Laserfiche WebLink
<br />Police Chief Way requested that calls be directed to him. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated he sits on the Board of Corrections, and at the last meeting there <br />was discussion of a recent level 3 sex offender announcement that went very well in the City of <br />Blaine. He suggested a review of what was done at this meeting if a notification meeting is <br />required in Ramsey. <br /> <br />Police Chief Way indicated information regarding the status of the individual will not be <br />available in time for the Council Update. He will provide the information to the Interim City <br />Administrator when he receives it. <br /> <br />Consensus of the Council was to direct staff to include an update regarding in the Council <br />agendas. <br /> <br />1) Utility Billing <br /> <br />Finance Officer Lund reviewed that utility billing services were discussed at the March 27, 2007 <br />work session. Due to a shortage of time, staff was requested to bring the discussion back to a <br />future work session. Currently, the City of Ramsey contracts with Connexus Energy to handle <br />its billing and collection services related to utility billing. The City has outsourced its billing to <br />Connexus Energy since about 1994 and currently pays $56,000 per year for their services. Ms. <br />Lund stated at prior work sessions/committees, Council had inquired about the language <br />contained within the City's contract with Connexus Energy. A copy of the contract is included <br />in the Council's packet. It should be noted that the City's contract with Connexus contains the <br />same terms as Connexus contracts with neighboring cities. Thus, it may be difficult to obtain <br />any desired changes to the current contract. <br /> <br />Mayor Gamec asked if there would be a preferred time of year to bring the utility services in- <br />house if it is the determination of the Council to do so. <br /> <br />Finance Officer Lund replied her recommendation would be the beginning of the year or half <br />way through the year. There will be a quarter when the City's system would likely run parallel <br />with Connexus' system to be sure things are running correctly. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig suggested an audit of the meters at the time of the change if the City <br />determines to bring the service in-house. <br /> <br />Councilmember Look arrived at 6:07 p.m. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen asked if there has been any effort to have the utility services handled <br />privately other than through Connexus. <br /> <br />Finance Officer Lund replied Connexus has the software and is able to download the information <br />related to the utility accounts. She has never heard of any private firms handling this service. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / April 10, 2007 <br />Page 2 of9 <br />