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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMeeting Minutes 03-03-2021 Oshkosh MINUTES OF THE LONG RANGE FINANCE COMMITTEE March 3, 2021 Via WebEx The Long Range Finance Committee meeting was held on Wednesday, March 3, 2021, via WebEx. The meeting was called to order by Matt Lauritch at 5:15 p.m. Members Present: Adam BellCorelli, Karen Bowen, Vicky Fitzgerald, Michael Ford, Allison Knautz, Matt Lauritch, Matt Mugerauer,Austin Phillips, and Koby Schellenger Members Absent: none Staff Present: Russ Van Gompel—Director of Finance Paula Luther—Administrative Assistant—Finance Jon Urben— General Services Manager Allen Davis—Director Community Development Kelly Nieforth—Economic Development Services Manager I. Citizen Input None II. Approval of January 6, 2021 Minutes Motion to approve by Bowen, seconded by BellCorelli. Approved 8-0 (1 Present). III. Forgivable Loan Program—Kelly Nieforth and Allen Davis (5:17—5:33) • Director Allen says he has been with the Revolving Loan Fund since its inception and the LRFC has been involved since its birth a few years ago and with that, the committee has the most knowledge about that program and so today we are proposing a new program called the Forgivable Loan Program. Director Allen goes on to say that he and his staff have been working with Jason White and Tricia Rathermel from the Greater Oshkosh Economic Development Corporation. The Forgivable Loan Program is Finance Department City Hall,215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1 130 Oshkosh,WI 54903-1130 920.236.5005 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us important to add to our tool box in recruiting businesses and high paying jobs in the Community. • Nieforth went over the parameters for the proposed Forgivable Loan Program including the proposed living wage being set at twenty-five dollars an hour which is a pretty good wage for the area. • Director Allen mentioned that the Forgivable Loan Program would be the program of last resort after businesses have exhausted all other options. It is basically a grant that would only have to be paid back if businesses fail to meet the required benchmarks. • After Committee discussion and Q&A, Lauritch motioned to recommend the Forgivable Loan Program go before Council, Fitzgerald seconded. Approved 9-0. IV. Capital Catalyst Grant Update—Jason White and Tricia Rathermel (5:34— 5:42) • Tricia Rathermel announced the GO-Economic Development Corporation has been approved for their 3ra round of Capital Catalyst Funds which is $250,000 going into our community in the form of loans and grants. • The first 2 rounds of funding were disbursed to 11 companies; $397,500 were loans and $102,500 were grants. Anyone who received a loan also received a grant as part of their program. • Tricia went on to report success stories of companies that utilized Capital Catalyst Funds. • This new round of money coming forward is good timing. We have people feeling more confident in the state of our economy and since the pandemic started there are more entrepreneurs in our community looking to fill out an application. • Director Allen said that this is a start-up of financing for businesses, but it's not completely financing the business. It's not the typical type of projects you're used to seeing, but the loan committee looks at it very closely. The grant money all comes from state funds. V. Begin Reviewing the City Purchasing Policy Handbook—Jon Urben (5:43— 6:05) • Ford asks Urben if he thinks there are any deficiencies in the Purchasing Policy Handbook or anything that needs to be updated. Urben said they have made updates over the years, as needed, and that the Policy mirrors the municipal code procedures. • Ford follows up with a question about redundancy within the policy. Urben said that for the most part it is holding up pretty good. • Director Van Gompel expressed some concern with the utilization of the purchase card and how it relates to employee travel. He suggested to incorporate the travel procedures with the purchase card policy and that is something that will be worked on in the future. • Lauritch mentioned that the document is pretty comprehensive and well done. • BellCorelli asked if there is a mechanism in place for employees if they encounter a problem. Director Van Gompel said there is no formal mechanism in place. He said once all policies have been reviewed and compiled into one manual that there will be a section in the introduction of that manual explaining what to do if you encounter a problem with any of the policies. Finance Department City Hall,215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1 130 Oshkosh,WI 54903-1 130 920.236.5005 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us • After much discussion, the committee is in agreement that the document is good, as is, and they would like to just put their stamp on it with today's date as the review date. BellCorelli moves to approve, Bowen seconds. Approved 9-0. VI. Review the Capital Improvement Plan Process and Policy (6:05—6:09) • Director Van Gompel introduced the current CIP Policy and mentioned that the format is different than the other policies the committee has been looking at. • Ford suggests to change the format so that it is consistent with the other City policies. • Fitzgerald mentions that the CIP policy is very well done and defined very well. • This item will come back to the next LRFC meeting. VII. Set next meeting date and agenda items A. Meeting set for April 7, 2021 at 5:15 p.m. B. Next Agenda 1. Payment in Lieu of Tax (PILOT) 2. Review Gifts & Donations Policy 3. Review the Capital Improvement Plan Process and Policy VIII. Adjournment Motion by Lauritch, seconded by BellCorelli. Motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjournment at 6:14 p.m. Finance Department City Hall,215 Church Avenue P.O. Box 1 130 Oshkosh,WI 54903-1130 920.236.5005 http://www.ci.oshkosh.wi.us