Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes MINUTES OF THE LONG RANGE FINANCE COMMITTEE NOVEMBER 3, 2010 ROOM 406 The meeting of the Long Range Finance Committee was held on Wednesday, November 3, 2010, in Room 406, at Oshkosh City Hall, 215 Church Avenue. The meeting was called to order by Chair Harold Buchholz, at 5:05 p.m. Members Present: Harold Buchholz, Bryan Schulz, Don Simons, Jeffrey Thoms, Burk Tower, Jeffrey Herzig, Jason Hirschberg, and Bob Poeschl Staff Present: Peggy Steeno-Finance Director, Lynn Lorenson-City Attorney, and Lori Burns–Administrative Assistant Absent: Others Present: None I.APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 6, 2010 MINUTES No discussion on the minutes. Motion by Herzig, Second by Thoms, to approve the Committee Meeting Minutes of October 6, 2010, as presented. Motion passed unanimously. II.CITIZEN INPUT No citizens in attendance. III.INFORMATION SHARING Information Provided – Buchholz (~5:05 – 5:10) Buchholz shared an email from Ben Schneider regarding his resignation from the committee. Buchholz suggested that committee members consider speaking to people that may be good candidates and encourage them to fill out an application, possibly adding a female to the committee. Information Provided – Steeno (~5:10 – 5:35) Steeno provided an overview of the 2011 Preliminary Budget, and walked the committee through the Executive Summary highlighting the City Manager’s message. Steeno also provided information on the recent borrowings undertaken by the City. The borrowing included 7 separate borrowings. Details were provided on the ratings the City was given by Moody’s Investor Service. The water, sewer, and storm water rates were also discussed in the context of the borrowing. And, the potential rate increases in each of these utilities were reviewed. IV.CITY FEE PROJECT (~5:35-6:40) 1.Overview of Discussion to Date – Recap Previous Meeting 2.Discuss Draft Recommendations to Council 3.Next Steps The Committee reviewed the recommendation document prepared by Steeno and concurred with the format and details, requesting a few changes prior to finalizing the document. Tower discussed his understanding of Council’s goals and how the Committee is proceeding. Thoms discussed the effect of continually cutting costs rather than increasing fees as appropriate, stating that it would catch up to us and have an impact on the services we provide. He expressed that raising fees in a realistic manner, to cover costs is not a bad thing. The Committee would like a one page memo prepared to go to Council with the detailed recommendation. The memo needs to stress that a systematic type of review, with consistency, needs to be implemented. And, five to seven comparables Cities (same size and budget) should be used consistently throughout process to illustrate where Oshkosh’s fees fall in the municipal market with regard to fee levels. The draft of the memo, along with the revised, detailed recommendation will be emailed to the Committee before st Thanksgiving for them to be prepared to finalize at the December 1 meeting. And, the memo and recommendation will be presented to the Council in December. Discussion on how to raise revenues continued. Thoms discussed a deterrent fee for someone who uses the City services in excess. Attorney Lorenson discussed the nuisance abatement properties and enforcement of it rather than imposing a fee for Police services. Block parties, barricade use, and the special events policy were also discussed. The question of ‘what is the process to consider a new fee’ was brought up. The Committee feels that the departments involved with the fee should initially make a proposal. The proposal would then be reviewed by Finance to ensure that all costing is covered equitably to the services provided, approved by the City Manager, and presented to the Council for approval. Schulz stated every fee should be assigned to a department and fees should be reviewed at or before budget time. Also discussed were: the possibility of selling property, an increased tax base, where to get / how to find efficiencies, and the storm water credit policy. V. FUTURE TOPIC SUGGESTIONS / ONGOING TOPIC LIST (~6:40 – 6:50) 1.Description of Topics 2.Priority of Future Topics The Committee discussed the updated list of topics and the descriptions that staff provided. After wrapping up the Fees Analysis at the December meeting, the Committee will begin reviewing the City’s current Investment Policy and begin discussions on the potential creation of a Sinking Fund. Each topic will be given approximately 30 minutes to kick off the discussions at the next meeting. VI.ADJOURMENT Motion by Poeschl, Second by Hirschberg, to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m.