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.

Darner Lane

It doesn’t happen often but periodically there is a need to change the name of a roadway. This used to happen quite a bit when the 911 emergency systems was being implemented. To be assured that an emergency response was going to the right place similar names in the county needed to be sorted so there was no confusion about where help was needed. At times this meant a name change to a roadway.


Our code provides for street names changes by petition. A petition of 75% of the abutting property owners must sign the petition to have the council consider the change in the name. To make the name change, an ordinance would be adopted changing the street name from the current one to the new name.

Wartman Road is the road under consideration. This roadway was the original Northwoods Lane and the majority of the original roadway was vacated when a new right-of-way for Northwoods was established. What remained after the vacation was a road of approximately 200 feet. The property owners at the time were the Wartman’s so it made sense to go with that name.

We now have new owners of the property and they felt a different name was appropriate. They requested the name Darner Lane. No that is not their last name, but rather it is a type of dragonfly. With the up north feel and prevalence of dragonflies it is a rather nice name for a street. It’s interesting Breezy Point has all sorts of theme named roadways but bugs are not one of them.

In any event the roadway was renamed to Darner Lane and with that change comes a new sign and changes to the map.

Surplus Property

Do you have property you no longer use or need? I think we all have a surplus problem in some form and we go about getting rid of it periodically by donation to a charity or a garage sale or other such means. Cities are no different in that we accumulate goods that no longer meet our needs. We also receive lost property or property due to forfeiture.


As a public body it is difficult to donate to a charity as we have a responsibility to the tax payer. Disposal of property is somewhat dictated by state law requiring the city to seek revenue out of these situations. State law requires that a city establish ordinances giving direction for disposal and sale.

Recently our code was reviewed and found to be very dated. Both the threshold and the process were difficult to deal with. Items over a $100 and under $500 had to be disposed of by auction. Items over $500 were to be disposed of by sealed bids. The process needed to be more flexible. The dollar amounts also needed to be more flexible.

A change in the code was proposed to provide for a negotiated sale of up to $1000 in proposed value. Over that threshold goods could be sold by auction in either a live or online format or by sealed bids.

Disposing of excess property is now streamlined and hopefully we’ll be able to lighten the baggage of surplus and improve the bottom line in the process.

Timber Harvest

The city has a good deal of acreage used for wastewater treatment facilities. The obvious use is the immediate plant and ponds. The ponds provide treatment of wastewater and also storage of the effluent that comes from the plant operations. Storage is required as the city doesn’t have a discharge point into a waterway, which is more typical of a wastewater plant. The city discharges its effluent with spray irrigation into the surrounding forest of lands we own. This can only be done in the summer months. Having adequate acreage to discharge is important as only so much can be applied to land under the permit granted by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.


In considering the future, the city had acquired property to provide for additional irrigation fields. Currently the city has approximately 90 acres of unused irrigation lands available for future use. This land has been idle forest land with tree growth of Birch, Aspen, Maple and Oak. Upon review of the forest trees, the Aspen and Birch are in decline and it was felt harvesting of the area makes some sense. It would be good for the forest to rejuvenate and for the city in reaping some revenues.

Crow Wing County was contacted and they were willing to assist the city with harvest operations. There services come at a price but include an inventory, notice, bid specifications and contract administration. An advertisement for bids was recently held and a bid was received. Lately the market for timber is depressed with a couple of paper mills closing and construction being down. The bid provided for summer access to the timber which is a more desirable situation as many timber plots are only assessable in the winter due to wetlands.

We were pleased with the bid from Sawyer Timber Company of Backus, MN. The bid was awarded to them and harvesting could occur at any time but likely will commence next spring as weather conditions warrant. The area will generally be clear cut but a buffer will remain along the east and north boundaries. It is expected this activity will be completed in 2013.

Election 2012

In 2012 we had a presidential election and as is generally the case we see a large turnout. The turnout was perhaps, more than expected. Breezy Point is now the third largest city in the county and we believe were growing. We started the day with 1441 registered voters. On Election Day we had 226 new registrations for voters.


Votes cast at the polls were 1240. Absentee votes cast numbered 180 making the total votes cast in Breezy Point 1420. In 2010, not a presidential election, we had 907 at the polls and 90 absentee voters for a total of 997. This represents about a 43% increase in voters.

When you think about our estimated pollution of 2388 and all the residents who can’t vote we either had a very high percent of voters turn out for the election or more population than we think, or both. I would tend to think we had both.

I want to express my sincere thank you to the election judges who worked that day. It is always a long day starting, at 5:00 am for some and going to several hours after the polls close. Not all judges’ work all day but a few do. They did an exceptional job. They were professional in their actions and voters moved through the polls with limited delay. I was very pleased with the way in which it worked out.

I can only assume we’ll see more voters in the years to follow as Breezy Point continues to grow in year round residents.

