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r COUNCIL MEETING <br />NOV 2 4 1997 <br />REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION cmroFORONO <br />DATE: November 20,1997 <br />ITEM NO:H <br />Department Approval: Administrator Reviewed: <br />Name Tom Kuehn <br />Title Finance Director <br />Agenda Section: <br />City Administrator's <br />Report <br />Item Description: <br />Request to Establish Drug Forfeiture Fund <br />For several years the City has received asset forfeitures related to controlled substances <br />(illegal drugs), usually in the form of cash. The proceeds of these forfeitures are required <br />by Minnesota statutes to be used as a supplement to law enforcement activities. The city <br />has been depositing these revenues in the General Fund, but by doing so the revenues as <br />well as any related expenditures are difficult to track. The level of revenue is impossible <br />to accurately budget, as it fluctuates a great deal from year to year. In addition <br />expenditures have usually been for one-time special projects, not directly charged to the <br />police department budget, but netted against revenue. <br />It is staffs recommendation that the City establish a Special Revenue Fund, effective <br />January 1, 1997, to be identified as the Drug/Felony Forfeiture Fund, which will be used <br />to account for all revenues received as the result of cash and property seized relating to <br />drug and/or felony type criminal activity, donations received specifically for the police <br />department, or such other revenues as may be appropnate or authorized from time to <br />time, and all authorized related expenditures. As this will be a Special Revenue Fund an <br />annual budget will be required, revenues will be budgeted conservatively, and <br />expenditure requests not in the original budget will require Council approval for the <br />expenditure and budget amendment, if necessary. <br />As of January 1, 1997, the unused balance in the account is $8,347.18, revenues received <br />to date in 1997 are $2,476.44, and expenditures to date in 1997 are $26.20. The revenue <br />and expenditures will be reallocated from the General Fund to the Drug/Felony Forfeiture <br />Fund, with corresponding budget amendments. To establish the balance as of January 1, <br />1997 in the Drug/Felony Forfeiture Fund will require an operating transfer out, and <br />budget amendment, from the General Fund and a corresponding operating transfer in, and <br />budget amendn ent, to the Drug/Felony Forfeiture Fund.