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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes <br />March 13, 2007 <br />Page 8 <br />1 Councilmember Gray complemented Chief Ohl and the department for the great job they do. He <br />2 stated that the more serious crimes have gone down year after year asked if this is typical of the <br />3 suburbs or is St. Anthony better than other suburbs. <br />4 <br />6 <br />7 <br />9 <br />10 <br />11 <br />12 <br />13 <br />14 <br />15 <br />16 <br />17 <br />18 <br />19 <br />20 <br />21 <br />22 <br />23 <br />24 <br />25 <br />26 <br />27 <br />28 <br />29 <br />30 <br />31 <br />32 <br />33 <br />34 <br />35 <br />36 <br />37 <br />38 <br />39 <br />40 <br />41 <br />42 <br />43 <br />44 <br />45 <br />46 <br />Chief Ohl replied St. Anthony is a first ring suburb and one of things the Police Department has <br />tried to do is to work hard to decrease crimes against persons and property. He explained crimes <br />against persons are relatively flat, partly due to active patrols, citizens willing to call, and very <br />active investigations. He stated it is the efforts of the Fire Department, Code Enforcement, <br />Public Works, and the Police Department that keeps it flat. <br />Councilmember Stille stated one other reason to take note of bike patrol is one of the goals is to <br />identify environmental impacts of the City. He indicated it would set an example of what the <br />City could do make people think. He commented that in regards to response time, he read an <br />excerpt from an email he received on how fast it was. Councilmember Stille asked Chief Ohl if <br />he tracked response time. <br />Chief Ohl replied two minutes from dispatch to entering on scene is what they consider <br />acceptable. <br />Mayor Faust stated he is a big advocate of the use of 911. He reiterated 911 is there for people to <br />use. He stated residents should feel assured they will not be criticized for using it. He stated <br />Chief Ohl is in agreement. <br />Mayor Faust congratulated the department and stated the sensitivity shown by the officers to the <br />citizens is above and beyond. <br />3. Finance Department <br />Mr. Roger Larson, Finance Director, presented the financial report based on Phase 1 of the audit <br />completed the last week of January 2007. <br />Mr. Larson reported on the General Operation Fund with $4,308.958 in actual revenues and <br />$4,212,886 in actual expenditures. He stated the general fund revenues are received in July and <br />December so the City must maintain an adequate balance to meet daily obligations. Mr. Larson <br />stated the benchmark is the fund balance should be at 35 percent of the next year's budget. <br />Mr. Larson stated interest earnings, cash, and investments. He stated the general investments <br />amounted to $253,620, water filtration at $222,737, and HRA Investments at $129,681. <br />Mr. Larson reported the issuance of debt for 2006 amounted to $3,190,000. He stated this is <br />broken down by a $2,020,000 in road improvement bon, a refinanced 1998A in the amount of <br />$465,000 and refinanced 2004 temporary bond for $705,000. <br />Mr. Larson reported on the City's credit rating. He stated the City made application for and <br />upgraded its rating tax capacity needs to be higher for a rating increase. <br />