MINUTES

FINANCE COMMITTEE

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

City Hall, Room 604

5:30 p.m.

MEMBERS PRESENT: Chairman John VanderLeest, Vice Chairman Tony Theisen, Tom Weber, and Steven Deneys

MEMBERS EXCUSED: None

OTHERS PRESENT: Doug Daul, Dawn Foeller, Judge Hanson, Chief Arts, Chief Roemer

1. Roll Call.

Roll Call was taken, and all were present.

2. Approval of the Agenda.

A motion was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to approve the Agenda.

3. Approval of the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting of September 23, 2008.

A motion was made by Ald. Deneys, seconded by Ald. Weber, and carried to approve the minutes of the Finance Committee meeting of September 23, 2008.

4. Report by the Municipal Judge on cost overrun for the 2008 Board of Prisoners budget appropriation.

Municipal Court Judge Hanson came before the Committee to explain the overage in his account for costs of jail fees. Judge Hanson has changed the process for issuing warrants, and he has decreased the number of outstanding warrants. He expects the revenue for fines to offset the excess costs for jail fees. He presented data on jail costs, warrants, and fines.

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Theisen, and carried to receive and place on file the report by the Municipal Judge on cost overrun for the 2008 Board of Prisoners budget appropriation.

5. Request by the Police Chief for funding for the mandatory radio rebanding project in Brown County.

Police Chief Arts and Fire Chief Roemer appeared before the Committee to explain the mandatory rebanding of the City’s 800 MHz radios. By replacing the radios now, the City will save over $500,000 from what the equipment will cost in 2012.

A motion was made by Ald. Deneys to allow $27,481 from Contingency for the purchase of the radios for the Brown County radio rebanding project. It was seconded by Ald. Theisen, and carried.

6. Request by Ald. VanderLeest for the Mayor to hold property taxes down for the City at current levels.

Ald. VanderLeest addressed the Committee about his conversation with the Mayor regarding holding taxes down, especially in the light of current economic conditions.

A motion was made by Ald. Weber, seconded by Ald. Deneys, and carried to receive and place on file the request by Ald. VanderLeest for the Mayor to hold property taxes down for the City at current levels.

7. Overtime Report.

Comptroller Foeller noted that the City is tracking close to budget. She noted that some departments still have outstanding contracts from 2007 – 2008 and additional charges will be made against their budgets when those contracts settle. DPW Director Carl Weber stated he hopes that the Dept. of Public Works will allocate overtime on snow removal efforts this winter as they did at the end of last year.

A motion was made by Ald. Theisen, seconded by Ald. Deneys, and carried to receive and place on file the report on Overtime.

8. Budget Status Report.

Comptroller Foeller pointed out line items of interest in both the revenue and expenditure budgets.

A motion was made by Ald. Deneys and seconded by Ald. Theisen to receive and place on file the Budget Status Report.

9. Finance Director’s Report:

a. Mr. Daul informed the Committee that the State will consider lending money for the Younkers borrowing and the Honeywell/fiber optic project. After discussion with the City’s Financial Advisor, it was decided to postpone the bond issues for these projects and complete an application for a State Trust Fund loan.

A motion to adjourn was made by Ald. Weber and seconded by Ald. Theisen. Motion carried, and the meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.

2008 CONTINGENCY FUND

$76,946.52

Any person wishing to attend who, because of a disability, requires special accommodation should contact the Mayor’s office at 448-3005 at least 24 hours before the scheduled meeting time so that arrangements can be made.

Please take notice that it is possible that additional members of the Council may attend this committee meeting, resulting in a majority or quorum of the Common Council. This may constitute a meeting of the Common Council for purposes of discussion and information gathering relative to this agenda.