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DRAFT Comprehensive Fire Service Study MEDINA, MINNESOTA <br /> <br />Matrix Consulting Group Page 72 <br />cities involved in the joint powers agreement will remain as partners throughout the <br />duration of the agreement. <br /> <br />2 Governance <br /> <br />There is no specific requirement for the establishment of a Board of Directors for or <br />through the joint powers agreement. This would require the existing governance to remain <br />intact to manage the organizations as they currently exist. Assuming the agreement would <br />create a common administrative structure for the overall management of the districts, this <br />could prove to be problematic as each governing Board could provide opposing views <br />and direction to the administrative officers. <br /> <br />A joint board is required to be established if the power to issue bonds or obligations is <br />granted to the joint venture. The joint board must be composed solely of members of the <br />governing bodies of the governmental units that established the joint board. The statute <br />also does not allow the joint board to pledge any taxing power of any of the governmental <br />units establishing the joint board. <br /> <br />The fire agency created by a joint powers agreement does not have any taxing authority <br />but will be expending funds based on the budgets from the various participating cities and <br />potentially hiring staff; a joint board should be established to provide appropriate oversight <br />and control. <br /> <br />3 Financial Resources <br /> <br />There are two financial items that will need to be addressed concerning financial <br />resources. Operating funds are those funds that will be used for the daily operations of <br />the fire district and the capital improvement funds to ensure the fire district has t he <br />physical resources to deliver the desired level of service. <br /> <br />The formula for funding allocation can take any form desirable by the parties involved. <br />The current process is for the fire department to submit a budget for approval with the <br />City of Medina. Contributions from the City are then based on the market value of the <br />property protected and hours expended on calls for service. In this formula, 70% of the <br />contribution is based on the market value and 30% is based on the hours expended on <br />calls for service. While there are other mechanisms to use for the calculation, this <br />calculation has been agreed upon by the parties currently involved in contractually <br />providing service. <br />