotton gave 42 a shout out to the Finance Department staff for their work preparing for the audit. 43