Annual Fund Transfers

Managing budgets is an ongoing concern.  In Breezy Point we accomplish monthly financial statements to see how we’re tracking in accordance with budget. In each area of the budget we have line items which are budgeted and monitored.  One line item in each area of operation is designated for capital expenditures.  Generally we see capital items as equipment or construction but they can also be items of larger cost or non-reoccurring expenditures. 

In Breezy Point we manage capital budgeting in ways to minimize the impact to the taxpayer and limit the “use it or lose it” mentality.  Capital funds are requested annually and budgeted for.  The majority of the time the amount requested is for a purchase in that budget year.  Some years there are no or limited anticipated expenditures but funds are budgeted to be used in a future year.  In either event those funds not expended are saved in the Revolving Capital Fund.  This fund has designated uses and provides for balances to be kept individually.  This means that there is an account for police, public works, road improvements, and other uses with individual accounts and balances.  

On an annual basis, at year end, those funds budgeted for capital that are unspent are transferred to the Revolving Capital Fund.  These funds are assigned to their respective accounts so funds are available when expenditures for a replacement or new piece of equipment are needed.  It also provides a fallback position for funding when something comes up that wasn’t budgeted for.  

In keeping with this policy the city transferred funds from the 2012 budget year to the Revolving Capital Fund.  We also transferred some funds back to the 2012 budget for one account that was over budget.  Doing this minimizes the peaks and valleys in budgeting.  It’s like using your savings account to make sure you can cover the bills. In any event funds were moved to provide for the future and keep the city in a healthy financial position.

Changeable Message Signs

We have all come to understand advertising as we see it every day in all aspects of our life. Every form of media has advertising.  Logos appear on cars and manufactured goods.  Signage is prevalent identifying shops and businesses and selling their wares.  Perhaps the biggest change in advertising is the change in signage with the use of Dynamic Signs. 

Dynamic Signs are defined as any sign that can change content by any method other than physically removing and replacing the content of the sign, and portions thereof.  As examples the electronic fuel price on gas station signs are dynamic signs.  A message sign at the school or a church that can be electronically changed is a dynamic sign.  An LED video screen, similar to a flat screen TV, is a dynamic sign.  These have all come of age as being more common and affordable.  

The Planning Commission was faced with the possibility of a request for a dynamic sign that didn’t meet the existing standards for signage.  In review of the existing language it was noted that a good deal of the provisions were impossible or difficult to enforce given the technology of today.  They also noted that both the industry and people’s reactions to these types of signs have changed.  With common use, the perceived problems experienced in the past were not concerns of today.  They felt a change was needed.  

They recommended changes to the code included allowing for a sign to be entirely dynamic.  Previously only 33% of the sign could be changeable.  Movement of the message will now be allowed.  The brightness standard was addressed in terms of a reasonable person standard.  If a reasonable person thinks it is too bright we can require the owner to reduce the brightness.  The prohibitions of color use were removed.  Signs that are capable of posting messages can be used for Amber Alerts or public safety concerns.  

The remainder of the requirements concerning dynamic signs remain.  The changes were meant to keep pace with technology and to remove those provisions which were difficult to enforce.  The changes also provide for more flexibility with users in managing their signage.  

The recommended changes were approved and are now part of the zoning code.     

Limiting Vacation Rentals

As a resort community we have a lot of people come and go in the community throughout the year.  There are many forms of housing to accommodate all these individuals in Breezy Point.  We have rooms in the resort and motel, timeshare units, campgrounds, and single family homes providing for vacation rentals.  When people come here they vacation and have a good time.  

Although the city may have grown as a vacation area and resort the city has permanent year round residents.  These residents live in neighborhoods with single family homes.  Scattered around the community are homes that are rented as vacation rental units.  Many of these are near the resort but a few are in other areas of the community.  Having these vacation rentals in primarily single family neighborhoods creates conflicts when vacationers have a bit too much fun.  

