North American Marsupial

The other day I came home and was in the garage when my neighbor comes over to ask about a curious animal he had seen under his bird feeder. After talking about it we thought he had seen an Opossum. Generally I think most of us think these to be a southern creature not venturing this far north but over the past decade the opossum has moved into Minnesota presumably with warmer winters making it easier for them to survive.

Sure enough after getting a flashlight and looking under the nearby structure he had a full grown opossum. These are large cat sized creatures with pointy pink nose, grey or black fur with pink feet and a naked pink tail. These are solitary nocturnal animals. They generally move very slowly and when frightened could hiss or growl but generally become unable to flee and fall into a state of involuntary movement laying down and “playing possum”.

Although we’re not accustomed to these animals they are rather unique. They are North America’s only marsupial mammal. The female carries its young in a pouch until they are 2-3 months old and then carries them on her back for another 1-2 months. They eat insects, snails, rodents, berries, over ripe fruit, grasses, leaves, occasional snakes, corn or other vegetables. They are very adaptable and live wherever there is water, food and shelter. They are at home in trees and use their prehensile tail to stabilize themselves but don’t hang by their tail as many people think. They generally live 2- 4 years and are very prone to be killed by predators such as dogs and cats, owls, other wildlife and humans with cars.

Checking the next day the opossum had moved on to where ever it had been living but it got me to thinking. Perhaps I had been too quick to blame the squirrels with the bird feeder being empty in my backyard. I won’t be filling it soon. I don’t believe you have much to fear about opossums as they are very placid animals but I’d like him or her to move on. I don’t want my vegetable garden to get raided this summer.

Fast Thinking

Perhaps you have had one of those days when things just don’t go they way they should. I think we all have and sometimes, it seems nothings seems to go right. Well we had one of those moments in fire drill fashion just before the council meeting on February 19^th. Just before we’re about to broadcast the meeting we go to turn on the DVD recorder and it’s dead. No lights, no power, nothing. The meeting is about to start and the means for recording isn’t available.

No problem, in the past as we had two VCR’s that did the job. If one went down the other would be used. Our back up now is the VCR and having not used it for several years it wasn’t automatic to switch it over. Fast thinking was in play however to save the day. We had another VCR in the building set up so it could record the broadcast as it was accomplished live. The fast thinking was great but not fast enough to catch the start of the meeting and we didn’t capture the first 3 minutes or so.

In retrospect the equipment we have been using is coming to the point where reliability is an issue. The DVD recorders weren’t that old but had seen a number of year’s worth of service. Our backup is original equipment now about 12 years old. An investment in not one both two DVD recorders seems to be in order. And unfortunately with the VCR recording of the meeting the quality of the recording isn’t what we have had in the recent past.

Given most of the equipment is 12 years old and was never of TV studio quality it probably is time we look at some upgrades. I guess it takes a “now what do we do” moment to get back on track. Thanks to Greg Pruszinske for saving the meeting recording.

Celebrate the new Wastewater Treatment Facility

As some of you know the city has been in the process of building a new wastewater treatment facility. The plant was constructed to meet several needs of which the most pressing was that of meeting discharge requirements imposed with our permit issued by the Pollution Control Agency. We were at capacity with the old plant and it had exceeded its useful life.

In accomplishing the goal of a new facility a great deal of planning was accomplished. The effort of planning had the city looking at different approaches to not only the types of systems that could be utilized but also the collection system and the degree of treatment. The city now has tertiary treatment in place to protect the receiving water of the Elk River and the environment.

Dave Pesola, our Lead Wastewater Treatment Operator, has provided us with a look at what has occurred.

The many lift stations located throughout the city were improved with the installation of radio monitoring to ensure these are operating correctly. This was done prior to construction of the new facility.

The three existing wastewater treatment lagoons were drained and decommissioned. These have been filled in and graded. Taking these ponds out of service should greatly reduce odors from the plant.

The new facility was designed by Camp Dresser and McKee, Inc. The task of construction was awarded to John T. Jones Construction Company. The new plant was constructed on the site of the decommissioned lagoons.

The project included a number of changes and major items to the wastewater project included a new influent pumping station, a new headworks building, two oxidation basins, two clarifiers, a sludge pumping building with a chemical feed room, an effluent filtration building, an ultraviolet disinfection building, an effluent re-aeration chamber, and an odor control system.

