City Council Meeting Date: April 1, 2025
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Ben Martig, City Administrator
Title
Consider Resolution Ordering a Financial Model for Twenty Years (2022-2042) for All City Projects (Councilor Dahlen Request).
Body
Action Requested:
Councilor Dahlen has requested that the City Council consider a resolution ordering a financial model for twenty years (2022-2042) for all city projects.
Summary Report:
Councilor Dahlen requested this agenda item and submitted the resolution as background information. Councilor Beumer supported this to be added in accordance with the Council Rules of Business.
Councilor Dahlen will give background to the recommendation and Council Beumer may add additional commentary as the supporter to bring this item to Council.
The following are considerations from City Administrator Martig:
A. Staff suggests the information on the active clauses of the resolution (now therefore be it resolved) are commonly done through more informal feedback of the budget process. The last item would be appropriate to discuss and provide feedback for. The Council could act through a mechanism such as a resolution, but this is not common practice in city operations and therefore staff would suggest working collaboratively to develop such goals in the budget process itself rather than through a stand-alone action;
B. The action clause #1 of the resolution relates to what staff would refer to as a “20-Year Long Term Financial Plan.” This type of plan would require significant staff time to develop a meaningful document and would likely require consultant assistance that isn’t currently budgeted. Additionally, staff would need to evaluate limitations on working on other items that this would take priority over, if initiated. Staff suggests this could be an “action” within the strategic plan related to financial management should Council be interested in this. Additionally, the Finance Director and City Administrator advise that the goals identified in the prior agenda item on the budget will be more meaningful and impactful. Spending time now on a more long-term plan would distract us from more pressing financial planning priorities. Additionally, if the Council wants to look at more long-term financial planning staff would be advising a 10-year plan in place of a 20-year plan;
C. For action clause #2 of the resolution staff can request financial planning information from Rice County, Dakota County and the School District for this information. The last agenda item on budget process and priorities would be an appropriate way staff would receive feedback from the full Council to request this information. Staff has added a goal to integrate communications after the preliminary levy that would provide school and county information. That has been a prior goal we haven’t been able to integrate but feel it is something we can do, but will require us to collaborate with these other stakeholders;
D. For action clause #3, the Finance Director and City Administrator recommend not initiating this formally and especially not at an immediate council meeting. Staff has been monitoring discussions at the State and Federal levels. Based on information from the State government, initiating an action at this time would be pre-mature and distract from more urgent pressing issues.
Finance Director Angelstad is not available to attend the Council meeting on Tuesday. However, City Administrator Martig will be in attendance and will welcome the opportunity to address the responses in more detail and respond to questions.
For general advice on initiating agenda items like this, City Administrator Martig and Finance Director Angelstad suggest first consulting staff for feedback rather than initiating an action such as this for agenda review. Then, the goals could be appropriately integrated into a full Council discussion to get feedback. When agenda items are initiated without context or consultation, it is more difficult to advise on well established practices in the organization as well as best practices overall within municipal government. Staff also should be writing resolutions and recommends that if Councilors want to initiate an action, they should provide more general goals and information for staff to prepare the actual resolution, prepare background information and consult with the City Administrator and Mayor in developing the agenda to provide appropriate planning. If the Council has questions on this or alternative ideas on appropriate processes, City Administrator Martig would welcome that feedback at the meeting.
The Council should discuss the item and determine whether to act on the resolution or another alternative.
Alternative Options:
A. Not approve the resolution as proposed by Dahlen. Instead, provide feedback and build consensus in upcoming strategic planning and budget meetings;
B. Modify resolution by amendment.
Financial Impacts:
Not provided.
Tentative Timelines:
Not provided.