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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes MINUTES OF THE LONG RANGE FINANCE COMMITTEE MARCH 2, 2011 ROOM 406 The meeting of the Long Range Finance Committee was held on Wednesday, March 2, 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, Bryan Schulz, Jeffrey Thoms, Burk Tower, Jeffrey Herzig, Don Simons, and Doug Pearson Members Absent: Jason Hirschberg and Bob Poeschl Staff Present: Peggy Steeno-Finance Director, and Lori Burns–Administrative Assistant Others Present: Two UW-Oshkosh students (observing meeting). I.APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 2, 2011 MINUTES No discussion/changes. Motion by Herzig, Second by Simons, to approve the Committee Meeting Minutes of February 2, 2011. Motion passed unanimously. II.CITIZEN INPUT None III.INFORMATION SHARING/HOUSEKEEPING ITEMS (~5:05 – 7:05) 1. Invitation to State of the City (~5:05 – 5:10) Steeno extended an invitation for this event to all members. Members should RSVP to the City Manager’s Assistant, per the invitation, if attending this event on Monday March st 21, at the Oshkosh Convention Center, at 6:00 pm. 2. Impact of the State Budget Repair Bill on the City of Oshkosh (~6:10 – 7:05 pm) Discussion: Committee Member Tower suggested that the Committee spend a greater amount of time on the City Budget so that the Committee fully understands it so that they can analyze the impact of the State Budget and make suggestions for the future. This is a very high priority right now. Once all members understand the budget and impact of the upcoming changes, the Committee needs to be more specific with their goals and recommendations, and focus in on specific topics so that they can make recommendations for the future. Staff shared the information available as of right now with regard to how the proposed state changes will impact the City of Oshkosh. This includes information from the bills, the League of WI Municipalities and others researching the impacts. More information www.lwm-info.org) is available on the League’s website (. Steeno explained the impact on the City of Oshkosh with the information known now and what will happen if and when it passes. Discussions on the Wisconsin Retirement System, Health Insurance, impact on our Transportation Department, loss of Shared Revenue, and expenditure restraint took place. There was also a discussion on Assessed Values and Equalized Values. Meetings in the near future will include this topic. Specific suggestions are to bring in th the City Manager to speak with the Committee (tentatively planned for the April 6 Meeting), to brainstorm on how to increase revenues, what options the City has with regard to revenues, establishing a five year spending plan so that we can plan more for the future, and looking at how the City can reduce expenses without reducing services. Staff will put together information for the next meeting including a City budget timeline, state budget dates, current union agreements, and the timing of the City’s bonding in 2011. 3. City Bond Refinancing Details / Moody’s Rating. (~5:10 – 5:40) Steeno shared the Results of the recent G.O. Refunding Bond Sales including the Tax- Exempt (Series 2011A) and Taxable Bonds (Series 2011B). The committee discussed the impact of the savings, and the time over which the savings will occur. The committee also reviewed the most recent Moody’s rating that was completed in conjunction with this bond sale. The importance of the City having a formal fund balance policy and how the City could strengthen its bond rating were discuss. The Fund Balance Policy will be taken up by the Committee at a later date. 4. Revised Gift Policy ( ~5:40 – 5:45) Steeno shared the final draft that will be considered by the Council on 3/8/11. All changed suggested by committee were discussed with Attorney Lorenson and included as applicable. The memo attached to the Policy for Council explained the requested changed by both the Long Range Finance Committee and the Parks Board. Members were encouraged to read through and communicate to Council Members any questions and concerns they may have. 5. Budget Survey Update (~5:45 – 5:50) Staff shared the final copy of the survey that is being used by the University to poll Oshkosh residents. City Manager Rohloff, and the University students conducting the survey, took the Committee’s advice and included a question about undergrounding utilities. As the Committee suggested, $$ were linked to the question so that citizens could respond base on the estimated cost to undertake this initiative. Because the University has already completed two years of surveys, it is important to keep the questions similar to those in previous years to maintain the ability to trend the data over a number of years. The City Manager appreciated the feedback, suggestions, and comments, and thanks the Committee for their input. 6. 2011 – 2015 Five Year CIP (~5:50 – 6:10) Staff distributed the 2011 – 2015 Five Year Capital Improvement Plan and provided and overview of the document as well as the process used to create the document. Staff also explained the role of this planning document in relation to the budgeting and bonding processes. The Committee asked if staff reviews the document regularly and if they revisit projects after approval. Staff explained the process, and how the current year differs from future years. The Council really only approves year one of the plan each year. The plan is reviewed by Council at least annually. It is a rolling five year plan that staff used to complete needed improvements. Discussion continued in regard to how projects happen, and the timing of the approvals with other Boards and Commissions in addition to the Council. 2011 projects are underway. Committee Member Pearson excused at 6 pm. IV.EQUIPMENT/PROJECT REPLACEMENT FUND POLICY (Ongoing) The Committee decided to defer this item for an indefinite amount of time due to the emerging issue of the State Budget and the time the committee expects to spend on that more pressing issue. V.FUTURE TOPIC SUGGESTIONS / ONGOING TOPICS LIST Discussion included annexation planning, the possibility of spinning off certain functions such as industrial park land. Next meeting will focus on staff bringing the Committee up to speed on the City Budget and new developments on state budget issues. The committee will review the first section of the 2011 Budget (pages 1-21) and let staff know in advance of the next meeting what specific questions they have on the budget. Staff will then answer those questions during the next meeting. VI.MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT Motion by Thoms, Second by Schulz, to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 7:05 p.m.