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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMay 4, 2011 meeting minutes LRFC - for 06-01-1 MINUTES OF THE LONG RANGE FINANCE COMMITTEE MAY 4, 2011 ROOM 406 The regular meeting of the Long Range Finance Committee was held on Wednesday, April 6, 2011, in Room 406, at Oshkosh City Hall, 215 Church Avenue. The meeting was called to order by Chair Harold Buchholz, at 5:00 p.m. Members Present: Harold Buchholz, Jeffrey Thoms, Burk Tower, Don Simons, Doug Pearson, and Jason Hirschberg Members Absent: Bob Poeschl, Bryan Schulz, Jeffrey Herzig Staff Present: Peggy Steeno-Finance Director, and Lori Burns–Administrative Assistant Others Present: Council Member Deb Allison-Aasby I.APPROVAL OF APRIL 6, 2011 MINUTES No discussion/changes. Motion by Pearson, Second by Thoms, to approve the Committee Meeting Minutes of April 6, 2011. Motion passed unanimously. II.CITIZEN INPUT None III.FUND BALANCE POLICY (~5:05 – 6:35) Staff provided an overview of this topic, and introduced the following documents: GFOA Document on Best Practices - Appropriate Level of Unrestricted  Fund Balance in the General Fund Fund Balance Policy Example - City of Two Rivers  Fund Balance Policy Example - City of Tamarac  Fund Balance Policy Example - Village of Riverside  Fund Balance Policy Example - Generic  1992 Council Resolution  2000 Proposed Council Resolution  City’s Fund Balance History, dating back to 1992  A discussion ensued regarding the major reasons a FB Policy is needed. The major drivers are: Written documentation to show the Rating Agencies that the City has a plan  Prudent financial management/planning  Safety  Ability to keep the tax rate somewhat stabilized  Once the Committee established that there is a need for the policy, discussions turned to the examples provided and what the scope, objectives, parameters, and outline of the document would be. The amount of funding was discussed briefly and the committee gave staff direction to create the draft with a minimum Fund Balance to maintain rather than a minimum and maximum. The Committee felt that this would provide more flexibility to the Council as funding decisions are made on a regular basis. The policy needs to include the following sections: scope/policy statement, funding mechanism, objective, and parameters on the monitoring, use, maintenance and replenishment of the Fund Balance. The committee strongly believes that there should be a commitment to rebuild the Fund Balance after a valid use of the fund. There should also be a trigger for a regular review of the policy as well as a review due to a special event. Staff will prepare a draft policy before the next meeting so that the committee has something to start with in their discussions. The goal is to keep it as concise and easy to understand as possible, likely one to two pages in length. The Committee will then discuss the desired funding level once the general format of the policy has been decided upon. The Committee also discussed the need to create a Fund Balance Policy for other City Funds. It was decided that this would be a good idea, but we should get through the entire process with the General Fund prior to moving on to other funds. The other high priority funds would be the Health Insurance Fund and the Workers Compensation Fund as these are larger funds. A plan will be put together on establishing the other policies once the General Fund, Fund Balance Policy is in place. Committee Member Pearson excused himself at 6:20 pm. IV.INFORMATION SHARING/HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS (~6:35 – 7:05) 1.2011 Budget Survey Results Staff presented the 2011 Budget survey results to the Committee. Mayor Tower was in attendance with the City Manager when the UW-Oshkosh Graduate Class presented the survey result. As such, he shared the information he learned at the presentation regarding the process and the results. In general, the results are not much different than the results from previous years. There was a slight improvement with the items that citizens are happy with (streets are looking a little better). Quality of life issues do not seem to score as high as the more basic needs such as: streets and storm water. The ‘bonus question’ that was asked was the one recommended by the LRFC, regarding the burying of power lines. The response to this question was an overwhelming ‘no’, with 81.6% responses saying no. This is to the contrary of when the visioning study asked the same questions, and 90% of the responses at that time responding ‘yes’. The difference between the two surveys is that there were not any dollars attached to the visioning survey, just the question of aesthetics. The Committee decided to spend approximately 15 minutes on any questions they may have on the survey at the next meeting. Staff will also ask the Survey sponsor, Professor Karl Nollenberger if he is able and willing to attend for that discussion. 2.Water Rate Increase Details th Staff provided the April 12, 2011 Resolution passed by the Council to establish the revised water rates. This was followed by a public hearing held jointly with the Public nd Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) on May 2, on the 9.2% requested increase. There was no oral or written testimony submitted through the hearing process, nor was the case contested in any manner. As such, the Administrative Law Judge, on behalf of th the PSC, issued the final order approving the rate adjustment on May 5, 2011. Please th note that the new rates are for service on and after May 10, 2011, and the rates will be prorated over the next three month period, with the new rates being in full affect as of the second week of August. 3.Update on Impact of State Budget Bills Staff shared the League of WI Municipalities News Release regarding the amounts that the largest Cities in Wisconsin will lose due to the proposed State Budget Bills. These changes are currently in a holding pattern, as they are being challenged in the Court System. We do, however, expect to have a clearer picture of the changes that will be implemented in June when the entire Legislature takes up the 2011-2013 Proposed Budget. V.FUTURE TOPIC SUGGESTIONS / ONGOING TOPICS LIST The Committee hopes to wrap up the Proposed Fund Balance Policy and send their recommendation to the Council no later than July. VI.MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT Motion by Simons, Second by Hirschberg, to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m.