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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015 Finance Department Annual ReportCity of St. Anthony Village 3301 Silver Lake Road St. Anthony, Minnesota 55418 Finance ANNUAL REPORT 2015 This report is the City of Saint Anthony Village’s Finance Report highlighting the activities and advancements made over the past year. The information herein also provides an overview of Finance activities, fostering of collaborative efforts, use and expansion of technology use and the development of an enhanced long range capital plan. Finance ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Table of Contents I. Finance Overview ....................................... 1 II. Core Functions .......................................... 2 III. Finance Activity Unique to 2015 .............. 10 IV. Technological Advances .......................... 13 V. Long Term Financial Management ............ 14 VI. Support Staff to Agencies ....................... 18 VII. Summary .............................................. 19 City of St. Anthony Village 3301 Silver Lake Road St. Anthony, MN 55418 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 1 I. Finance Overview The Finance Department administers the City of St. Anthony Village’s finance and human resources activities, including the coordination and planning of all City financial information and personnel management. This Department provides cost effective services to the City Council, City Departments, and other governmental units. In addition, the six staff members of the department provide accounting, financial, and human resources and utility billing services to other governmental units through shared services agreements. The Finance staff supports City Council meetings and work sessions throughout the year to provide financial information and recommendations for Council approval. The Finance staff also attends similar meetings of the governmental units served through shared services agreements. MISSIO N ST A TEMENT Ensure that City resources and assets are managed effectively to provide residents with the City services desired and to sustain the City’s infrastructure for current and future residents. Finance Department Organizational Chart Finance Director Shelly Rueckert Human Resources Coordinator Accountant Charlie Yunker Ka Vue License & Permit Specialist Utility Billing Clerk Office Support Specialist Phuongmai Dang Robin Hartfiel Sandy Simon 8 Council Meetings Attended 5 Council Worksessions Attended 36 Council information submissions 5 MWMO Board meetings 2 Birchwood council & worksessions Phuongmai Dang Charlie Yunker Ka Vue Shelly Rueckert Sandy Simon Robin Hartfiel 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 2 150,000,000 200,000,000 250,000,000 300,000,000 350,000,000 400,000,000 450,000,000 500,000,000 2015 2013 2011 2009 2007 2005 2003 2001 1999 1997 1995 1993 1991 1989 1987 1985 GALLONS PUMPED 20112012201320142015 0 50 100 150 200 New Utility Accounts II. Core Functions The core functions performed by the Finance Department are consistent with relevant legal and professional standards. In addition to these core functions, Finance also supports services for bonding for infrastructure projects, investment and cash flow management, and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) reporting. UTILITY BILLING The utility billing function includes the in-house processing of water/sewer billings. This process includes calculation of water and sewer charges as well as management of quarterly billing statements and receipts. During 2015 the Utility Billing process included:  Producing 9,473 Utility Bills  Helping 169 new residents establish utility accounts  Tracking the destination of over 281,186,500 gallons of water pumped by Public Work’s Water Division  Processing 1,535 Utility Bills for the City of Birchwood 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 3 FIN ANCIAL R EPOR T ING Internal The Dashboard feature within the Civic accounting software provides access to real time budget to actual data to Department heads and their staff. Staff also uses this tool to research paid invoice histories, for pricing, quantities, date of last purchase, etc. Additionally the Finance Staff e-mails monthly General Fund financial statements to the City Manager and Department Heads. Liquor stores monthly financials and sales information is provided to the City Manager and City Council by e-mail as well. External The Finance Department is responsible for reporting financial information to numerous outside agencies through the year, including but not limited to: Federal State County Other jurisdictions U.S DOL US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE IRS – 1099’S IRS – W-2 & 941’S ACA – 1095’S WORKER’S COMPENSATION BUILDING SURCHARGE REPORT STATE REPORTING FORM SUMMARY BUDGET FIRE RELIEF SC-15 TIF REPORTING RECYCLING REPORT LEVY CERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT CERTIFICATION DELINQUENT ACCTS CERTIFICATION MET COUNCIL SAC REPORTING MET COUNCIL WASTEWATER PERA EXCLUSION PERA CLASSIFICATIONS Community supportive The Finance Department provides its services to review year end reporting, help coordinate year end audits and to serve intergovernmental committees. During 2015 the entities below were the recipients of these efforts. The Finance Department conducts an annual review of the financial recordkeeping for the St. Anthony Chamber of Commerce. During 2015 the St. Anthony Sister City Association requested and received similar services for their year-end statements. The review covers accounting records, bank transactions, and board of directors reporting. This arrangement allows the Finance Department to offer its skills and experience to assist the volunteers who work to enhance the St. Anthony Community. Area Chamber of Commerce 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 4 Wage Risk $4.8 MM City Assets $28.5 MM FIRE RELIEF ASSOCIA TIO N The Finance Department continued to prepare various work papers on behalf of the SAFR to assist with the completion of its annual audit. The completed audit resulted in a clean opinion. The Finance Department and SAFR both value this cooperative approach. The City Finance Director attends Relief Association meetings when budget, benefit levels and investment strategies are agenda topics. This provides the Relief Association additional support to make informed decisions on managing pension assets. The SAFR pension plan was 106.5% funded, based on the State’s actuary method and 120.4% based on the 12/31/2015 audit. The SAFR evaluates benefit level capacity based on the State’s actuary method; see a snapshot below. INSURANCE The insurance function provides the appropriate insurance coverage and protection for all aspects of City operations. The insurance coverage includes general liability, liquor liability, property and casualty, auto, theft, business interruption, and workers compensation. The City takes advantage of the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust’s loss control programs and its internal Safety Committee as risk management tools. The Finance Department confirms that the levels of coverage, lists of covered property and factors used in liability rating are sufficient and accurate during the annual renewal process. Any changes in property owned or additional liability assumed is communicated to the League during the policy period. The City’s workman’s compensation policy insured a total wage risk of 4.8 million. Property and casualty coverage insured City assets with a cumulative replacement value of 28.5 million. MEMBER BENEFIT INCREASE FOR 2015 ASSETS 12-31-14 893,827.21$ LIABILITIES ( @ 3000)768,412.00$ Active and deferred -------------------- SURPLUS 125,415.21$ 116.32%Funding 90% OF SURPLUS 112,873.69$ Difference 12,541.52$ ========================================================================= Recommended 3100 3200 3300 3400 3500 ASSETS 12-31-14 893,827.21$ 893,827.21$ 893,827.21$ 893,827.21$ 893,827.21$ LIABILITIES @ BENEFIT AMOUNT 791,982.00$ 815,552.00$ 839,122.00$ 862,692.00$ 886,262.00$ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------'--------------------- Must be greater than difference to increase benefit 101,845.21$ 78,275.21$ 54,705.21$ 31,135.21$ 7,565.21$ Resulting Funding %112.86%109.60%106.52%103.61%100.85% 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 5 PAYROLL With ADP as the City’s payroll service provider the City is able to provide payroll services for other entities as it allowed for transitional options for those entities. Additionally it negated the tax filing risks connected to outside organizations. Utilization of ADP allows the City the ability to engage employees in the management of their benefits. It also provides access expertise and guidance in areas such as tax law changes, regulatory compliance. This later benefit was put to full use with mandated payroll reporting requirements associated with the Affordable Care Act going into effect for this year; see full discussion under Activity Unique to 2015. LICENSE/PERMITS This function provides billing and collection services for building/remodeling permits and coordination of inspections with the New Brighton Building Official. Annual fees and licenses as set forth in the city ordinances are also processed using specialized permitting software. 