City Commission Finance Meeting
Valley City, North Dakota
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
2:30 PM
Called to Order
President Carlsrud called the meeting to order at 2:30 PM.
Roll Call
Members present: President Carlsrud, Commissioner Bishop, Commissioner Magnuson, Commissioner Erickson, Commissioner Gulmon
Other present: City Administrator Crawford, City Attorney Martineck, Finance Director Klein, Police Chief Horner, Administrative Assistant Hintz
Agenda Items
GovCard for City Hall, Police Department & Court.
Finance Director Klein shared the need to be able to take credit card payments in the Auditor’s Department. GovCard is a solution that several cities are using. It is a no cost, secure solution to this need. Commissioner Gulmon asked that local financial establishments be given a chance to offer their solution. Klein will reach out & bring quotes to the next meeting.
Annexation of Woodland.
City Administrator Crawford discussed who this would affect and what the benefits to those involved would be. The consensus of the Commission was to start moving forward with this process.
PFP Buyout of 512 E Main.
Discussion was had on the proposed buyout of 512 East Main and the plans on how to proceed with this purchase. City Administrator Crawford recommends moving forward. The Commission agrees.
2025 Board Meeting Schedule.
Finance Director Klein went over the proposed meeting schedule for the 2025 Finance and Commission meetings. This will be added to the 11/19/24 Commission Agenda for final approval.
2023 Audit Report by Brady Martz
Matt Laughlin with Brady Martz and Associates, PC, shared the findings of the 2023 Auditor’s Report. The audit was completed in accordance with the auditing standards in the United States of America. The Commission felt that the audit went well and thanked Finance Director Klein and her Department for their work.
Department Reports
Sanitation Department
Sanitation Supervisor Swart reported that all is going well in her Department at the moment. Container placement has been going well.
Water Department
Water Superintendent Hesch reported that water usage is trending down which is normal as we head into winter & cooler weather.
Electric Department
Electrical Superintendent Senf reported 4 outages last month, 3 were due to squirrels. His Department is keeping busy with completing projects around Valley City.
Fire Department
Fire Chief Magnuson went over his Calls for October. His Department has been on a few tough calls recently and he thanks them for everything that they do.
Police Department
Police Chief Horner went over his Calls for Service Report. He shared that the Police Department was awarded a grant to cover the upgrades needed on security at both the Police Department & the Water Treatment Plant. Chief Horner also shared the activities around town that his Squad has been participating in.
Street Department
Operations Supervisor Klemisch reported that all hydrants should be flushed as well as 245 of the 300 nodes that need replacing are completed. Sand trucks are ready to go when needed. Street cleaning is continuing.
Administration
Administrator Crawford told the Commission that The City did receive a signed copy for the buyout property at 231 9th Ave NE. They agreed to the terms as determined by the Commission. This process has been started. Administrator Crawford reported that there are 57 remaining properties for the PFP Buyouts. Letters were mailed to those property owners this week. Lead line letters are also being mailed, they will go out when billing does to save on costs. This is another required step in the lead line process. Discussion was also had on the tearing down of the building at 1416 Main St E to make room for the New Service Center. The plan will be to move ahead with the process to bid on the removal with guidelines set regarding time frames and expectations.
City Attorney Martineck explained the reasoning for the item on the Consent Agenda for Liquor License violations. The establishment in under new ownership and management since possibly August 1st. They have also not turned in their required Responsible Beverage Server Training Report which was due on September 30.
Agenda Items Continued
Proposed Public Works Budgets for FY25
Public Works Accountant Jacobson reported on the proposed Public Works Budget for 2025. With the Commissioners consent, he will move forward with the approval process at the next Commission Meeting.
Rate Increase requests for Public Works
Public Works Accountant Jacobsonshared with the Commissioner that the rates that the City pays for Utilities will be increasing in 2025. To cover the cost of these increases, Jacobson proposed a few different scenarios for increasing the Customer’s Utility rates.The Commissioner agreed on the rate increase that they feel is appropriate and let Jacobson know to start the process to seek approval on the new rates.
Adjourn
The meeting was adjourned at 4:33 PM.