In the past year or so the Planning Commission has been trying to get a handle on how to control the spread of these units.  The ordinances had provided for their establishment with the issuance of an Interim Use Permit in an R-3 zone.  The R-3 zone is primarily for single family homes.  An Interim Use Permit is similar to a Conditional Use Permit.  After a public hearing to consider the use, conditions are established on the use of the property and a permit is issued for the Vacation Rental.  With an Interim Use Permit, it is issued for a specified period of time.  The owner would need to reapply for the permit when expired.  With this procedure is it is extremely difficult to say no to a property owner who wishes to establish a vacation rental when they have met all the ordinance requirements.  Once established, if problems occur the permit can be revoked or isn’t renewed.  The problem is, during the duration of the permit neighboring property owners have to deal with the issues these sometimes create. 

The Planning Commission recommended to council the removal of this clause from the ordinances.  The recommendation would provide that new Vacation Rentals are no longer allowed in R-3 zones.  The council adopted the change so the creation of new Vacation Rental units is no longer allowed in this district.

 

This is a step in the right direction but doesn’t solve all the problems these units pose.  The city continues to have units that were established in the past as “grandfathered”.  The commission looked for other methods to control these uses, all of which were problematic.  The best advice for neighboring property owners that have issues with renters is to call the police.  They will respond to control the situation.  Property owners of these properties will subsequently be informed of their renter’s behaviors.  It is hoped these instances will be minimized over time as owners better understand the problems and who they rent to.  Vacationers having a good time is a given.   Stepping over the line infringes on others.  Vacation rentals are enjoyed by most without problems.  Unfortunately there are some who don’t understand boundaries.  Limiting these helps in minimizing the impact these have on residents of the community.    

Pelican Woods Cemetery and Nature Trail

Cemeteries take on a “life” of their own.  Each has its character, history and approach.  Some may look alike with similar looking headstones.  Some are from a bygone era.  Pelican Woods Cemetery and Nature Trail is a very unique cemetery.  The name implies it is more than just a cemetery.  It has a trail that rings the area for those that want a peaceful and beautiful walk in the woods.  It also has gardens and vegetation of varying types of shrubs and plants.  The cemetery features no above ground headstones.  The grounds have been maintained by a contractor who mows the grass but also helps volunteers maintain the cemetery.  These volunteers have been headed by Cemetery Commission members and include others who I call the Friends of the Cemetery.  They work for a few hours each Monday morning to maintain the grounds.  

The cemetery was started in 1999 with lots being sold after construction in 2001.  With such a young cemetery it takes a number of years to establish buyers of lots which ultimately are used.  An update was recently given to the City Council concerning lot sales and burials.  The use has picked up in the last couple of years with six burials taking place in 2012 and already in 2013, two.   A total of 64 lots have been sold.  Thirty-eight burials have occurred.  Fifteen of these are cremain inurnments and twenty-three have been traditional burials.  

Grassmaster is the contractor who has maintained the grounds since the beginning.  His services have been greatly appreciated.  I believe his heart and soul have been in this effort as he held his price for services steady from 2004 through 2012.  With the most recent two year contract he asked for a 2 percent raise in prices, which was granted.  There has been a great deal of respect for his abilities in not only getting the grounds mowed but also working with the volunteers in maintaining the grounds.

 

If you are a property owner in Breezy Point, the city can offer a cemetery lot for a twenty percent discount.  The price includes funding for perpetual care.   If you do not own property in the city lots are still competitive.  Recently the commission changed the rules to allow for individual cremain inurnments in a single lot, allowing for a portion of a lot to be sold.  Doing this keeps the price relatively low for a single individual who may not have other family members to share a lot.  Pelican Woods Cemetery is a beautiful place to consider for your final resting place.

Computers!!?//?!!!!!

It is amazing to me how dependent we have become on computers.  Paper and Pencil are still used but they don’t come first in your mind in today’s work environment.  Typewriters have also seen their day. It’s difficult to even find one.  We use computers for every conceivable work function in some fashion.  They exist in vehicles for better operation, we’re connected by cell phones that really are small computers and all sorts of electronic devices.  The technology is here to stay.