582 Building Permits were pulled in 2015. With the 2015 summer hail storm re-roofing permits pushed the building permit count to an 8 year high. Overall building permits range from new development to small remodeling projects. In 2015, the valuation breakdown was as follows:  Residential Valuation: $6,914,335  Commercial/Industrial Valuation: $441,948 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Comm/Ind $9,507,900 $16,101,795 $4,385,816 $1,490,416 $1,752,668 $669,605 $1,190,890 $441,948 Residential $2,426,590 $6,339,574 $3,258,815 $3,698,787 $11,552,760 $19,409,844 $5,286,426 $6,914,335 Total $11,934,490 $22,441,369 $7,644,631 $5,189,203 $13,305,428 $20,079,449 $6,477,316 $7,356,283 $0 $5,000,000 $10,000,000 $15,000,000 $20,000,000 $25,000,000 Building Permit Valuation 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 6 GRANTS ADMINISTRA TIO N During 2015 City Staff continued to pursue Federal, State, and Local grants to provide additional funding support for City projects, capital equipment needs and special operating initiatives. These awards total value was $1,057,000 in 2015. Since 1998 the cumulative value of these awards has grown to reach $20,046,975 by 12/31/2015. Highlights:  Rice Creek Watershed District finalized commitment to Mirror Pond Project - $642,000 (Previously commitment level $500,000)  Mississippi Water Management Organization increased its commitment to Regional Stormwater Project - $400,000 (Previously commitment level 1.209,000)  Audrey Wagner Donation for Police & Fire in memory of George Wagner - $5,000  Roy Quady Donation for Fire - $10,000 HUMAN RESOURCES The Human Resource Coordinator position provides professional and advisory support to all City departments, and contracted vendors in the area of human resources, benefits, payroll, labor relations, and employee relations support and guidance. The HR Coordinator works with the City’s benefits broker, Gallagher Benefit Services, and its health care provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, and its payroll provider, ADP, to fulfill Affordable Care Act compliance. Most importantly, the HR Coordinator is a resource for all staff with questions on benefits or any personnel-related matter that may arise. $0 $2,000,000 $4,000,000 $6,000,000 $8,000,000 $10,000,000 $12,000,000 $14,000,000 $16,000,000 $18,000,000 $20,000,000 $22,000,000 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Grants That Save the Taxpayers Money 1998-2015 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 7 The position is hired through the City and is shared position with the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. The Human Resources Coordinator performs similar duties for the watershed. Such as coordinating training for staff, participating in annual reviews, and assisting in the recruitment process. And again, acts as a resource for all staff in personnel matters. In 2015, the Human Resources Coordinator helped to facilitate the recruitment and on-boarding of four new, full-time staff persons; Ka Vue, Accountant, Nicole Miller, City Clerk, Quinten Tucker, Mechanic, and Ismail Turay, Community Service Officer. In addition, the HR Coordinator manages two staff committees; one being the Health Insurance Committee and the other being the Safety Committee. Health Insurance Committee The Health Insurance Committee (HIC) provides input as to how the City might design its benefits program to make the best use benefit funds available. The committee members are educated by outside consultants regarding health care trends and issues surrounding the rising costs of insurance. HIC members are responsible for disseminating information to their fellow co-workers, as well as acting as a conduit for their feedback and comments. A staff representative from each City department serves voluntarily, as does the City’s insurance broker representative. The committee meets at least once per year to review Open Enrollment information but may meet more often if needed. Safety Committee The Safety Committee is a group of representatives from each City department that aids and advises both management and employees about matters of safety and health in City operation. With the help of Integrated Loss Control, Inc., it performs essential monitoring, educational, investigative, and creative tasks. Such as conducting self- inspections, developing and maintaining safety policies, providing for employee safety education, investigate workplace accidents and maintaining certain records including injury reports, Safety Data Sheets (SDS), training, etc. The committee meets on a monthly basis to review any injuries and the results of self-inspections and training sessions. Members serve on the committee voluntarily for at least 3 years, and terms are staggered among the department representatives. 