Agenda Packets - 1985/09/09 - Laserfiche WebLink

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1985 LUNG TERM FINANCIAL PLAN Page 51x contingency reserves needed to maintain its financial inte- grity. In order to maintain its ability to provide needed public services to its residents the City needs to maintain the present level of financial planning and to expand long range planning efforts begun with the Water and Sewer System Maintenance and Capital Improvement Program. That type of planning should be undertaken for acquisition/ ;replacement and maintenance of all land, buildings and equipment. Present:y the City's data processing needs for financial re- porting are being handled by the Ramsey County Consortium of Municipalities (RCCM). The RCCM is an organization which was esrablished by a joint powers agreement with four other municipalities. The services of a programmer have been retained and programs are run on a large main frame computer owned by Ramsey County. In the last few years advances in computer technology combined with the development of an increasing number of new municipal accounting and financial reporting programs have made it pr,ctical for a City of our size to purchase an in-house computer and programs for our lots processing needs. This plan includes the purchase of such a system which also has applications for other departments. (See the Clerk-Administratcr's section for further aetalls.) Tha continuing increase emphasis on financial reporting and long ranye planning which has occurred over the past five or six years has limited the ability of aristing personnel to perform all of the dutie- assigned to the department. In 1984 the department was given authorization to hire a pact -time accounting cierk. That individual has assum?d some of the rot -tine duties of existing personnel and thL16 allowed more time to be spent on financial reporting and pla.Lning. However, many departmental auties, which ha••e been coals of the City ramain undone. These include: a fixed asFet inventory and accourting system, capital piauning in the areas of vehicles and equipment and a grog am for long range maintenance of City bjildings and other facilities. With the possible acquisition of an in-house computer system comes a long process of training and conversion of records to the new system. That process will inevitably lead to the pushing back versus cancellation of some of the City's goals in the area of long range financial planning. For these reasons the department requests that the part time accounting clerk's position be made a permanent full time position.