07-13-2015 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, July 13, 2015 7:00 o'clock p.m. Printup asked Senator Osmek to provide some highlights of the work that was done in trying to reformat the Metropolitan Council. Osmek stated he was hopeful they would have made some progress on that item this past session but that unfortunately did not happen. Osmek stated in his view there does need to be a restructuring of the Metropolitan Council and that the plan is to try and get them to have some responsibility to the local elected officials. Osmek stated he would like the representatives on the Council to have to come to the cities and present their qualifications. Osmek noted the representative assigned to the Orono area has been there for five or six years but has not yet spoken to the Orono City Council. Osmek indicated the bill requiring the representatives be elected by the various City Councils was not successful but that there are three counties that are going to the federal level with the position that the Metropolitan Council does not have the authority to be the receiver of federal funds. Osmek indicated he will continue to work on that issue 5. 2014 COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT Michelle Hoffman, Financial Manager with Clifton, Larson, Allen, provided an overview of the 2014 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Hoffman stated under required communications, it should be noted that the audit provides reasonable but not absolute assurance. No new accounting policies were adopted in 2014 but there are significant accounting estimates in place to look at the useful lives of capital assets, valuation of investments, and post -employment benefits. Hoffman noted they received full cooperation from city management on the audit. Orono received a clean opinion on the financial statements, which is the best opinion that can be received. Two exceptions were noted on internal controls relating to preparation of financial statements and segregation of duties, which is something that has been noted in the past. Hoffman indicated that is not unusual for a city the size of Orono. There was one exception noted to the City's legal compliance related to the prompt payment of bills. Hoffman stated out of 25 disbursements that were tested, one was paid past the state deadline of 35 days. Hoffman stated as it relates to the financial results, the City's General Fund increased by approximately $500,000. Hoffman indicated there was no specific reason for that increase and the majority of the revenues received by the City come from property taxes, followed by user fees, licenses and permits, and then intergovernmental transfers. Expenditures remained consistent in 2014 with the prior year. Governmental funds remained very steady from the prior year as well; although, it is slightly less than 2013. Future debt service is projected to decrease in 2015, remain steady in 2016, and then decrease in 2017 and 2018. Hoffman noted in a tax rate comparison between the City of Orono, neighboring cities, the state-wide average, and the metro city population, Orono's tax rate was the lowest. Hoffman stated Orono has a very low tax rate especially in comparison to the state-wide average. Page 4 of 28