This project also provided for the elimination of a heavily used lift station by construction of a new gravity sewer line to a deeper new influent pumping station.

Construction of the new facility started in October of 2006. On February 4, 2008, the facility began accepting wastewater from the city. Only one half of the facility is presently in use, while testing and construction continues on the other portions of the new facility. The transition has gone smoothly and without any major problems. As the use of the plant progresses the efficiency of operations will improve through both operations and efficient biological action.

The old facility has been taken off line and is presently being dismantled. The building which housed the old facility is be reused and remodeled into a new administration building which will contain a new laboratory, offices and a maintenance garage. The old administration building at the plant site will be used by the water department.

The projected completion date for complete project completion is scheduled for June of 2008. Once the plant is completed in entirety the capacity to treat domestic wastewater will be 1.25 million gallons a day. This will serve the community for a great number of years and position the city very well for future growth.

Thank you Dave for that great summary! It is gratifying to know we’re well set for the future and we’re meeting the more stringent requirements imposed by PCA and being environmentally responsible.

Annual Audit

Each year the city has accomplished through an independent auditor an audit of the city books. This audit process is time consuming and comprehensive. All funds of the city are reviewed including operating funds, community center, debt service, project funds and enterprise funds of golf, water and sewer. The activity involves verifying account activity of transactions and balances. The audit process generally takes 3 or more auditors about 3-5 days of activity in our office to accomplish and then assembling the reports takes a month or two before the process is completed with a report to the city council.

Looking at this in an organized manner the following activities occur during the audit:

• Verification of golf inventory
• Verification of fixed asset inventory
• Reconciliation of cash and investments
• Verification that revenues and expenditures are reported appropriately
• Comparisons of actual revenues and expenditures to budget are done
• Analysis of project costs is completed
• Verification that all liabilities are recorded
• Verification that all receivable are recorded
• Compliance with bid requirements is checked and verified
• Reconciliation of bond funds is accomplished
• Assessments and delinquencies are reconciled
• Tax revenues and delinquencies are also reconciled
• Internal controls are reviewed and tested

As the audit is accomplished the Auditors use Government Accounting Standards along with accepted accounting principles in reviewing the finances of the city. Over the past few years the Governmental Accounting Standards Board has changed the way governmental accounting is accomplished. There goals have been to create a more transparent view of the finances of a governmental entity by moving the reporting more towards that of business. They have also wanted to improve fiscal controls and accountability within the reports. Adding these requirements each year provides additional information but also more complexity to the audit process.

The goal when completed would be to achieve an unqualified opinion from the auditor concerning the finances of the city. Along with that would also include good fiscal health of the city’s finances. These have been achieved in the past and our expectation is that that would continue with the 2007 audit.

Mn Legislature Covenes February 12th

It seems like each year the city of Becker and other communities that host power plants are involved with legislative concerns about taxation. This coming session is no different in that tax rates on utility property is still the concern it was last year. With the governors veto of the tax bill we lost the relief we had worked so hard on to solve our concerns.

So where does this put us? A little history first. The Mn Department of Revenue has implemented a rule change to adjust the way power plants are valued. This change resulted in a decrease of approximately 15% of the taxable property in the city. In implementing this change the rule provided for a phasing of the “loss” in value over a short period of time. A 20% reduction in power plant value was applied for taxes payable in 2008. In 2009 we’ll see the reduction at 50% and with taxes payable in 2010 the entire reduction is implemented. Using the tax rate and values of 2007 this means a loss of about $750,000 in taxes paid to the city by the utilities when fully implemented in 2010. Keep in mind they see a reduction in county and school taxes as well.

A two prong approach was accomplished to address this issue. The first involved a contingency plan to address the possible short fall in tax revenues. The second was legislative relief moving the tax rate on electric generation property from 2.0% to 3.0%. Making that change would negate the rule change to the extend that the loss in value with be picked up by a higher taxable value so essentially the same amount of taxes would be paid.

A bill was drafted in both the Senate and House to address the concerns of lost value on utility property as a result of this rule change. The bill dealt with both electric generation and pipeline taxes. The bills were passed by both groups and made it through to the final tax bill but as said previously was vetoed by the governor primarily for other reasons.

