Finance Committee

CITY OF VERONA MINUTES FINANCE COMMITTEE JANUARY 27, 2014 VERONA CITY HALL 1. The meeting was called to order by Scott Manley at 6:38 p.m. 2 Roll Call: Elizabeth Doyle, William “Mac” McGilvray, Scott Manley. Also present: Jon Hochkammer; Mike Bare, Alderperson; Heather Reekie, Alderperson; Brad Stiner, Alderperson; Dale Yurs, Alderperson; Bill Burns, City Administrator; Cindy Engelke, Finance Director; Adam Sayre, Director of Planning and Development. 3. Approval of the 1/13/2014 Finance Committee Minutes: Motion by McGilvray, seconded by Doyle, to approve the 1/13/2014 Finance Committee minutes. Motion carried 3-0. 4. Payment of Bills: Motion by Manley, seconded by Doyle, to approve the payment of bills for the January check run in the amount of $341,217.08. Motion carried 3-0. 5. Agreement between Musser Appraisal Service and the City of Verona for the Annual Maintenance of Commercial and Personal Property Assessment Services: Mr. Burns presented a proposed agreement for the maintenance of commercial and personal property assessments for the 2014 assessment roll. The cost for these services is $7,000 which is included in the approved budget. Motion by McGilvray, seconded by Manley, to recommend that Common Council approve an agreement between Musser Appraisal Service and the City of Verona for the Annual Maintenance of Commercial and Personal Property Assessment Services. Motion carried 3-0. 6. Resolution R-14-004 Approving an Amendment to the 2014 City of Verona Utility Budgets to fund a General/Utility Accountant Position: Mr. Burns presented a recommendation to authorize the creation of an Accountant position in the Administration/Finance Department. This position would perform accounting functions for the City’s utilities and also assist with general accounting duties and serve as a back-up for other department staff. The funding for the position would come from the City’s utility budgets for the remainder of 2014. The allocations of Finance staff to the TIF Districts and utilities would be re-evaluated as part of the 2015 budget process. Based on the total Finance staff time involved with the utilities, staff feels that the overall allocations are justified. Ms. Engelke added that she had discussed the proposed position with the City’s utility audit partner and that he was supportive and felt that the allocations were appropriate. This item is included on the City Council agenda as a potential budget amendment since it involves the creation of a new position. Motion by Manley, seconded by McGilvray to recommend that the Common Council approve Resolution R-14-004 approving an amendment to the 2014 City of Verona Utility Budgets to fund a General/Utility Accountant Position. Motion carried 3-0. A Recommendation for the Redesign of the City Website: Mr. Burns explained that the 2014 BTRB budget includes funds for the potential redesign of the City’s website. Staff recommends using CivicPlus for the redesign. This firm specializes in working with local  governments and provides a customized website redesign, training, and ongoing support. Mr. Sayre provided an overview of the features available through CivicPlus and comparison of the content management system of CivicPlus compared to the City’s current website. Committee Members indicated that they were generally supportive of the project and that they felt that it was important to have a strong website for use by the public and that is easy for staff to maintain. Staff will continue to gather additional information and feedback on the proposed resign. 7. Adjournment: Motion by McGilvray, seconded by Doyle, to adjourn the Finance Committee Meeting at 6:56 p.m. Motion carried 3-0. Respectfully submitted, Bill Burns, City Administrator