Mini-Excavator

Cities rely on heavy equipment to accomplish a good deal of the work that is done.  We all think of plow trucks and skid steer units.  Breezy Point has these and also a backhoe, tractor, loader and even a small bulldozer.  Recently the City Council approved the purchase of a mini-excavator.  The primary reason for this purchase is for working in the spray irrigation fields for the city sewer. 

Breezy Point is one of a few cities that discharge the sewer effluent with spray irrigation rather than discharging into a body of water such as a river, stream or lake.  Some spray irrigation systems are installed with a center pivot much like you see in farm fields but the system we have relies on underground lines that run through the woods.  To these lines are many standpipes that the support the spray irrigation heads.  A pivot system would not work in our situation because of the trees.  Underground piping is needed to support the standpipes.   

The underground lines are much like the lines that feed the sprinklers in a yard irrigation system.  These need to be drained each year in the fall to prevent freezing which would rupture the pipe if water remained.  The city uses a rather large compressor to blow out these lines each fall and generally speaking we have a good deal of success doing that but periodically a small amount of water remains and the system develops a leak from freezing.  Obviously this requires the line to be dug up to repair. 

The irrigation system is also quite old and is starting to show wear.  The lines that were installed are galvanized steel which eventually shows corrosion and leaks, also requiring the line to be excavated to repair. 

In the past the city has used the backhoe to do these repairs but as the woods have grown the open lanes where the irrigation lines have been installed are getting narrower and many times requires the removal of trees to gain access.  It was felt a mini-excavator was a better tool to do the job being more efficient and allow for a more dedicated use in making these repairs. 

That’s not to say the mini-excavator will only be used in the sewer irrigation fields.  This piece of equipment has a number of uses and will be used in landscaping projects and digging graves or other appropriate uses making it a very versatile piece of equipment.  This is very apparent when we have a small space to work in.  Adding this piece of equipment will help to improve the efficiency of our operations. 

 

Lift Station Monitoring Equipment

Sanitary sewer serves a good part of Breezy Point.  The system includes sewer mains, lift stations, and force mains.  Most sanitary sewer lines rely on gravity for the movement of flow, water runs downhill.  With the topography of the city we have many lift stations.  A lift station is a large manhole that collects flow from the sanitary sewer and pumps it in a force main to a manhole at a higher elevation allowing it to again flow downhill.  This process is repeated throughout the city with all flow eventually ending up in the wastewater treatment plant.  

The city has a total of nine lift stations in its sewer system.  Some of these handle a good deal of flow.  Lift station #1 is the primary lift taking all flow to the wastewater plant.  Other lift stations have varied flow, some rather minor amounts with others somewhere in between.   In maintaining a sewer system it is important to be assured the lift stations are working properly.  A malfunctioning lift station would cause backups into homes so maintaining them is extremely important.  Three lift stations have heavier flows and these have monitoring equipment installed.  This equipment will call out city employees when a problem occurs. 

One lift station monitoring device has been giving us some problems and was proposed to be replaced.  In discussing this issue it was felt the all the lift stations should have monitoring equipment installed.  The cost for this equipment is $1,500 per lift station so replacing one unit and adding the others will be an investment of $10,500.  This purchase was approved by the city council.  With these additional units we’ll also have increased costs for cell phone service at each lift station but additional security will be achieved in monitoring all of them.  Lift stations will continue to be checked manually but if a power outage or other problem occurs we’ll know about it when it happens.  The alarm equipment will call an employee.  The added equipment provides for more dependable service in maintaining our sewer system.  These new monitoring devices will be installed as soon as possible.

Managing Capital Expenditures

In managing the finances of the city we rely on a separate fund as part of our general fund known as the Revolving Capital Fund.  This fund allows for the keeping of funds ear marked for specific purposes.  By separating out funds by purpose the city is able to manage expenditures with the knowledge of how much is available for each use while keeping it separate from the annual operating budget of the city.  Not only is this kept separate it allows for cash to be moved in and out of this fund to deal with periodic major expenditures without budgetary swings.  It also limits the need for debt service. 

At the end of each year the city makes a transfer to this fund from the unspent capital funds in the general fund.  Doing this accumulates resources in the Revolving Capital Fund and eliminates the propensity to spend it or lose it as the budget cycle comes to a close.  The transfers also deal with funds being moved from the Revolving Capital Fund to the general fund to address needs or shortfalls in budgeting for capital expenditures.  Doing this also moderates some of the ebbs and flows in a budget cycle.

At year end, when expenditures are known for the year, a transfer resolution is presented to provide for these transfers of cash to occur.  This year the resolution was adopted providing for a transfer out of the 2013 budget cycle $80,236 to be placed in the Revolving Capital Fund.  $6,476 was moved from Revolving Capital to address budget shortfalls.  Other budgeted transfers were also made from the sewer fund to the Sewer Capital Fund and Debt Service Fund as required. 

Managing funds in this way provides a great deal of flexibility in operations.  It provides some transparency in what funds are available and for what purpose.  Finally it provides greater security in having reserves that meet certain purposes.   It maintains a level budget and levy over the course of many years while accommodating needs for large expenditures.  

Property Valuation Meeting

The notion of property taxes starts with the market value of the land and structures on the property.  These improvements carry values that are considered and established by the county assessor on an ongoing basis. The assessor has a responsibility to set overall values of properties within the city to a market threshold of 90 to 105% of corresponding sales data.  The value on an individual property is then used for tax calculations to determine your property tax. 

Each year the Assessor holds a meeting in each jurisdiction called the Board of Appeal and Equalization.  The purpose of the meeting is to give property owners a chance to address the value that is set for their property.  This meeting is not structured to address the amount of taxes but rather to address the market value assigned to an individual property.    

The meeting is held by the City Council with the Assessor reviewing property values that are challenged by property owners.  At least one council member must receive training from the Department of Revenue for a city council to participate in a local Board of Appeal and Equalization.  The City Council has the authority to address changes in values based on circumstances that may not be understood by the assessor at the time of the appraisal.  The property owner may have had a recent appraisal done of their property or removed an outbuilding that was not recognized, as examples that sometimes come up.  

The changes a council can make include the following: They can reduce or increase the value of a property.  The council can make a property classification change such as from residential to commercial.  The council can also add properties that were missed. 

The city council is prohibited from some actions.  They may not reduce the aggregate assessment more than 1% of the total market value of the city. They cannot exempt a property from taxation.  A member can’t participate in a decision that has a conflict of interest.  The council can’t grant special program status such as Green Acres to a property.  The city council can’t order a percentage increase or decrease for an entire class of property.  They also can’t make an adjustment on a property that the assessor was prohibited from entry.  

The Breezy Point Board of Appeal and Equalization is scheduled for April 17, 2014 at 10:00 AM at city hall.  Property owners will receive a mailed notice of the meeting along with the assessors proposed value.  Open book reviews can be accomplished with the assessor up to 10 days prior to the meeting and appointments will be taken on a first come first serve basis for the day of meeting, but are not required.  If you have a question about the market value of your property this is your opportunity to have it discussed.