So we’re back working the bills that were developed last session and trying to get some relief from the rule change. This session could go well or not. We have the same group to deal with but we’re one year later. Has the issue changed in peoples minds? Certainly the rate from 2.0% to 3.0% will be an issue. We have already seen a small decrease in value which would be difficult to assume will be made up. You as tax payers in Becker continue to have a job to do in talking with your legislators. They need to address this issue with a helpful change in tax rates for utility property. This issue is very important for the city as well as other utility cities so please take the time to do what you can.

I will address this and the contingency plan in future entries.

Survey

Each year the Becker Chamber of Commerce sponsors the Becker Expo. This event gives the community a chance to get together and showcase businesses and organizations that serve our community. This event is usually attended by a great number of people and has been a success from the start.

The City of Becker has participated in this event annually. Periodically we have done surveys to better understand the views of residents of the community. In the past we have asked about what businesses the community would like to have and be used by the residents. In part this has helped the city establish the clinic, the grocery store, and a fast food establishment. Other entries such as a bowling alley have been listed and will hopefully get accomplished in the coming year.

This year we will again have a city survey. Here too we are no different in asking this question of what businesses are wanted and needed within our community. But we also are interested in knowing some additional information about residents to assist us with Economic Development pursuits. Things like how far do you travel to work, gives us an idea of the work force available within the community. Knowing this may assist us in locating new companies who will create job opportunities within our community.

One area of concern has been that of a Railroad Quiet Zone. What this is is the ability to create a corridor where the train doesn’t have to blow its whistles. Creating a zone requires a formal study of the circumstances concerning individual crossings and analyzing the safety at each. Generally if a quiet zone is to be established certain requirements need to be met. These include cross arms and sometimes median islands or 4 cross arm gates rather than the general practice of 2. The use of whistles greatly improves safety at crossings but some people and businesses feel them a nuisance. Having a better feel from the public about the issue of railroad whistle noise will help us gauge how to think about this issue.

Responses to our survey will be posted on the web site in the near future so when the curiosity of knowing how it comes out strikes you, check it out. Thank you for your participation as our intention is to create a better Becker.

We got them all

In my last entry I discussed the need for another bond to finance the wastewater treatment facility. The additional costs were prompted largely by the additional treatment we’ll be providing on wastewater which produces a cleaner effluent.

In doing a bond sale there are a number of steps involved. Some regard legal requirements and some involve providing the market place with information about the city and its finances. An Official Statement is prepared which is similar to a prospectus for a corporation. This document provides disclosure on the status of the prospective bonds among other things. Things like taxable or tax exempt bonds and bank qualified bonds or not are discussed. These items affect the interest rate that will be offered by bidders of the bond offering.

Another area that affects the interest rate is that of the rating of the bond. This is done by an outside firm to determine the degree of credit risk of the bond. It generally refers to the ability of the issuing agency to repay the bond. The cities finances play into this as well as the tax capacity of the city. The higher the rating, the less the risk and the lower the interest rate bid on the bond. If you have a good rating the interest rate is less than if you have a lower rating. With this issue we were again given a rating of A3 which is a very good rating for a city our size. It is also referred to as investment grade which means that most financial institutions can carry this within their investment portfolio.

Lastly rates are determined by the market, and the implicit timing of the market. The market, as I think we all know, rises and falls with the economy. Generally speaking when stocks are down bonds become more desirable and when stocks are good bonds become less desirable. People generally gravitate to the investment vehicle that provides the best rate of return while preserving the initial investment amounts balancing the risk reward in investing.

In planning for this bond sale we had the opportunity to determine when would be the best time of the year for a sale. We looked at historical trends and felt January would a god time to look for lower interest rates. We scheduled the bond sale to take place on January 15^th. We went to the market expecting 3-4 bids and an estimated aggregate rate of 4.15% on the bonds. It is difficult to know why bidders do what they do but the city received 6 bids on our bonds. The low bid from United Banker’s Bank came in at a true interest cost of 3.565%. This is 58.5 basis points under the estimate. A truly excellent bid! The result of this is an interest savings of roughly $7,000 per year. Not bad!

Sometimes you get lucky. Sometimes you plan effectively. Sometimes the market plays your way. In this instance I think we got them all.