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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997 03-06 FCMMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE FINANCIAL COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER MARCH 6, 1997 CITY HALL, CONFERENCE ROOM B TOUR OF POLICE STATE A tour of the Police Station was led by Police Chief Scott Kline for interested members at 6:30 P.M. CALL TO ORDER Chair Donn Escher called the meeting to order at 7:07 P.M. in Conference Room B. ROLL CALL Present at roll call were Chair Donn Escher, Commissioners: Ned Storla, Jay Hruska, Ron Christensen, Larry Peterson, Jerry Blamey and Michael Weidner. Also present were Council Member Robert Peppe, City Manager Michael McCauley, and Finance Director Charlie Hansen. Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Commissioner Ned Storla to approve the minutes of the February 13, 1997 meeting, as amended. Commissioner Michael Weidner seconded the motion and all members voted in its favor except for Commissioner Ron Christensen who abstained from voting. • Approval of the Agenda A motion was made by Commissioner Jerry Blamey to approve the agenda for the meeting. Commissioner Jay Hruska seconded the motion and all members voted in its favor. -Update on Fire & Police building needs nlanuWg_Caital Improvements Fund Exnenditure Policv Mike McCauley reviewed the schedule for open houses at the Police and Fire stations. The existing concept for building improvements seeks to minimize the total cost while tieing the Civic Center complex together in a better fashion. There is some consideration of expanding the plan to include a new Police Station to better meet long term needs. A stand alone Police Station at a remote site incurs additional costs for phone system, copiers, MIS support, building maintenance, etc., which now are shared with the Civic Center. Changing to a stand alone Police Station would increase costs by several million dollars. This pushes the total bond issue up to the range of $7,000,000. A typical house would see a tax increase of $5.00 a month from the bond issue. However this is a 23 % increase. The City Council has decided that solutions to the Police, Fire and City Hall needs must be presented to the voters together. Review of proposed Capital Immovements Find & Reserve Fund Exnenditure Policv_ Mike McCauley discussed a draft Capital Improvements Fund Expenditure Policy and handed out a draft Reserve Fund Expenditure Policy. As presented at previous meetings, the proposal is to split the existing Capital Improvements Fund into two funds, a reserve fund with a minimum fund balance to meet catastrophic emergencies, and an improvement fund with a larger, unreserved fund balance which could be used to meet city needs. The draft Capital Improvements Fund z Expenditure Policy contained new language defining the permitted use of funds. The draft Reserve Fund Expenditure Policy was the same as was handed out at the January 9, 1997 meeting. Charlie Hansen discussed a memo which presented a staff study of the possible catastrophic events which could lead to using the money in the reserve fund. Extensive discussion of the policies and uses of funds followed. It was decided to hold this topic over to the April meeting. AWended Investment Policy This draft policy had been presented at the February 13th meeting and held over so that commissioners could have additional time to read and consider the policy. Questions were asked about who makes decisions to buy investments and if there should be review of those decisions. It was answered that the Finance Director makes investment decisions and that all transactions are reported to the City Manager monthly for review. Discussion followed about the various safe guards that are in place, both in this policy and in state law, to protect the city. Commissioner Ned Storla moved to recommend the Investment Policy, as amended at the February 13th meeting, to the City Council. Commissioner Larry Peterson seconded the motion and all members voted in its favor. Next Meeting The next meeting will be Thursday, April 3, 1997 at 7:00 P.M ADJOURNMENT • Commissioner Jay Hruska moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:00 P.M. Commissioner Ned Storla seconded the motion and all members voted in its favor. 0 3