06/24/1996 Council Minutes (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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COUNCIL MEETING JUNE 24, 1996 PRESENTATION OF THE 1995 CITY AUDIT, FRED ESPE Mr. Espe, Tautges, Redpath & Co. explained that he would review several items in the Management Report. He emphasized that the 1995 Audit has received an unqualified "clean" opinion. This is the best opinion the City can get and is a "first" for Lino Lakes. Mr. Espe discussed the General Fund Balance, the City's Debt and the Enterprise Fund balances. (These areas are detailed in the minutes of the meeting just prior to this meeting.) Mr. Espe continued by telling the City Council that the City will submit this report to the GFOA (Government Finance Officer's Association) for an award. This award is held by only 75 of the 855 cities in Minnesota. Mr. Espe noted the requirements for submitting for the award and commended the City staff for their time ineffort in preparing the additional reports. The 1995 Annual Financial Report is much thicker than in previous years because of the requirements for this award. Mr. Espe also noted that Moody's looks very favorable upon this award. Mr. Espe explained that currently the City has approximate $6,000,000 in debt and the State would allow another $10,000,000. This means that the City is substantially below its debt limit. He also noted that the City has a history of being substantially below its debt limit and is in very good financial condition. The City Council thanked Mr. Espe for this presentation. OPEN MIKE Ms. Anderson read a letter from Mr. Bill Houle, 24th Avenue, a life long resident of Lino Lakes. The letter gives the background regarding the poor condition of 24th Avenue. Mr. Houle requested a response from each government entity responsible for the road. The City Council accepted the letter and thanked Mr. Houle for bringing this matter to their attention. No one else spoke under Open Mike. CONSIDERATION OF HIRING TWO (2) POLICE OFFICERS, CHIEF PECCHIA Chief Pecchia requested approval to hire two (2) police officers. The City Council previously approve hiring one police officer effective May 1, 1996 utilizing the Federal COPS grant program and one officer effective June 15, 1996 to replace an officer who resigned in 1995. One of the new officers will fill that vacancy and the other will fill another vacancy on patrol created by the new Youth Resource Officer position. The impact on the 1996 Budget and the estimated impact on the 1997/1998 Police Department PAGE 2