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 8 VENDOR PAYMENTS The City processed 8,158 vendor invoices in 2015 which generated 3,005 cash disbursements. The City’s data base includes 1,975 Vendors. During 2015 staff began remitting certain vendor payments via the vendor provided ACH process. Eliminating the need for printing and mailing of a paper check. The vendors currently paid using this method includes utility providers and other monthly contracted vendors where the amount billed is similar month to month. ANNUAL FISCAL YEAR BUDGETS Minnesota cities establish annual budgets for a fiscal year that coincide with the calendar year. The City of St. Anthony Village’s budget process kicks off in connection with the City’s annual goal setting session in January. Public meetings and staff meetings occur in late spring, when each department develops and submits requests for the next year’s operating budget and the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). From July through September, the City Council holds a series of workshops to discuss the requested budgets and certifies its preliminary levy. During the last quarter of the year the preliminary levy and overall levy continues to be vetted by staff and council. Public input again is sought prior to finalizing the budget and levy in late December. See process workflow below: January - February - March April - May - June July - August - September October-November-December  FINANCIAL  MANAGEMENT AND PLANNING (GOAL  SETTING).  FINANCIAL  PLANNING WORK SESSION  WORK SESSION  PUBLIC HEARING/PROVIDE RESIDENTS WITH AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE INPUT ON THE BUDGET PROCESS  WORK SESSION WITH DEPARTMENT HEADS. DUSCUSSION ON OPERATING BUDGET & EVALUATE 5-YEAR CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEEDS.  CITY MANAGER & STAFF MEETINGS TO DISCUSS/DRAFT BUDGET  DEPARTMENT HEADS, COUNCIL, AND STAFF TO REVIEW KEY FINANCIAL PLAN AND THE PROPOSED GENERAL OPERATING BUDGET; DISCUSSION ON CAPITAL EQUIPMENT BUDGETS  PRESENTATION OF THE PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET & PROPERTY TAX LEVY TO THE CITY COUNCIL  SETTING THE PROPOSED OPERATING BUDGET AND PRELIMINARY TAX LEVY  ANNOUNCE THE DATE AND TIME AT WHICH THE FINAL BUDGET AND TAX LEVY WILL BE DISCUSSED  REVIEW AND CONFIRM BUDGET PARAMATERS AND ESTIMATES  PUBLIC HEARING FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE FINAL OPERATING BUDGET AND PROPERTY TAX LEVY 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 9 2 016 TAX LEVY EST ABLISHED IN 2 015 In preparing the 2016 budget, Staff continued its mission to maintain the existing level of City services and programs with the use of financially conservative budgeting. Overall, the 2016 levy increased by $219,075 over last year’s levy amount. This represents a 3.76% increase over 2015. The City’s General Fund provides the support for City services. The parameters for preparing the General Fund Budget and Levy include:  City revenues budgeted using current run rates for sources that are subject to trends and conservative baseline estimates for re-occurring aids and charges for services  Liquor transfer reduced to match current operating results  Expenses budgeted at amounts that will maintain present level of City services The 2016 General Fund Levy increased by 1.93% with the relevant cost drivers detailed below:  Personnel costs - 73% of General Fund expenditures, overall costs up 2.92%  Union contract increases 2.5%  Health Insurance premiums up 11.5%  Union Longevity, Steps, shared HR, Workman’s compensation rates  Contracted services - 9% of expenditures, overall costs up 3.05%  Property and liability insurance costs - 4% of expenditures, rates up 5.22%  Pass through costs - 5% of expenditures, costs up 4.39%  Remaining budget line items combined - 9% of expenditures, net costs up 0.34% The City again employed two elements of property tax relief for 2015. First the impact of the reduction in liquor profits transfer was phased in with the use of one time fees and fund balance, mitigating the overall levy impact by 0.57%.The second element was the continuation of the City’s is the “Peak to Plateau” initiative started in 2014 to mitigate the levy impact of the annual street reconstruction program expected to continue into the next decade. The scheduled debt levy reduction for 2016 of $301,921 provided 5.18% of levy relief on the overall levy requirement. These two elements of Property Tax relief reduced the Overall Levy increase required for 2016 and reduced the overall from 9.51% to 3.76%, as demonstrated in the graph below. Impact of Levy Relief 9.51% Prior to levy relief 8.93% Phase –in relief 3.76% Debt levy Reduction 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 10 III. Finance Activity Unique to 2015 BUILDING OFFICAL TRANSITION During 2015 the Finance staff worked the City of New Brighton to access the workload and financial considerations related to building inspection services. Saint Anthony staff provided:  Five year Construction permit history  Detailed history of Inspections performed for past three years  Projections as to sharing of permit revenues After careful consideration of existing workload, customer service requirements, workflow process the concept of a shared arrangement was deemed to be beneficial to both parties. The resulting product was an upgrade to Inspection Services for the residents and city alike at no increase in cost. SHARED HUMAN RESOURCES POSITION In March 2015, the