Minutes - Council - 12/09/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Ms. Eliason stated there are high school programs for the youth who smoke and also programs through the County. She feels education is extremely important. Motion by Councilmember Haas Steffen and seconded by Councilmember Beahen to introduce the ordinance, as amended, relating to the sale, possession, and use of tobacco, tobacco products, and tobacco related devices in the City of Ramsey and to reduce the illegal sale, possession, and use of such items to and by minors. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Haas Steffen, Beahen, Beyer and Zimmerman. Voting No: None. Councilmember Haas Steffen suggested the penalties for selling liquor to minors should be reviewed as she felt they should also be stiffer. City Attorney Goodrich will present that ordinance to Council for review at their second meeting in January. Case #6: Award Contract for Banking Services Finance Officer Hart stated that, upon authorization from Council, staff solicited proposals for banking services to the two local banking institutions - Landmark Community Bank and Northland Security Bank. The bids have been opened and analyzed using banking industry ratio trends and a matrix which she presented for Council's information. Each bank can provide the services requested and both have made accommodations to waive any and all bank service charges through the use of compensating balances. It was Ms. Hart's opinion that the bid should be granted to Landmark Community Bank for the following reasons: Interest Rates - Landmark will pay interest at a rate to yield 5.4% annually which is tied to the monthly yield on the 4M Plus Fund. Northland offers a rate equal to the previous month's average of the 90-day T-bill discounted plus l0 basic points (would have been about 5.25% for December). Compound vs. Accrued Interest - Landmark will compound interest daily on available funds while Northland will accrue the interest daily on available funds. Both pay interest at the end of the period. Collateral - Landmark has the ability to pledge the required amount of collateral based on the average balances carried over the past year in the 4M Fund. This would mean when large deposits, such as tax settlements, are received, there would be no need to pledge additional collateral to cover it until it is invested. Northland indicated in their proposal that prior notification would be necessary if there were to be large deposits. While for the most part, Ms. Hart felt she could provide adequate notice (at least 48 hours) of large deposits that would require additional collateral, there are several times during the year when this is not possible and the lack of adequate collateral could be difficult. Ratio and Trend Analysis - One of the key factors in looking at banking services is bank stability and growth potential. Landmark scored very high in this analytical portion of the review due primarily to the period of time it has been in existence. On the other hand, Northland scored very low in most of the ratios, primarily because of the young age of this bank. This is not necessarily bad because a lot of the ratios were impacted by the start-up costs of a new bank. Ms. Hart explained that award of this contract to Landmark would not eliminate Northland Security from financial activities of the City. They have been one of the leading contenders in providing other investment opportunities, such as certificates of deposit, and this will continue. She would also anticipate opening a money market savings account of some type with them. While the banking levels will not necessarily be equal, City Council/December 9, 1997 Page 9 of 18