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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes • February 8, 2000 Page 4 l Motion carried unanimously 2 C. Ordinance 2000-001, re: Alcohol Compliance Checks (3rd reading). 3 Motion by Sparks to approve Ordinance 2000-001 (3rd reading) relating to the Revocation or 4 Suspension of Liquor Licenses, Amending Section 1000.06, Subd. 4 of the 1993 St. Anthony 5 Code of Ordinances. 6 Motion carried unanimously. 7 X. REPORTS FROM COMMISSIONS AND STAFF. 8 A. Springsted Financial Report. 9 Morrison provided the Council with an introduction regarding the company that provided the fi- lo nancial report. Springsted, Public Finance Advisors, is an independent advisor to governments. 11 In 1999, the City Council requested Springsted to provide a financial study of the capital invest- 12 ment plan, which included Central Park,Apache Plaza, the St. Anthony Shopping Center, street 13 reconstruction project and flooding issues. The Council asked Springsted to review the number 14 of projects the City was considering and present the Council with various options of funding. Morrison stated that Mr. Bob Thistle, Senior Vice President of Springsted, was in attendance to 0 present the financial report and he invited him to address the Council. 17 Mr. Thistle stated that the firm of Springsted had been in business for in excess of 50 years 18 advising the public sector. Mr. Thistle stated that he would like to provide an overview of how 19 government finance works. 20 In terms of government finance, he stated, there have been discussions in the past that 21 government should be run like a business. However,he stated that there is a fundamental 22 difference between government and business finance in that government finance begins at the 23 start of the year. In other words,the City knows what the revenue streams will be for that year, 24 and the anticipated projects. The City also is aware of the specific services it will be providing to 25 the community for that year. The goal is to provide services in the most cost-effective way and 26 produce a good product for the community. Government finance is run on a service basis, 27 whereas business is run on a product basis. 28 Mr. Thistle commended the City because it is highly regarded by the community, well respected, 29 has a high rating on services, and is well managed. The City has a long history and is an older 30 city by Minnesota standards. 31 Mr. Thistle explained that there is a system of rating cities for investing purposes. He stated that the City has a high credit rating (A-1) which is important to investors in determining whether an investment in the community is practical. The main characteristic investors look for is security, 34 and an A-1 rating is significant in that respect. Mr. Thistle explained that a comprehensive