CC PACKET 05241994 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Members of the City Council City of St. Anthony, Minnesota Tax Collections - Abatements The percentage of current tax collections compared to the certified tax levy was 93.65% for the year ended December 31 , 1993, compared to 96.85% for 1992. Abatements of approximately $27,250, or 1 .61% of the levy for 1993, were awarded which reduced the amount available to be collected by the City. In addition, $48,000 of prior year tax collections were refunded due to abatements in 1993 (interest of $6,732 was paid related to these refunds). These tax adjustments totaled $82,000 and combined with the decrease in percentage of current taxes collected contributed to the unfavorable variance of $146,785 for general property taxes reported in the General Fund. It is my understanding, a special levy may be certified to recover the tax revenue lost from tax abatements. However, other factors need to be consider by the Council before determining whether this special levy is necessary. One recommendation would be that when budgeting in future years, City staff consider reducing the certified levy to recognize a portion of the certified tax levy will not be collected in the current year. Delinquent tax collections are typically not significant enough to account for the deficit in current tax collections. Utility Billi S stem ng y As previously noted, the present utility billing system appears to becoming ineffi- cient to properly service the City's requirements. The capacity of the system to efficiently handle billing procedures appears to have reached its limit with the variety of additional charges required by the City. Because of the lack of capital equipment funding, no significant changes were implemented during the year. Based upon discussions with management, funding will be available to upgrade the current utility software system in 1995. The recommendations listed below are repeated from last year's letter to the City Council and should be considered during the upgrade process. Potential recommendations to be considered are: 1. A manually prepared worksheet could be developed to account for adjust- ments or changes to utility accounts. This would help insure that all adjustments are being properly recorded in the financial records. This worksheet could be expanded to include current charges and payments to provide a method of reconciling=--the_-receivables reported on the utility system to the general ledger. This would assure that all charges, pay- ments and adjustments are being properly accounted for and recorded in the accounting records. 2. Investigate the compatibility of the utility billing package offered by the company providing the current financial accounting package. The cur- rent utility system was acqui.red in 1988 to bring utility billing proce- dures in-house, rather than being performed by a service bureau. Now that the City's accounting procedures are performed in-house, perhaps the utility system should be bought on-line with the financial package. 3. Inquire of the company servicing the current utility system with regard to system updates which would enhance the system. In addition, provide the necessary training of personnel performing the -utility billing and related functions.