City Council Meeting Date: March 13, 2018
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Ben Martig, City Administrator
Teresa Jensen, Director of Library and IT Services
Brenda Angelstad, Finance Director
Title
Review of a Resolution to Close the Library Capital Project Fund #462 and Authorize an Interfund Transfer and Budget Amendment.
Body
Action Requested:
The Northfield City Council will discuss the actions needed related to the closure of the Library Renovation Project Capital Fund 462.
Summary Report:
Staff is recommending Council authorize to close the temporary Library Project Fund 462 as the activity is complete and is appropriate to close the account. The fund has a negative balance of $177,017. The closure of the fund requires transfer of funds to create a zero balance within the fund. See the "financial impact" section of this memo for a description of the use of excess general fund undesignated reserves for this purpose as well as a summary of project costs and sources of funds.
The negative balance is a result of two primary factors: a) $41,442 of additional engineering and legal expenses allocated to the project; and b) $135,575 less in donations than had been planned within the project budget. The original commitment from the FFOL totaled $402,680; their eventual commitment to the project was $1,045,897, which, when added to the Bunday Gift Fund, totaled $1,345,897 in private donations. The FFOL actual fundraising for the project equaled $910,322, which represents a donation shortfall of $135,575.
Alternative Options:
Accounting standards dictate that temporary project funds - like this one - should closed within a reasonable time frame of completion. While the closure could occur in the 2018 year the Finance Director, in consultation with the City Auditor, believes it would be preferable administratively to close the project based on the lack of activity in the fund. Therefore, staff is not suggesting an alternative to the project clos...
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