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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFinance 09-10-1996ST. CROIX COUNTY NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETING TO: Robert M. Boche, Chair St. Croix County Board FROM: Donald Brown, Chair COMMITTEE TITLE: FINANCE DATE: September 10, 1996 9:00 A.M. **NOTE DATE CHANGE** Budget Review Sessions; September 24 & 25 at 9:00 A.M. LOCATION: St. Croix County Government Center' CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL ADOPTION OF AGENDA DATE OF NEXT MEETING: * October 9, 1996 ACTION ON PREVIOUS MINUTES UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Review of Vouchers NEW BUSINESS: 1. Citizen Input 2. Election of Committee Secretary 3. Administrative Coordinator A. Update on Impact of City of Hudson Utilities 4. Finance Director A. Preliminary Budget Report 5. Discussion on Perch Lake Purchase Agreement 6. Contingency Fund Transfer to Purchase Hardware and Software for a Tax Collection System and Real Property System 7. Corporation Counsel A. Town of Hudson and Village of North Hudson's Decision on Library Funding 8. Closed Session per WI Statute 19.85 (1) (g) to Confer with Legal Counsel Regarding Alice, Inc. vs. St. Croix County (Large Assembly Ordinance) 9. Reconvene to Open Session per WI Statute 19.85 (2) *10. Request for St. Croix County to Sponsor a Community Block Grant by Tom O'Connell 9:15 A.M. *11. Appointment by Finance Committee Chair of an Ad Hoc Committee to Review All County Insurances *12. Request by Library Services Board for a Line Item Transfer to Purchase Computer Equipment *13. Ag Building Update 14. Tour of Tax Deed Property POSSIBLE AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING: ADJOURNMENT (Agenda not necessarily presented in this order) DATE: 8/26/96, 9/4/96 COPIES TO: County Board Office News Media/Notice Board County Clerk County Board County Departments *ADDITIONS/CHANGES/CORRECTIONS ST. CROIX COUNTY NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETING TO: Robert M. Boche, Chair St. Croix County Board FROM: Donald Brown, Chair COMMITTEE TITLE: FINANCE DATE: September 10, 1996 9:00 A.M. **NOTE DATE CHANGE** Budget Review Sessions: September 24 & 25 at 9:00 A.M. LOCATION: St. Croix County Government Center CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL ADOPTION OF AGENDA DATE OF NEXT MEETING: October 10, 1996 ACTION ON PREVIOUS MINUTES UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Review of Vouchers NEW BUSINESS: 1. Citizen Input 2. Election of Committee Secretary 3. Administrative Coordinator A. Update on Impact of City of Hudson Utilities 4. Finance Director A. Preliminary Budget Report 5. Discussion on Perch Lake Purchase Agreement 6. Contingency Fund Transfer to Purchase Hardware and Software for a Tax Collection System and Real Property System 7. Corporation Counsel A. Town of Hudson and Village of North Hudson's Decision on Library Funding 8. Closed Session per WI Statute 19.85 (1) (g) to Confer with Legal Counsel Regarding Alice, Inc. vs. St. Croix County (Large Assembly Ordinance) 9. Reconvene to Open Session per WI Statute 19.85 (2) 10. Tour of Tax Deed Property *11. Appointment by Finance Committee Chair of an Ad Hoc Committee to Review All County Insurances *12. Request by Library Services Board for a Line Item Transfer to Purchase Computer Equipment *13. Ag Building Update POSSIBLE AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING: ADJOURNMENT (Agenda not necessarily presented in this order) DATE: 8/26/96, 9/4/96 COPIES TO: County Board Office News Media/Notice Board County Clerk County Board County Departments *ADDITIONS/CHANGES/CORRECTIONS ST. CROIX COUNTY NOTICE OF COMMITTEE MEETING TO: Robert M. Boche, Chair St. Croix County Board FROM: Donald Brown, Chair COMMITTEE TITLE: FINANCE DATE: September 10, 1996 9:00 A.M. **NOTE DATE CHANGE** Budget Review Sessions: September 24 & 25 at 9:00 A.M. LOCATION: St. Croix County Government Center CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL ADOPTION OF AGENDA DATE OF NEXT MEETING: October 10, 1996 ACTION ON PREVIOUS MINUTES UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Review of Vouchers NEW BUSINESS: 1. Citizen Input 2. Election of Committee Secretary 3. Administrative Coordinator A. Update on Impact of City of Hudson Utilities 4. Finance Director A. Preliminary Budget Report 5. Discussion on Perch Lake Purchase Agreement 6. Contingency Fund Transfer to Purchase Hardware and Software for a Tax Collection System and Real Property System 7. Corporation Counsel A. Town of Hudson and Village of North Hudson's Decision on Library Funding 8. Closed Session per WI Statute 19.85 (1) (g) to Confer with