 

So when these things go south it is difficult to manage.  The computer server the city has used since 2006 has seen better days.  Over the past few months we’ve had glitches, bumps and down time with it.  It affects all of those who work for the city.  Aside from the starting and stopping of the server the email exchange was completely shut down.  This contact system we take for granted has changed the way business is done.  We had to revert to personal email accounts as we still had internet connections when the server was running.  

The reliability of the server shutting down at a critical moment is really disconcerting. We’d hate to see it go down when doing payroll.  One payroll required paper checks as we couldn’t do electronic fund transfers.  Paying the bills falls into the same category. The city has made the change to a new system at approximately $15,000.  It’s interesting to note the server in 2006 was $16,000 so costs have come down and equipment is better.  

The transition to the new server was not without some problems.  The data was saved with adequate backups.  With email shutting down on December 27^th we lost all messages from that date on.  If you emailed us during that time we didn’t get it.  Please get back to us if that is the case.  The technology today is great but it is fussy.  Some newer programs don’t work with old.  Updating has benefits but also detriments. 

We now have a system that works well.  I’m hoping all the bugs have been worked out but expect some glitches along the way.  One such glitch is the scanning option on our copier isn’t working and needs to be reset.  Call the copier repairman!  We’ll get there but it hasn’t been a smooth process.   This is a love hate relationship.

An Airport Zoning District

One of the more major efforts the city is currently undertaking is that of implementing the goals of the Comprehensive Plan. Numerous actions have already been accomplished with more to come. One such goal was the establishment of an Airport Zoning District. The Plan had considered the possibility of the Airport eventually going away but also recognized that as a current land use it should have parameters that address this area. The airport as we know it is here to stay and embracing it is important. With the current zoning district land uses of Recreation, Utility and Airport (RUA) were combined. This district in some respects doesn’t make sense as it contains the airport and resort related recreation property with no utility orientated land uses. So splitting out the Airport use makes sense and became a goal with the Comprehensive Plan.


A number of approaches have been considered. The Planning Commission met with individuals from the airport to get their perspective of what this district should include. The commission looked at existing land uses within the area to be considered for this district. Other uses were also considered for addition such as light industrial or manufacturing. Residential uses other than hanger homes were not felt appropriate. Retail sales were also rejected. In the end the balance was to have airport related activities as permitted uses and other acceptable uses as conditional ones, requiring a conditional use permit.

After months of weighing the possibilities and considering the issue the Planning Commission recommended the adoption of an ordinance providing for the language needed for an Airport District to be added to the Zoning Ordinance. This ordinance was presented to the City Council and adopted at the January 7th meeting. This was the last new district proposed under the Comprehensive Plan.

The Zoning Map will be changed to reflect those properties that will fall within this district along with others with changed designations at a future date.

Prosecution

In the majority of the counties in the state the City Attorney prosecutes petty misdemeanor, misdemeanor and designated gross misdemeanor violations that occur within the city. In a number of counties in the state the function of prosecution of crimes committed within cities are handled by the County Attorney. That is the case in Crow Wing County for the City of Breezy Point.


Previously the county attorney has done the prosecution with the county collecting the fines and court costs. These were then distributed to the state and city at one third of the total fine amount to each. Last year, with a change in procedure the state collected all fine revenue and distributed it to the city. The city then would distribute one-half of the proceeds to the county for prosecution, as the state kept their third of the revenues. Accomplishing this meant a new agreement with the county was needed to provide for prosecution and fine distribution.

After working this system for about a year the county recognized this system doesn’t work as well as it should and they asked for a change. The change in the contract was approved by the council which will require the county to bill the city semi-annually for their share of the fine revenue. This saves the city monthly activity in generating checks for the county’s share of the proceeds. This procedural change provides for a more efficient approach to managing these functions. It also requires the county to take on the responsibility of billing for the appropriate amount as they receive the records for the distribution of funds.

For future consideration the county has asked to have the city pay for their fair share of prosecution services. Rather than rely on fine revenue as their source of funding they would like to have the city consider a flat rate for services based on volume created by the city. In other words if the city prosecution consumes 5% of the county attorneys time they would look at a pro rated cost of doing that and charge the city in keeping with the work load we generate. This is yet to be negotiated and may result in little fine revenue helping our bottom line but is probably a fairer approach to expenses. The county will address the issue with the city in the near future.

