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Home My WebLink About1993 11-30 FCA0 AGENDA BROOKLYN CENTER FINANCIAL COMMISSION November 30, 1993 City Hall Council Chambers 1. Call to Order: 7:00 P.M. 2. Roll call. 3. Approval of Minutes: November 16, 1993 4. Staff Reports: a. Policy and Procedure on Mayor and Council Member Total Compensation. 5. Proposed 1994 Annual Budget. 6. Adjournment: 9:00 P.M. • • . FINCOMM\MIN11193 MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE FINANCIAL COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER NOVEMBER 16, 1993 BROOKLYN CENTER CITY HALL, CONFERENCE ROOM A CALL TO ORDER Chair Donn Escher called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. in the City Hall Conference Room A. ROLL CALL Present at roll call were Chair Donn Escher, Commissioners: Denis Kelly, Ulyssess Boyd, Viola Kanatz, Larry Peterson and Ned Storla. Also present were City Manager Gerald Splinter, Administrative Intern Todd Peterson, and Finance Director Charlie Hansen. ADDroval of Minutes A motion was made by Commissioner Viola Kanatz to approve the minutes of the September 28, 1993 meeting. Commissioner Denis Kelly seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Capital Improvements Fund Expenditure Policv Denis Kelly reported that the policy had been presented to the City Council on November 8, 1993. The Council voiced concerns about the requirement for a four-fifths vote in some situations and if the policy would limit the City's actions in an emergency. It was also noted that one member of the Council wasn't present and a policy such as this should be voted on by the full Council. The Council decided to keep the policy in mind as they consider the 1994 budget and then vote on the policy in January 1994. Independent Auditor 1993 contract and 1994 Reauest for Drouosals Charlie Hansen reported that the City's three year contract with the firm Deloitte & Touche had expired and the City Council had expressed an interest in going out for a request for proposals (RFP). The staff had explained that it was very late to be starting a RFP for the upcoming audit. So a one year extension has been negotiated with Deloitte and the City Council has directed that a RFP be done next summer for audit services. Denis Kelly noted that Deloitte has great expertise and that is important in auditing. More than price must be considered when evaluating RFPs. Reinventina aovernment. communitarianism. and mandates Jerry Splinter presented an article that appeared in the League of Minnesota Cities magazine. It provides a contrasting viewpoint to the current rage for reinventing government. The article makes the case that government isn't like business and in many cases the existing operations are the best way to deliver services. is • Policv and Procedure on Mavor and Council Member Total Compensation Donn Escher reported that this policy had been finalized in early 1993, but not submitted to the City Council. A Council member recently asked about setting their salaries for the 1995/1996 period which drew our attention back to this policy. There were no further changes to the policy recommended and it was decided to submit it to the City Council on November 22. Oraanizational Evaluation Process Gerald Splinter presented the draft report titled "Suburban City Management Study", comparing the City of Brooklyn Center to other similarly sized inner ring suburbs. He and Todd Peterson, who wrote the report, explained the contents and purpose of each section of the report. Although the data showed Brooklyn Center to have an average number of employees for an inner ring suburb, it does nothing to determine if the suburbs have too many, too few, or the right number of employees. Todd concluded that the report doesn't measure the efficiency of the suburbs and it would be difficult, if not impossible to do so, given the purpose of government to provide services, not production of goods. Donn Escher asked if managers should be separated from supervisors. Vi Kanatz stated that Liquor and Earle Brown Heritage Center shouldn't be excluded even though most other suburbs don't have them to compare to. Requests were also made for per capita, per housing unit, and per commercial unit data to be added to the table • comparing expenditures by city. Jerry Splinter replied that these requests would be met in the form of additional tables rather than by changing the ones in the report. Denis Kelly made the observation that Brooklyn Center is the Garrison Keilor of cities, incredibly average in all respects. The Commission concluded from the information in the report that Brooklyn Center is not out of line with its spending and staffing compared to similar suburban communities. The State of Minnesota CORE study appears to validate this conclusion. The Finance Commission complimented Todd Peterson for his work on the report. Truth in Taxation Notices Gerald Splinter presented a memo from city assessor Mark Parish detailing the effects of the tax increase in the Proposed 1994 Budget. Total tax rates will decline in two school districts while increasing in two others. The city's proposed tax levy will produce the highest tax rate among the suburbs we compare to. Council Liaison Dave Rosene arrived at 8:45 P.M. • . Proposed 1994 Annual Budget Gerald Splinter presented the Proposed 1994 Annual Budget. He reviewed the most significate budget factors as contained in the letter of transmittal. The City Council has asked for a list of possible cuts which would produce no growth in total city spending for 1994. Jerry said he would provide this list to the Financial Commission also. The Commission endorsed this and decided to meet again to draft their own list of cuts to submit to the City Council. Next Meetina The next meeting will be Tuesday, November 30, 1993 at 7:00 P.M. ADJOURNMENT At 9:30 P.M. there was a motion by Commissioner Ned Storla and seconded by Commissioner Vi Kanatz to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously. • 0 Council Goal: Reduce expenditures in 1994 Proposed General Fund Debt Service and EDA/HRA Budgets to achieve a zero increase over 1993 expenditures (must cut 1994 Proposed Budget by $156,535) POTENTIAL 1994 PROPOSED BUDGET REDUCTIONS 1. Copying Machine (Unallocated) The Council will recall at their last meeting, because our current machine is virtually inoperable, you authorized the purchase of this equipment out of the 1993 budget, so it can be cut from the 1994 budget $28,000 2. Reduce General Fund Contingency (from $277,627) $17,500 3. Reduce Community Center Replacement Equipment (from $6,000) $2,000 4. Eliminate Community Band Appropriation $2,700 5. Eliminate E-Mail and Scheduling Software $521 6. Eliminate Disaster Recovery Analysis from Data Processing $15,000 7. Eliminate the Civil Defense Weather Unit $2,700 • 8. Eliminate Photocopier Feeder from the Police Budget $1,200 9. Eliminate Paper Shredder from Police Budget $2,750 10. Eliminate D.A.R.E Van Back Seat $700 11. Reduce GIS Software from the Data Processing Budget (from $32,000) $15,000 12. Reduce Entertainment in the Parks (from $26,985) $4,000 13. Reduce Police Minor Equipment (from $12,701) $6,000 14. Reduce EDA Contingency Fund (from $20,000) $10,000 15. Eliminate Folding Chairs from Fire Department Budget $2,080 16. Eliminate Aluminum Tables from Fire Department Budget $2,500 17. Cut Workers' Compensation Insurance Costs (we just received notice of a potential savings in next year's rates - a significant portion to this savings I believe is attributable to the efforts of our employee Safety Committee) $50,000 0 $162.651