Legal Counsel Regarding Alice, Inc. vs. St. Croix County (Large Assembly Ordinance) 9. Reconvene to Open Session per WI Statute 19.85 (2) 10. Tour of Tax Deed Property POSSIBLE AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING: ADJOURNMENT (Agenda not necessarily presented in this order) DATE: 8/26/96 COPIES TO: County Board Office News Media/Notice Board County Clerk County Board County Departments *ADDITIONS/CHANGES/CORRECTIONS FINANCE COMMITTEE Regular Session September 10, 1996 Meeting called to order by Chair Brown at 9:00 a.m. Members present: Don Brown, John Bradley, Tom O'Connell, Tom Dorsey and Robert Boche. Staff present: Administrative Coordinator John Krizek, Finance Director Rich Loney, Corporation Counsel Greg Timmerman and County Clerk Sue Nelson. Others present: Suprs. Luckey, Raymond, King, Giese, Irwin, and Horne; members of the press and visitors. Chair Brown extended a welcome to committee members Tom Dorsey and Tom O'Connell and said he is looking forward to working with them. Motion by Bradley, 2nd by Boche to approve the August minutes. Carried. Motion by Bradley, 2nd by Boche to adopt the agenda. Carried. Next regular meeting is scheduled for October 9th. A special Finance Meeting is called for Friday, September 13, 9:00 am. at the Government Center. At this meeting the Library Study Report will be reviewed and equity in the library levy discussed. Election of Committee Secretary: Boche nominated Tom O'Connell; there were no other nominations and a unanimous ballot was cast for O'Connell as secretary. Administrative Coordinator: John Krizek noted union negotiations have begun. The contract with the City of Hudson for extension of water and sewer calls for an approximate $274,000 payment over five years from the county. The county will get some credits and there will be no further impact fees. Corporation Counsel Greg Timmerman asked if the county would get credit for the lift station installed just for the Government Center and for which the county paid $122,000 of the $136,000 total cost. The developer will now hook up to the lift station. Chair requested a report on the contract at the October meeting after further negotiations and firm figures are determined. Request for County to Sponsor a Community Block Grant: O'Connell explained there is block grant money available for a new business that wishes to locate in New Richmond. He introduced St. Croix County Economic Development Director Bill Rubin who advised this business is a $1.2 million project and $100,000 is available from the Community Development Block Grant. The City of New Richmond has reached the limit of funds they can administer from this grant. St. Croix County could administer this block grant which would be paid off in seven years and then start a revolving loan fund to other businesses. This offer expires on September 28, 1996. Chair Brown indicated the Finance Committee discussed this two years ago and believes this would require the Committee to become bankers. This is not a project to make a decision on in 15 minutes, research needs to be done and we do not know the financial 1 situation of the company. Bradley commented people involved in agriculture cannot borrow money at 4% interest in order to expand their operations. Rita Horne, Hudson Town Chair, has had success in operating this loan program. It is not as difficult to administer as it sounds and West Central Regional Planning has assisted the Town. The Department of Commerce checks and verifies the financial status of companies applying for block grant loans. Committee members recommended getting the deadline extended and review this request at a later time. Library Request for Line Item Transfer to Purchase Computer Equipment: Library Director Maureen Farrell reported the County Library has three older personal computers which are DOS based as opposed to Windows. They need to be upgraded to be faster and to access the Internet. The line item transfer for $5000 is proposed to purchase two computers with Windows and two new modems. Ethel McLaughlin, member of the Library Board, said it is difficult to provide library services to the county with older, used equipment. The Library Board voted to use salary savings to purchase this new equipment. Tom Irwin, County Board representative on the Library Board, noted he was a dissenting voter on this request, not because he is against the library, but because there is no plan in place for cost savings. Irwin indicated the libraries in the county are below standard for book collections on hand and thought the money could be better spent for collection development. He also recommended not spending the dollars until the library situation