Brine, Whats that?

The tool box for winter road maintenance has gotten bigger in the past few years. In the past we had plowing with the addition of salt and sand used to manage roadways. These still are part of the tool box of tools for winter road maintenance but variations have occurred with all road maintenance activities.


Perhaps the biggest variation in use is that of “Brine”. Brine is a simple chemical application of a mixture of salt and water, mixed to 23.3%. Brine is now used for all aspects of road hazard removal. Perhaps you have seen prior to a storm what looks like wet stripping along the traveled roadways. This is a pretreatment effort. Brine is applied to the roadway to accomplish a number of goals. The pretreatment allows for the brine to permeate the pavement surface helping to prevent the bond between the snow/ice and the pavement itself. This helps with the removal of snow/ice from the pavement while limiting ice spots.

Brine is also used, much like an application of granular salt, after roadways have been plowed. Using brine, the mixture is wet and allows for better adhesion than granular salt. It also jumpstarts the chemical process in allowing the salt to work faster. Salt can be disturbed and thrown off roadways with traffic movements. This makes the use of brine far more economical as less salt is used and the effect is superior to that of granular salt. A limitation with brine is its use is effective only to about zero degrees.

Another newer tool being used for winter road maintenance is treated salt. Treated salt contains magnesium chloride and a binder of either corn syrup or sugar beet solids. This material is used down to about 10 degrees below zero. It is used in areas with curb and gutters and also areas of more density in residents or traffic. In addition to the lower temperature benefit the use of these materials avoids the use of sand which can fill up storm sewers and get into peoples yards. This assists in the spring by minimizing street sweeping and the expense and dust that goes along with these operations.

The more traditional salt/sand mixture is used when temperatures require its use. They are used in hills and curves providing for extra safety. To enhance the use of this application treated brine using treated salt is used. This helps with keeping the materials where they need to be to be effective. It also then becomes more effective when temperatures increase.

As much of this is new territory for our public works crew as well as others the applications and use are somewhat a work in progress. Different roads based on sunlight, road composition, pavement and temperatures all play into the decisions about what will work best. Fine tuning with applications will continue as we seek the best answer. We have come along way from just salt and sand.

Final Tax Levy

On an annual basis the city accomplishes a budget and related tax levy. The process starts in May or June with preliminary numbers being reviewed with consideration towards the needs of the future. Most years the council holds some form of budget workshop to consider needs and priorities. The Finance Committee then works with staff to further develop the budget.


A preliminary levy is required to be submitted to the county by September 15th. This levy amount is then used to determine the preliminary tax rate which further establishes preliminary taxes for each property within the city. A notice is then sent to every property owner with that information. The notice also gives notice of when the city, county and school will hold their respective budget meetings.

Each year the budget process stays pretty much the same but each year there are budget challenges. The city council had established goals for this year which were met. Departmental expenditures were expected to stay the same as that of last year. Service delivery was to remain at a similar level and if possible the final levy was hoped to be reduced. The final budget reflects those goals and the final levy was reduced by $9,400.

I’d like to offer a bit more perspective on this. We have been doing more with less for a number of years. The levy in 2011 was about $50,000 less than that of 2010. The levy for 2012 saw no increase from that of 2011. The levy now for 2013 is $9,400 less than that of 2012. In addition with an advanced refunding of two of the city’s bonds we had a short term increase in debt service of about $25,000.

With this type of budget it is however difficult to move the city forward. This budget has no new initiatives or projects, it takes care of operations. Moving forward with improvements will take some planning. Some financial planning has occurred with the refinancing of two bonds. Two other bonds will be paid at the call dates in 2014 and 2015. Freeing up some debt service will help in that regard.

The bottom line for taxes payable in 2013 for the City of Breezy Point is the levy has been set at an amount that is $9,400 less than the levy for 2012. The budget for 2013 has also been set. As we move forward with that budget we’re cognizant of fiscal resources and keep spending in check. The City of Breezy Point has a bright future that can be managed with fiscal prudence.