Laserfiche WebLink
Mounds View EDA July 24, 2000 <br />Regular Meeting Page 2 <br /> <br />4. CONSENT AGENDA <br /> <br />None. <br /> <br />5. EDA BUSINESS <br /> <br />A. Consideration of Resolution Designating EDA Financial Advisor and <br />Authorizing the Expenditure of Tax Increment Funds for Professional <br />Services. <br /> <br />Economic Development Coordinator Parrish stated the Office of the State Auditor’s TIF Division <br />(OSA) has been conducting a review of Mounds View’s TIF records, reports, and practices for <br />approximately a year. This was not an official audit, rather it was a review that many cities <br />undergoing. Throughout the course of their evaluation, the OSA requested and the City produced <br />a substantial number of documents. <br /> <br />He advised that while a range of issues were addressed and reconciled, in the end the OSA’s <br />primary concern was with the accounting and reporting of funds in the OSA’s TIF Authority <br />Reports and the City’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. The OSA’s particular concerns <br />are expressed in their two most recent letters. In essence, there was a disparity between the way <br />expenditures were reported in the OSA’s 1998 Authority Report and the City’s 1998 <br />Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The numbers are in agreement. Thus, the <br />difference is in form rather than substance. <br /> <br />It was suggested by the OSA that the City amend the TIF plans to incorporate transfers into the <br />respective TIF budgets to prevent any future non-compliance situations. Additionally, in the <br />process of researching information for the OSA, staff did identify a few deficiencies that also <br />need to be addressed. In particular, TIF budgets need to be clarified for reporting purposes and <br />modified to reflect potential future expenditures. The City’s TIF attorney, James O’Meara, <br />recommended the City retain the services of a financial consultant to address the issues identified <br />by both the City and OSA. After discussions with several firms, Ehlers & Associates was the <br />only firm identified with the capacity and expertise to adequately assist Mounds View on the <br />above referenced matters. Ehlers & Associates provides a range of public financial advisory <br />services, and are particularly well known for their expertise in the area of tax increment finance. <br />Aside from this particular project, staff would like to solidify the relationship with Ehlers & <br />Associates by designating them as public finance advisors to the EDA. <br /> <br />MOTION/SECOND: Quick/Thomason. To Waive the Reading and Approve Resolution No. <br />00-EDA-131, a Resolution Authorizing the Expenditure of Tax Increment Funds for Professional <br />Services and Designating EDA Financial Advisor. <br /> <br />Vice President Stigney noted two firms that have been used in the past and asked if they had been