HomeMy WebLinkAboutBudget/Finance Committee Minutes 07.13.2021Minutes of City of Laurel
Budget/Finance Committee
Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Members Present: Emelie Eaton Bruce McGee
Richard Klose Scot Stokes
Others Present: Bethany Langve, Clerk/Treasurer
The meeting was called to order by the Committee Chair at 5:OOpm.
Public Input: Citizens may address the committee regarding any item of business that is not on the
agenda. The duration, for an individual speaking under Public Input is limited to three minutes. While
all comments are welcome, the committee will not take action on any item not on the agenda.
There was no public input.
General Items —
1. Review and approve the June 22, 2021 Budget and Finance Committee meeting minutes.
Richard Klose moved to approve the minutes of the June 22, 2021 Budget and Finance
Committee meeting. Scot Stokes seconded the motion, all in favor, motion passed.
2. Review and Approve purchase requisition increase for the replacement of the transit bus engine.
The original purchase requisition needed to be increased by $641.73. Richard Klose made a
motion to approve the increase to the original purchase requisition replacing the transit bus
engine. Scot Stokes seconded the motion, all in favor, motion passed.
3. Review and recommend approval to Council, Claims entered through 07/09/2021. The claims
and check register had previously been reviewed by the Committee. There was a question
regarding a one -thousand -dollar payment to Laurel Ford. The Clerk/Treasurer explained it was
the down payment for the Ford Escape. Richard Klose made a motion to approve the claims
entered through 07/09/2021. Scot Stokes seconded the motion, all in favor, motion passed.
4. Review and approve Payroll Register for pay period ending 06/27/2021 totaling $230,129.97.
The Committee asked why this payroll was greater than previous payrolls. The Clerk/Treasurer
explained this payroll included Union 303 saved holiday payouts, comp time payouts, and
uniform allowance pay. Bruce McGee made a motion to recommend approval of the payroll
register for pay period ending 06/27/2021 totaling $230,129.97. Emelie Eaton seconded the
motion, all in favor, motion passed.
5. Review and approve the June 2021 Utility Billing Adjustments. The Committee reviewed the
June 2021 Utility Billing Adjustments and had no comments or questions. Emelie Eaton made a
motion to approve the June 2021 Utility Billing Adjustments. Bruce McGee seconded the
motion, all in favor, motion passed.
New Business —
6. Discussion regarding having Budget and Finance Meetings every Tuesday. The Committee
asked if we always must meet four extra hours a month? The Committee discussed extending
meetings when needed but they would need to be published. Workshops would provide the
Committee with more topics to discuss during the extra meetings. The Committee would like to
be able to fully explain and understand the budget and all finance topics. The Committee asked
if the 5t" Tuesdays would still be off, and the answer is yes. The Committee decided to continue
to meet every second and fourth Tuesday at 5:00pm and see how that goes. If there is a need to
increase the meetings, the Committee will discuss it again at that time.
7. The Committee and the Clerk/Treasurer had a discussion regarding the Tax Increment Finance
(TIF) District funds. The Committee wanted to know if the TIF District could help provide
funding for the rebuilding of West Railroad. The Clerk/Treasurer stated the TIF District could
help provide funding for West Railroad through the taxes received by the district annually, or the
TIF District could take out another bond. The bond would need to be paid off at the same time
as the current TIF District bond payoff date.
8. The Committee discussed the funding options for West Railroad. The Clerk/Treasurer stated the
potential funding options are Street Maintenance assessments, Street Maintenance bonding, TIF
District assessments, TIF District bonding, ARPA direct allocation funds, ARPA minimum
allocation funds, water funds, and sewer funds. The Committee asked if the company who
bought Schessler is staying there, and the answer is no.
Old Business —
9. Discussion regarding meal pay and drill pay resolutions. The Clerk/Treasurer stated the meal
pay would now be under the line item in the Fire Department budget, and this was discussed with
the Fire Chief during budget talks. There was no update on the drill pay resolution since the
Mayor was not in attendance.
10. Discussion regarding the Cemetery parking lot. The Committee stated this process was waiting
on the City Attorney.
Other Items —
11. Review the Pay Period Ending 06/27/2021 Comp/Overtime Report. There were no comments or
questions regarding the report.
12. Clerk/Treasurer Update — The Clerk/Treasurer stated the City staff were working on putting in
four competitive ARPA grants. She also stated the auditors would be arriving in February to do
the annual audit. The Committee asked if it was time to get a new auditor. The Clerk/Treasurer
states once this contract was up, the City could certainly advertise for a new auditing contract if
that was what desired. The Committee stated there were pros and cons to a new auditing team
and the Clerk/Treasurer agreed with that. She stated the current auditors were amazing and
incredibly helpful and knowledgeable.
13. Mayor Update — The Mayor was not in attendance.
Announcements —
14. The next Budget and Finance Committee meeting will be held on July 27, 2021 at 5:00pm.
15. Scot Stokes will be reviewing the claims for the next meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
BeIm
Clerk/Treasurer
NOTE: This meeting is open to the public. This meeting is for information and discussion of the Council for the
listed workshop agenda items.