shared services contract between Saint Anthony and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) was expanded to include Human Resources services. Both the City and the MWMO previously contracted Human Resources services, and worked collaboratively to design a 50/50 shared position. A Saint Anthony internal candidate Charlie Yunker was chosen who joined the Finance Department in January 2012, and has been involved with the shared financial services with the MWMO since the shared services relationship began in the summer of 2012. STAFF ACCOUNTANT POSITION FILLED A new staff member joined the Finance Department in 2015, Accountant Ka Vue. Ka came to the City from Twin Cities Public Television to fill the spot vacated by Charlie Yunker transitioning to a Human Resources role. Ka’s primary focus is payroll, MWMO accounting services and assisting the Finance Director with audit preparations. She also performs many other various duties, supporting both the rest of the Finance Department and all other City departments as well. 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 11 DEVELOPED MWMO FUND BALANCE MANAGEMENT TOOL Finance Staff have been working to meet this long term goal of the Mississippi Water Management Organization (MWMO). Given the nature of the MWMO’s operations, project funding is typically raised through the annual levy process in advance of the project construction. If the project is a significant commitment the funds for that project will be raised over multiple levy cycles. The MWMO level of financial support varies project to project. The organization was established in 2002 and over that time certain projects levied have been subsequently removed from local jurisdictions capital program. Furthermore various projects have merited additional funding while others did not require all the funding originally allowed. These factors along interest earnings have created a cumulative balance of funds that are available beyond active project needs. Finance staff has assisted in calculating the amount of cumulative funds available. The Executive Director and Finance staff worked closely together to create a management tool for the Board use in reallocating the available funds to support upcoming projects and establish a reserve for unidentified project opportunities that may arise. The tool was introduced at the Board Retreat in January 2016 and will be continue to be a component of the annual Budget process going forward. Annual Fund Balance Review Process Available Funds Adopted Budget Revenue Cost to Complete Active Projects Earmarked for Unidentified Projects + - - = Funds Available for Future Projects Projects Are Completed, Cancelled and/or New Projects Approved Throughout the Year 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 12 AFFORDABLE CARE ACT Employer reporting requirements for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) took affect for the 2015 plan year. This meant that applicable large employers, like St. Anthony, are now required to report annually it’s compliance with the ACA. Dozens of hours were spent preparing the initial round of reporting, and this was minimized as much as possible by utilizing the City’s existing ADP payroll software. ADP took much of the burden off City staff offering compliance services and utilizing their system to generate the required reporting. So through this and the City’s health care provider, virtually all of the reporting is handled without City staff time lost. TAPPING INTO STAFF SKILLS AND CREATIVITY TO SERVE OUTSIDE THE LINES Community Profile Community profiles are a useful way of developing an understanding of the people in a geographical area or a specific community of interest. City Manager Mark Casey established the goal of compiling a community profile for St. Anthony by the end of 2015, and it was decided to produce the profile internally. The Human Resources Coordinator had some experience in that area through volunteer activities, and undertook the profile project. The profile will be updated and revised each year with the aim to educate people who are not familiar with the city, about what makes St. Anthony unique. This understanding can assist in the development of a community engagement, assist in effective redevelopment opportunities in the city, and attract new business and residents to St. Anthony. Interim City Clerk In early 2015, the City Clerk who had been with St. Anthony for 13 years decided to move on to other opportunities. By law in the State of Minnesota, cities are required to have a City Clerk. As a result, the position could not simply be vacant until the recruitment of a new clerk was completed. So for roughly a month, the Human Resources Coordinator served as the Interim City Clerk. The City was fortunate to find an excellent candidate fairly quickly, and the time between full-time clerks was only about 30 days. However, utilizing internal capacity allowed for the City Council packets and meetings to continue unimpeded, and generally ensure that no critical items were inadvertently overlooked in the staffing transition. 