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Memo City Council, City Administrator Finance Department Update 2 · P AFR (Popular Annual Financial Report) As a way to inform the public and taxpayers of Arden Hills on the City's financial condition, staff prepared a newsletter according to GFOA best practices. This newsletter is distributed annually with one of the City's monthly newsletters. This financial report is specifically designed to be readily accessible and easily understandable to the general public and other interested parties without a background in public finance. · Budget Process We have worked very hard to improve the budget process over the last two years. The budget process begins in early June giving the departments four weeks to work on their budgets, which then gives finance some time to compile all the data in a form for the City Administrator to review with department heads. The current time table allows the City Council to have two weeks to review the budget before the work session in August before Preliminary Budgets are set. Previously, in-depth budget discussions were held in November before Final Budgets were set. Staff implemented the Springbrook extended budgeting module in 2008, which has provided efficiencies in the process. In 2009 we are also using the intranet (SharePoint) and the budget files have been uploaded to a "budget" page with all instructions. This is further increasing efficiencies. Budget summaries, program budgets, and trend analysis have been incorporated into the budget books. Staff has spent two years developing the budget into the GFOA best practice document according to the outstanding budget program guidelines. This will be completed shortly and will be submitted to GFOA for comments for the published 2009 document. In the future it will provide Council and staff with better information with which to make budget decisions. · CIP (Capital Improvement Program) Staff changed the CIP process from a one page excel worksheet file to a comprehensive book detailing each project with descriptions, funding sources, operating impacts, and justification. The detail provided gives a more realistic picture of the timing of costs and gives many different reporting options. · Utility Billing Conversion The commercial account migration from the old Banyon DOS system was completed toward the end of 2007 and beginning of 2008. This allowed us to turn on the automatic cash receipt module and thus created staff time and tightened internal controls. Staff found several areas that needed correction and thus we saw increased revenue as our processes were corrected. · Cash Receipting Converted As previously stated, we turned on the automatic cash receipt module of Springbrook. Previously, cash receipts were coded to revenue as cash was received, not as it was