is solved. This item was postponed until the special September 13 meeting. Aq Building Update: Ron Raymond reported the Federal Ag. agencies are requesting bids for a new building within a 3 mile radius of Baldwin. The bid package includes space for county agencies. After bids are received, a decision will be made as to the feasibility of the county offices renting space in the new building. A final decision will be made in March with a planned August 1997 move date. Raymond noted equipment, desks and machinery are shared between County and Federal agencies. Perch Lake Purchase Agreement: Raymond stated Tom and Donna Seim wish to sell their property (67 A.) to the County to be maintained as a County Park. This parcel covers 2/3 of the Lakeshore frontage on Perch Lake. The water level is up 16 feet; therefore, the beach and road are now under water. The option to purchase offers $355,000 for the property and an easement for a road has been negotiated with Lloyd Waldroff with the provision the County would build an access road 3/4 mile long. County Planner Ellen Denzer said the $355,00 would be paid over a five year period at about 6.850-. interest. A $100,000 down payment 2 is required and the option expires on September 20, 1996. DNR will provide 500 or more cost sharing and "Homestead Parklands" must be included in the park's name. Denzer indicated total cost to the County would be $208,600. Development phases were outlined and staffing costs are estimated at $40,000 per year. Dorsey commented many hours have been spent on this project by the Planning, Zoning and Parks Committee and the Planning Dept. staff. Chair Brown commented we need to budget about $50,000 ($100,000 minus DNR cost sharing) to get the project started. The County owns 1100 A in St. Croix County. One option would be to sell some of these assets, for example, Kinnickinnic forest land. Position Statement: Motion by Bradley, 2nd by Dorsey that the Finance Committee concluded that the Perch Lake project is financially viable if it is done in the proposed phases and with DNR cost -sharing; and this position is neither an endorsement nor rejection of the proposal. Carried. Corporation Counsel: Greg Timmerman stated the Town of Hudson's and Village of North Hudson's request for exemption from the county library levy is legal and valid in his opinion. An application for exemption has been made to the County Board and the Board has to grant the exemption. Timmerman advised if a Town or Village contributes money to a library, they cannot withdraw; however, a Contract for Services is a legal means of withdrawal from the levy. Motion by Boche, 2nd by Bradley to approve Town of Hudson Contract for Services and Village of No. Hudson's upon signing. Carried. Ad Hoc Committee to Review County Insurances: Brown said he has received several requests from Supervisors but at this time it will be taken off the agenda and addressed later. Contingency Fund Transfer for Tax Collection and Real Property System: Krizek stated the Information Services Committee voted to purchase a software tax collection program used in over 30 counties in the state. County Treasurer Mary Jean Livermore said a new system would allow the Treasurer's office to collect first half taxes for municipalities starting in 1998. This system would also offer on-line receipting. Motion by O'Connell, 2nd by Bradley to approve up to $35,000 from the Contingency Fund for software and hardware for tax collection and real property system. Supr. Horne commented that property sold during the year is updated on the tax system, notification is not made to new owners and this results in delinquent tax charges. Raymond said the Information Services Comm. believes the hardware would be usable for 10 years and the software good for five years. Carried. Finance Director: Rich Loney is in the process of preparing the 3 budget books for distribution to Finance members on September 13. At this time total revenues and expenditures are not known. Closed Session Regarding Alice, Inc. vs. St.Croix County: Motion to move into closed session by Bradley, 2nd by Boche. Roll call vote: all yes. Administrative Coordinator, Finance Director, Corporation Counsel, County Clerk and Suprs. Horne, Giese, King and Luckey were present in closed session. Motion by O'Connell, 2nd by Bradley to reconvene to open session. Carried. Action from closed session: Motion by Bradley, 2nd by Dorsey to sponsor a joint Resolution with Public Protection Committee recommending the Large Assembly Ordinance be repealed and refund any fees paid for applications. Carried. Motion by O'Connell, 2nd by Boche to adjourn. Meeting adjourned at Z4�a"s. M. i��ic 1 Secretar y 0