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 13 IV. Technological Advances VENDOR ACH PAYMENTS During 2015 staff began remitting certain vendor payments via the vendor provided ACH process. Eliminating the need for the printing and mailing of a paper check. The vendors currently paid using this method includes utility providers and other monthly contracted vendors where the amount billed is similar month to month. LASERFICHE During 2015 we began the process of converting old financial and payroll records to digital storage using Laserfiche. The City of Saint Anthony follows the State’s Records Retention guidelines. These guidelines generally require records to be retained either:  Permanently  Certain number years after origination  Certain number years after a future event An interesting dynamic was dealing with several decades of varying processing methods and reporting formats for common routines such as payroll. Terms and reports such as payroll journal, payroll ledger and payroll history card have evolved, morphed together or have become non-existent through changes in technologies. Yet the retention requirement associated with records of this nature is permanent. Therefore the challenge was finding the common thread of reports and ledgers to retain. Given the sheer bulk of payroll and annual general ledger reports falling into the permanent retention category these items were processed for Laserfiche storage. This provided the benefit of efficient access to data along with reducing footprint for storing documents not often referenced. We repurposed space savings to better manage oversized paper items such as building plans (permanent retention/ difficult to Laserfiche/routinely used) so they are easily located and retrieved. Before After 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 14 V. Long Term Financial Management REFINANCE 2006 TIF REVENUE BONDS During 2015 the HRA's Tax Increment Revenue Bonds (Silver Lake Village Project), Series 2006 (Commercial TIF Revenue Bonds) were refinanced with General Obligation TIF Revenue refunding bonds 2015B. TIF revenues generated from the commercial development are used to fund the bond debt service. This refunding was done to take advantage of the low rates of interest available in the market at the end of 2015. The Net Present Value Benefit of the refunding was $919,595 or approximately $67,000 a year for sixteen years. The lower debt requirement enhances the TIF district’s potential to provided funding for future infrastructure projects following TIF pooling guidelines. SUCCESSION PLANNING With the likely retirement of senior Police Department personnel, the Finance Department worked with both Administration and the Police Departments to visualize a succession plan model during 2015. The planning defined transition costs, training periods and recruiting timeframes. This readied the City to ensure the future leadership of the Police Department. Coming in the middle of 2016, the Police Department will see the anticipated shift in staffing with retirements, promotions, and new-hires taking place in a short amount of time. 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 15 COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF 2 016 -20 32 CAPIT AL FUNDS With the participation of all City departments and WSB as City Engineer, the Finance Department competed the updating of the 15 year Capital Funds Budget Document established in 2014. The six capital funds included in the master document are:  Buildings Improvement Fund  Capital Equipment Fund  Parks Improvement Fund  Street Improvement Fund  Stormwater Fund  Public Utilities and Infrastructure Fund Each fund has unique sources, uses, purpose, and timelines. The documents provide a clear picture of each fund’s short-term and long-term capital. In the second year of this document use it has proven itself as a planning tool to ensure that all departments are equipped properly to deliver a high level service to St. Anthony residents. The information provided by these products has become the road map for capital funds sustainability. The City includes its Financial Management Policy in the Annual Budget document which is available on its website at ww.ci.saint-anthony.mn.us under HOT TOPICS. Keeping with Policy directives the City Council and Staff jointly reviewed the larger and long term components of its current operations. 