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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996 09-19 FCMMINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE FINANCIAL COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER SEPTEMBER 19, 1996 CITY HALL, CONFERENCE ROOM B CALL TO ORDER Chair Donn Escher called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. in Conference Room B. ROLL CAI ,L Present at roll call were Chair Donn Escher, Commissioners: Lee Anderson, Jay Hruska, and Ron Christensen. Also present were Council Member Kathleen Carmody, City Manager Michael McCauley, and Finance Director Charlie Hansen. Commissioners Ned Storla and Larry Peterson were excused. Commissioner Phillip Roche was unexcused. Approval of Minutes Donn Escher noted a correction to the draft minutes. A motion was made by Commissioner Jay Hruska to approve the minutes of the August 13, 1996 meeting as corrected. Chair Donn Escher seconded the motion and all members voted in its favor except for Commissioners Lee Anderson and Ron Christensen abstained from voting. Facilities Tour Scott Kline, Chief of Police, led the Financial Commission on a tour of the Police Station. Discussion of the Status of the FinaU~Lial Commission Donn Escher distributed minutes of a July 15, 1996 City Council work session at which there had been discussion of whether the Financial Commission should continue as such or be changed to a task force. Extensive discussion followed on the purpose, workload, and benefits of having a Financial Commission verses a task force. Consensus was reached that the City should continue to have a Financial Commission. Re nest for Proposals for Banking and Financial Services Charlie Hansen explained that proposals had been solicited from all banks with offices in Brooklyn Center. First Bank, Norwest Bank, and Marquette Bank had responded. Staff had disqualified First Bank immediately, because we had heard, and First Bank had confirmed, that they were closing their branch office in Brooklyn Center as of October 1, 1996. The banks had been given the opportunity to propose no interest/no fee service, interest bearing/fee charging account, or any other arrangement that they wished. Initial analysis indicated that the proposals for an account which would pay interest on the cash balance in the account and charge fees for the transaction activity would be most beneficial to the City. Norwest's proposal at first appeared to have an advantage because of lower fees on many transactions and higher interest on the cash balance. However the detail analysis showed that Norwest had some charges which Marquette didn't have, the most significant being a collateral charge, which made their proposal more expensive. Staff still wanted to do some additional • analysis to prove out Marquette's proposal, but unless that analysis had results different from what was expected, we are recommending that the City continue its business at Marquette Bank. A motion was made by Commissioner Ron Christensen to recommend the Marquette Bank to the City Council provided this is supported by staff's analysis. Commissioner Jay Hruska seconded • the motion and all members voted in its favor. Review of Canital Improvements Fund Expenditure Policv Mike McCauley reported that the City's capital and infrastructure needs include remodeling the Fire Stations at a cost of about $3,500,000, and expanding the Police Station. Moving the City Hall to a new addition attached to the upper level of the Community Center and expanding the Police Station upstairs may be the most economical approach while also solving problems with the building entrances. Study of this hasn't progressed very far, but it might cost about $3,000,000 for the total of 6 to 7 million dollars. Mike is concerned that bonding for the total would be too much for the tax levy so he is considering bonding for half and paying for the other half from cash in the Capital Improvements Fund. This fund has a cash balance of about $4.6 million, but using the amount he is talking about would require modifying the Capital Improvements Fund Expenditure Policy. Extensive discussion followed on the advisability of submitting on part of the building package to the voters in a referendum while paying for part of it in cash and on the history of Capital Improvement Fund expenditures and the fund's need for a cash balance. A consensus was reached that there is a need to address the City's building needs and that the Capital Improvement Fund should play some part in financing it. The staff was requested to study the possibilities further and report at the next meeting. Next Meeting, The next meeting will be Thursday, November 14, 1996 at 7:00 P.M. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Commissioner Ron Christensen to adjourn the meeting at 9:20 P.M. Commissioner Lee Anderson seconded the motion and all members voted in its favor.