City Council Salaries

I don’t know if any of you have considered what City Council members do and what they get paid to do it. There is the obvious, attend a monthly meeting and the occasional special one to deal with governmental decisions. Some of these fall into the routine and others definitely fall into the “policy” area. The policy area are those questions that can’t be addressed by staff or anyone person. Sometimes these are those where there is no right or wrong answer. It comes down to what is the best decision for the majority of the people. Just saying that brings to mind that all decisions have those that approve and oppose the outcome.


Typically the salaries that are paid to council members don’t amount to much more than enough to cover expenses incurred in their actions as a council member. Many look at the salary as a token amount in appreciation for the work they do. But even in the realm of a low paying job the compensation for council members can amount to pennies an hour.

In Breezy Point the City Council has been paid $150 per month and mayor at $200 per month since 1995. It was recently discussed that the council is the lowest paid council in the area and perhaps an increase in pay was warranted. Councils set there own salaries but can only increase salary for an upcoming council. So a decision made today will not take effect until after the next election with a new council coming on board.

The city council discussed the possibility of an increase in salary of a $100 per month per member. Doing this would still continue Breezy Point City Council as the lowest paid council in the area. This increase amounted to $6000 overall for the year. The budget could be adjusted to accommodate the increase and a draft ordinance was written.

The council discussed the possibility and felt that an increase is probably warranted but it really should be brought up in budget discussions early on. Accomplishing this change at this point in the budget cycle isn’t appropriate and making a change at a later date would be in the best interest of the city. The council voted down the ordinance providing for a change in their salary. The next option for a salary change would be after the 2014 elections to take effect in 2015.

Brine a Win-Win

Last year the city started using brine on roadways to assist with winter maintenance activities. The brine was used instead of granular salt in some situations. This was used as a pretreatment prior to a storm event in intersections and other key areas. It was also used at other times to increase melt replacing granular salt that has been used in the past.


Using a brine mixture has a number of advantages but also is one tool in the tool box of winter road maintenance. Using it to pretreat roadways is helpful in preventing a bond of ice forming on the road itself. Using it after an event is helpful in that the same benefit derived from granular salt is obtained at a fraction of the expense and with better results. The application is more consistent. This practice is also more environmentally friendly as the use is kept to a minimum keeping excess salt from surrounding properties.

Salt or brine isn’t recommended for all roadway situations. Salt looses it effectiveness when it gets very cold. At that point the use of sand is recommended. Roadway temperatures are checked to manage the use of brine when conditions are right. Having brine at the right concentration is also important. Too weak of solution will freeze and is a waste of resources in application.

With the experience gained this past year using a system that was built by the public works crew we have been working at fine tuning our efforts. This system was problematic in that the mixing of the salt and water was slow, salt additions were done by hand being somewhat unsafe in practice, and our product was not adequately filtered to remove fine particles that affected application. Commercial systems are designed for a more mechanized and safer approach to brine making and were considered for purchase in 2013.

The city worked with a vendor in getting prices available for the 2013 budget. This vendor understood that the city was interested in acquisition of a commercial brine unit. He had a demonstration unit available that could be had at a significant discount. After discussing this with them they would make the unit available to us prior to the end of the year with payment occurring in 2013. Essentially the city would recognize a 20% discount in the equipment and get a 90 day no cost loan.

The City Council at the October meeting considered the request and agreed the purchase was in the best interest of the city in a number of ways. The obvious is the saving of money with the purchase itself. The city also benefits from a better and safer system of brine production. The residents benefit from a continued effort to keep our roadways safer in the winter months as well as keeping maintenance costs in check. It’s a win-win situation for all.

Auditing firm

I spoke of doing Requests for Proposals in seeking auditing firms in a previous blog. The city is obligated to conduct an audit on an annual basis. The city received 3 proposals from governmental accounting firms. The auditing firm the city selected was Schlenner Wenner. They have offices in St. Cloud, Little Falls, Albany, Maple Lake and Monticello. The office the city will be working with is in St. Cloud.

In doing the Request for Proposals we solicited proposals which included a price for the annual audit for a three year period. They will conduct the audit for 2012, 2013, and 2014. This firm gave us a price that was $5000 per year less than the current audit quote.

You may ask how they can do this. They have found some economy in the way they conduct audits. They provide a detailed list of those documents they require prior to the audit. These are things that we typically provide but having them available prior to the audit gives us time to deal with them and minimizes their time during the physical audit. They also download materials directly from our accounting system. Having the information readily available only makes their job easier. Our books are not complicated or extensive. We have minimal number of transactions and limited personnel. They still spend time at city hall going though our data but the operations are far more efficient.

You also may ask what quality they may provide. Are they doing what’s required? The state requires that all governmental audits meet required standards. The firm has certified public accountants. They maintain a positive peer review. Their references were checked. The people we spoke with were very pleased with the auditing experience and outcome. They indicated they were easy to work with, have a large client base, and do a good job.

We look forward to working with them.