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 16 “PEAK TO PLA TEA U” City Council and Staff again held workshops to review progress on the City’s Street improvement program and the options available for the years remaining. This analysis included:  Planning use of debt service funds beyond that needed for scheduled retirements  Reviewing future construction costs adequacy  Evaluating Streets reconstruction dates and options  Identifying additional resources for the streets program The process resulted in a reaffirmation of the scheduled reconstruction dates. Resources totaling $301,921 were identified and assigned to mitigating the increase in the 2016 Road Debt Levy. The Debt Levy reduction plan as developed will lower the unchecked high point of the levy until the point the City net benefits from the retirement of prior road debt. ACTUARIAL SELECTION During 2015 the Finance Department assisted the Saint Anthony Fire Relief Association (SAFR) with selecting an actuary to review the SAFR pension plan assets and liabilities. An actuarial report was required by the Government Accounting Standards Board’s standard no. 67. This information is necessary for the SAFR to continue to receive a clean audit opinion. 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 17 REBASED USE OF LIQUOR PROFITS - MAINTAIN STRUCTURIAL BALANCE As demonstrated in graph below the City owned Saint Anthony Wines and Spirits liquor stores have seen month to month sales declines over the past 2-3 years. During 2014 the Liquor stores faced added competition in the local market along with loss of traffic due to the relocation of a major tenant in the Silver Lake Village shopping area. Fortunately, the City had an established cash flow model related to liquor operations which guided the annual use of Liquor profits in order to maintain a reasonable level of working capital for the stores. In 2015 due to the duel factors cited above the City rebased its current and future use of liquor profits to recognize the present marketplace dynamics. The cost of this rebasing was offset by the use of one-time fees and fund balance, thereby phasing in the impact to the overall levy. Since that restructuring the trend in sales has started back up. The rebasing achieved its goal of maintaining structural balanced fund for 2015 and 2016. Preparation of the 2017 budget in 2016 will factor in any notable trend in sales. $100,000 $200,000 $300,000 $400,000 $500,000 $600,000 $700,000 $800,000 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Sales 2012 2013 2014 2015 2015 Trend 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 18 VI. Support Staff to Agencies ACCOUNTING, HUMAN RESOURCE AND UTILITY BILLING SERVICES Mississippi Watershed Management Organization City of Birchwood Village Accounting and Financial Services Human Resource Services Utility Billing Services  WEEKLY PROCESSING OF PAYABLES  BI-WEEKLY PROCESSING OF PAYROLL  MAINTENANCE OF GENERAL LEDGER  MANAGE ANNUAL AUDIT PROCESS  DAY TO DAY CASH MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR RECEIPTING AND DISBURSEMENTS  ONSITE STAFF OFFICE HOURS TO FURTHER DEVELOP MWMO ACCOUNTING PROCESSES  RETENTION SYSTEMS  PREPARE AND TRACK MWMO’S INVOICING AND COLLECTIONS  INTRODUCED IN 2015 NEW FINANCIAL REPORTING FOR THE EXECUTIVE BOARD COMMISSIONERS  ASSISTED EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN DEVELOPING THE ANNUAL PROCESS TO EVALUATE THE USE OF CUMULATIVE LEVY AVAILABLE FOR PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS  ASSIST EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR IN REVIEWING THE ADMINISTRATIVE FUND MINIMUM BALANCE POLICY  IN 2015 ASSISTED WITH ESTABLISHING A BROKERAGE ACCOUNT TO EXPAND INVESTMENT OPTIONS TO INCLUDE MULTIPLE OPTIONS FOR CD’S AND UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT AGENCIES IN ORDER TO ENHANCE INVESTMENT EARNINGS.  ASSIST COORDINATING THE RECRUITMENT, SELECTION, ORIENTATION, AND PLACEMENT OF CANDIDATES FOR EMPLOYMENT.  COORDINATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE EMPLOYEE INSURANCE BENEFIT PROGRAMS AND ANNUAL RENEWAL PROCESS.  ASSIST IN THE DEVELOPMENT, MAINTENANCE AND COORDINATION OF THE EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROCESSES  RECOMMENDING, DEVELOPING, ADMINISTERING, AND EVALUATING HUMAN RESOURCE POLICIES, PROCEDURES AND BEST PRACTICES  PREPARES REPORTS AND MAINTAINS RECORDS AS RELATED TO PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT  QUARTERLY BILLING OF UTILITY ACCOUNTS  FINAL BILLING FOR RESIDENTS LEAVING BIRCHWOOD  ACCOUNT SET-UP FOR NEW RESIDENTS  PROCESSING OF UB PAYMENTS  SUMMARY REPORTS OF BILLINGS AND COLLECTIONS  ANNUAL UTILITY RATE ANALYSIS 2015 Annual Report • Finance Department • St. Anthony Village, Minnesota 19 VII. Summary 2015 was a year spent building on existing technologies to improve core functions, developing succession plans, continuing long term financial planning efforts and being Spotlighted by the Metropolitan Council for the City’s storied track record as a collaborative partner. The Finance Department is proud to participate in creating successful outcomes for both its external and internal costumers. This is made possible by the support our department receives from the City Council, City Manager, and all City Departments.