Revolving Capital Fund Transfers

Managing city finances is somewhat of a straight forward proposition but there are some approaches we take that hedge our future to be better prepared for fiscal impacts.  The city has established a Revolving Capital Fund.  This fund is used to store earmarked funds for future use.  The fund is set up by category such as public works or police.  Each category then carries its own balances.  These balances are used to purchase equipment for needs that are too expensive to do in a single budget cycle.  As an example we can budget an annual amount, over a period of years, to be used to cover future public works equipment purchases.  Doing this allows for a purchase when needed, with the city having cash and not requiring debt for that expenditure. 

Accomplishing this may seem complicated but it really works quite easily.  Each year a budget amount is included for capital expenditures in each department.  Most years there are some expenditures that occur in these line accounts but the entire budget amount is not generally spent.  The remaining balance gets transferred at year end to the Revolving Capital Fund for the intended purpose.  Not only does this provide for the accumulation of funds, it also prevents the “use it or lose it” mentality.  The opposite is also true in that if we spend more than the budgeted amount; the remaining required funds come from the Revolving Capital Fund.

At year end we transferred funds to and from the Revolving Capital Fund.  In addition to public works and police we earmark funds for road improvements, land acquisition, parks, administration, and future improvement among others.  The total amount of fund transfers to the Revolving Capital Fund at year end this year was $47,417.81.  The total amount of funds spent from Revolving Capital was $130,975.85.  Keep in mind in this case, if funds hadn’t been earmarked in this way, it would have required a budget and levy about $84,000 more than was done.  Using this approach the city is able to smooth out the peaks and valleys of expenditures with limited impact on the total levy. 

Local Exchange

The cities of Breezy Point, Nisswa, and Pequot Lakes as well as Ideal Township were given notice of the intent for Charter Communication to provide local exchange services.  This is otherwise known as telephone service. 

With Charter having Cable television and Internet service the step to phones is not that difficult, the service lines are already in place and the service would provide Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP).  With this addition the cities would see options and competition for residents who use these services from two providers.  

The Breezy Point City Council has gone on record to support a new option for these services in our community. 

2015 Appointments

In Breezy Point, much like other cites, there are various citizen committees that assist with policy and decision making.  Typically these include a Planning Commission and a Park Committee.  In Breezy Point we also have a Cemetery Commission.  Volunteers are appointed to these groups for three year terms.  They provide direction and valuable feedback in managing the policies of the city.   The committees and commissions also have a city council member liaison assigned to each.  This helps with greater communication between the council and the citizen committees.  Liaisons don’t have a vote in committee settings.  Their vote lies at the council meeting.

The boards have memberships that are rotated so one or more individual terms expire annually.  This year all current members agreed to be reinstated with a new term however we had a vacancy in the Cemetery Commission with a new Commissioner being appointed there.  The committee and commission appointments for 2015 include the following:

Cemetery Commission – Barbara Donavon and Wanda Sonderby.  Council liaison is Diane Williams.

Park and Recreation Committee – Linda Gronholz and Deborah Simmons.  Council liaison is Diane Williams.

Planning Commission – Amy Gitchell.  Council liaison is Gary Bakken.

The city also has working committees of the city council.  These committees guide operations and assist staff with decision making in managing the affairs of the city.  They make recommendations to the full council as needed.  The committees and the appointments for 2015 are as follows:

          Finance Committee – Tom Lillehei and Gary Bakken

          Personnel Committee – Michael Moroni and Otto Schmid

          Roads Committee – Otto Schmid and Michael Moroni

This year a special task force was named to assist the Planning Commission with a review of the Comprehensive Plan.  The current Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2010 so 5 years have lapsed since adoption.  The idea is to review where we have been, where we might be going, and are there goals or changes in thinking that need to be revisited.  Two of these individuals are council members; Michael Moroni and Gary Bakken.  The other task force member assigned is a Planning Commissioner, Carol Metzger. 

Comprehensive Plans typically have a life of 10 to 20 years with amendments coming at the 10 year period.  A full rewrite of the plan generally is considered at the 20 year time period.  With the 5 year review we hope to keep the plan as current as possible by recognizing the current state of affairs of the city in its planning efforts. 

Poice Union Contract 2015 - 2017

The Breezy Point Police Department created a union in 2010.  The first contract was negotiated and due to expire the end of 2014.  As essential employees under the law the contract continues under the same terms as the city and union negotiate a new contract.  A committee of two council members and two staff members met with the union a few times to discuss the requests of both parties. 

The union’s request was largely economic in nature however they also wanted a couple of changes in the terms of the agreement.  The request of the city was largely that of clarifying language, amending some of the terms of the agreement, and also to address an issue regarding holiday pay.  Economic considerations that were important to the city were discussed as well.  Other considerations that came into play were what the neighboring jurisdictions did in their contracts with their police unions.   

The changes made include a total of 17 points.  Economic considerations included an increase in base wage rates of 3.5% for each of the three years of the contract. Shift differential was awarded for evening hours.  Paramedic compensation was increased from 6% to 7% of base salary.  Compensation for court time, call back and holiday time were amended to address in a different manner more favorable to the employer.   The use of sick and vacation time was also restricted in some situations. 

In the end a good deal of give and take was evident.  Some may say the union got what they wanted and others could look at what was accomplished from the employer’s perspective.  They call it negotiations for a reason.  I’ve been told if both sides are sort of OK with the outcome but also a little disappointed it probably is a sign of a good agreement.  The agreement was approved and terms are now defined for the next three years.