Devin Swanberg attended his first council meeting as the new city administrator for the City of Harmony. Due to COVID-19, the council met in the gymnasium of the community center instead of the regular meeting room to allow for social distancing.
Fillmore County Assessor Brian Hoff conducted the Local Board of Appeals and Equalization via phone conference. There were no members of the public present with appeals. Mayor Steve Donney noted that he would like his property reassessed at some point as his value increased by $20,000, but is not planning to make an appeal.
A public hearing was opened to discuss if the city should apply for a USDA rural development grant to purchase a motorized lift and cot for the Harmony Ambulance service. There were no questions during the hearing and so it was closed.
The consent agenda was approved and included the minutes for the March 24 special meeting, the claims, the 2020 ambulance subsidy contract with Fillmore County, a lawful gambling application from Pam’s Liquor, Swanberg’s employment agreement, and the purchase approval for fireworks for the city’s annual 4th of July celebration. The fireworks purchase has a hiccup though as one of the businesses that had planned to contribute may not be able to now due to being closed during the pandemic. “It might be something that the city has to swing until we can get contributions for it,” Mayor Donney said.
Council member Lynn Mensink informed the council that the author visit at the Harmony Public Library has been cancelled. The Poetry Slam was postponed.
Tom Olinger of Abdo, Eick & Meyers presented the 2019 audit report via video conference. The only finding was a limited segregation of duties. It was his recommendation that an individual separate from the administrator review bank reconciliations for accuracy and timeliness of preparation. He also recommended that the city look into purchasing a point of sale software to assist with documenting receipts. At the end of 2019, the city had a fund balance of $651,674. The expenditures and revenue remained fairly consistent with the previous two years. The water fund continued to generate enough dollars to cover bond payments. The sewer fund is not as healthy as the water fund as it has funded several projects internally. “Be aware of capital dollars being spent out of the sewer fund,” Olinger said. “I really think we need to build that back up.” The electric, refuse, and storm water funds all look good with the storm water fund being built up. Olinger recommended that the council discuss whether some of the 2020 tax levy could come from that fund and determine what purpose the funds have. The audit compared Harmony to similar sized cities in Minnesota and noted that it is on the high side of those cities for tax rates, but that the tax rate did decrease slightly in 2019. The audit report was approved as read.
Mike Bubany from David Drown Associates was present at the meeting to discuss options for financing the 2020 street project with the council. The total recommended size of the bond issue is just over two million dollars with a 10-year term. A 2% interest rate was used for the report, but Bubany noted that that could change, especially with the current economy. He felt that a mega-loan was the best option for the city rather than a midi or mini-loan. The council approved the financing option recommended by Bubany.
A motion was approved to set the Fillmore County Journal as the city’s official newspaper.
The next Harmony city council meeting will be held on May 12 at 7 p.m.
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