CCP 06-26-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION - JUNE 12,2006 2 . It was not always clear to whom the equipment belongs: To a specific city or cities, to the . Fire Department, or to a combination of both? . Because it was not clear who the equipment belongs to, it was not clear who should keep proceeds from a sale, . This system does not acknowledge the reality that while a piece of equipment may be housed in a certain station, the reality is that all equipment was available to respond to calls in all three cities, and they are used in all three cities. Under the new fODllula, the following advantages would result: . Capital expenditures would be more "even" over time and large peaks could be avoided, allowing for easier financial plalming and budgeting. . All equipment would clearly be assets of the LJFD and its member cities based on a clear financing formula. . Tbis would acknowledge that all LJFD equipment is used in all three member cities, . The funding fommla would be consistent, easy to understand, and easy to explain. She requested Council provide direction to staff and the LJFD liaison regarding capital equipment financing. The LJFD Board of Directors would meet again in July and would be discussing the proposal. Council direction was needed as to whether or not the City would support this proposed change, so that can be communicated to the Board. Councilmember Larson stated it did not make sense to try and divide up the capital investment . among the Fire Department like they did in the past. He indicated the Fire Department served all of the Cities and he looked at this as a positive development and believed it would make things a lot easier in the future in deteDllining what each Cities share was. Councilmember Holden asked what would happen if one City was not willing to contribute to a piece of eqnipment, or did not have the resources to pay their share. Chief Boehlke, responded that happened under the old fnnding plan. He noted when that occurred, they put off the purchase until a future date. Councilmember Larson responded the Board tried to operate by consensus, which was a good thing. A representative of the Fire Department stated their equipment needs did not change much and they knew years in advance when equipment would need to be replaced. Councilmember Larson noted at some point the cities would have to pay Shoreview back some money because they had purchased the largest share of equipment. He indicated one way to do that was when the next truck was purchased, the City of Arden Hills and the City of North Oaks would pay a larger share than the City of Shoreview. He stated then the trucks would be owned by all three Cities as a whole and the only thing that was left were the buildings. Couneilmember Holden stated she objected to the fonllula and to paying back to Shoreview for purchases made in the past. Couneilmember Larson stated Council had discussed and voted on . the fommla for the operating budget and when they weighted all of the factors, there was very