Agenda - Council - 07/27/1982 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I "Intergovernmental revenues as a percent of total revenues were only 23.4% in 1980. This is low when compared to the statewide average of 38% and the 30% seen in the Metro area. Therefore, Ramsey is not as dependent as most cities on intergovernmental revenues - an excellent position to be in at this time." "Ramsey's per capita debt has grown from $0 in 1976 to $280 in 1980. That may look as if the increase is out of line, but it is not when compared to the $725 average of cities of the same size. The debt also needs to be taken in the context of it being for special assessments needed because of the growth of the community." Carlson said, "The only area that bears watching is %he uncollected taxes which have been running at a rate of 3% to 5% through 1979. Attention should be paid to this indicator to see if a trend toward increased delinquencies is occurring." In his concluding remarks, Carlson again complimented the city's financial management. "Interest earned on investments are up substantially, and interest pa]~ents are extremely low. This is reflective of %he low debt burden and wise investment policies." Carlson, in explaining the Minnesota Financial Health Program, said, "This is a service our office performs for municipalities that identifies, measures and helps to resolve fiscal..problems. When public officials can monitor debt service payments, enterprise funds, revenues and expenditures and other financial indicators over a period of years, they will be able to identify areas of fiscal stress." "It is important to look at the trends over the period from 1976 to 1980 for which the data was collected and not to look at the individual years~-i 'There are variables-such as special assessments' or grants that show large increases in one year, and the decrease the following year should not be a cause for alarm. We look at the whole five year period and the patterns of revenues and expenditures for those years. The profile proves a framework for assembling and analyzing information. Although some conclusions have been drawn from the study, the actual reasons can only be answered by those who manage the financial affairs of the city." Carlson said that very few comparisons among cities will be made at this time as there is no uniform method of reporting financial data. Municipal Finance Officers felt that in order for the Minnesota Financial Health Program to be a successful and helpful project a uniform chart of accounts and reporting needed to be developed. Therefore, .the Office designed a new and comprehensive chart which was distributed to Finance Officers in December. This effort will enable future profiles to contain more comparative information.