Finance Comm Minutes 09-10-2019 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Finance Commission Minutes September 10, 2019 Page 2 of 12 Receive Finance Commission Recommendations Tracking Report Commissioner Harold noted there were no changes from the last meeting and no recommendations were made. Establish A Recommendation on the Use of the Cash Reserve Fund for the Emerald Ash Borer Program Chair Hodder explained the city Council directed the Finance Commission to review a specific proposal to utilize the newly created Cash Reserve Fund to provide monies for the city’s Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) Program. The proposal was made by the Parks & Recreation Commission during their joint meeting with the Council on June 17, 2019. The Finance Commission is asked to prepare a recommendation on whether to use available monies from the Cash Reserve Fund towards the EAB Program. Commissioner Murray thought this was a management issue and the Council should determine that. If the Council decides to use the Cash Reserve Fund or include this in the budget is up to them and not for the Finance Commission to decide. He noted he would lean against doing it and thought it should be included in the budget because it is a long-term program and should be a budgetary item. Commissioner Reif indicated he agreed and thought it should be a budgetary item that should be included in the Parks and Recreations budget proposal each year that it makes sense to have the Council decide if the amount being asked for is appropriate. He would hesitate to make a commitment for multiple years out into the future to totally dedicate funds for that for six or seven years out. Commissioner Lee concurred. Commissioner Sagisser agreed and thought if this was a short-term thing it would be different but that is not what the Parks and Recreation Commission is asking for, the Parks and Recreation Commission is asking for long term which should be a part of the budgeting process. Commissioner Harold disagreed because he thought a five-year program was not so long that it could not be used for this. He thought this type of project where the current policy is when the tree dies to cut it down and this was a way to be proactive so this sort of finite proactive solution to a problem the city has, in his mind, is a good use of this money. He did not think this was an ongoing thing that the Parks and Recreation Commission is asking for and if it was then it should be a part of the budget. If it is a project that has a start and end date then he thought it would be a good use and a way for the city to be thinking proactively as opposed to just reactive, which is what the city is doing now.