2009-04-20 Regular Council Meeting Agenda

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personnel cuts are not predicted at this time, items we can acquire with the funds provided by the Recovery Act will help protect the future of the department. Certain equipment items purchased with the funds will assist with revenue for the city. The increased revenue will play a role in stabilizing the city budget as well as contributing to a broader economic recovery. The equipment being purchased will replace outdated and malfunctioning equipment. Equipment purchased will be voting receiver, radios, radar, light bars, sirens and control box, digital recorder, firearms and firearm equipment, and a vehicle. The grant requires an opportunity for public comment and a motion of Council to approve. 3. Sewer Lateral Program: We have been growing a reserve in recent years due to having fewer repairs than revenue which has built up a reserve. These funds can be used for no other purpose. The reserve is currently over $900,000 and repairs are made per the program outline.In coordination with the change in definition, the repairs did increase from 2006 to 2007 from 73 to 105, an increase of 32 repairs (over 43%). At an average cost of about $3000, the cost for those repairs would be an additional $96,000 to the sewer lateral program fund. There is no determination as to why repairs decreased in 2008 as there was no program change. We do believe 2009 repairs will be higher than 2008. If we continue to see increasing numbers of repairs that rapidly deplete our reserves, we could make program changes that would tighten the definition of a “defective” sewer which would allow us to continue to help more residents who require assistance, but at a lesser rate. The change could also include increasing or decreasing the deductible and co-pay. We believe we have kept the administration costs of this program low. These costs cover the cost of staff operating the program such as the inspector and the front desk clerk and a small amount of supplies/printing. We have not charged the fund for overhead in the Public Works department or costs to administer the revenues and expenditures. In previous years, much of the cost of inspections was performed on overtime which caused costs to be higher. The City is charging less administrative cost than St. Louis County would charge to administer the program which would be 20% of the revenue plus a 7.5% administrative cost per repair. For example, if there would be $350,000 in repair costs for FY09, the administrative costs will be 16% of repairs, or 10% of revenue. This is strictly for information. No action is requested. Attachments: Bid Summary JAG Grant for Police Equipment Sewer Lateral Summary Report (from March 27 weekly) Upcoming Meetings and Events: Monday, April 27: 6:30 PM Budget Meeting Public Forum