02/04/2003 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 2/4/2003 ~_.. Dennis Lambert, 25057 Carey Lane ^ He is concerned about the transfer of money from protected funds to the General Fund. He hopes that this will be watched very cazefully because there are necessary projects in the wards. He has a concern about a rainy day fund, collapse of the infrastructure, emergency situations where monies will be needed. It's a delicate situation and Council has its work cut out. Moving money from encumbered funds to a fund such as the General Fund worries him. General Fund has always been a red herring in some cases because it gets spent. Mrs. Copfer said Mr. Lambert was correct in that you do have to very carefully review the funds that are being looked at. Enterprise funds should not be touched-they are intended to be self-supporting. She did review the funds and looked at those created by local ordinances. They are not funds where state monies such as vehicle license taxes, etc. came in. They are funds that were created and earmarked for a specific purpose by Council. The funds are not being transferred, but rather a certain portion of the current yeaz's estimated resources are being redirected to the General Fund. She has checked with bond counsel and the Law Director to be sure that all the legalities are covered. Dan Coyle, Local 1267 secretary International Association of Fire Fighters, 8625 Brentwood Drive, Olmsted Township ^ Perusing the agenda, he saw EMS funds being raided and Hotel/Motel Tax being raided, what is the projected revenue for 2003 EMS funds? Mrs. Copfer answered that $75,000 is going to the EMS fund, which is the 25% of the resident's billing; $225,000 is the General Fund which currently goes there, which represents 75% of the resident billing. The total being redirected from the Hotel/Motel Fund is $260,000. That fund was set up for the purchase of safety equipment, and a small portion is to pay for building/maintenance debt service on the police station. The EMS fund was set up specifically for purchasing Fire Department large ticket items. The administration is recommending to Council that the note on the fire truck not be paid down this year and that the note be rolled instead. Mr. Coyle asked, if there was a carryover in 2003, would the monies be returned to those funds? Mrs. Copfer said she is sure that would be discussed in committee. Councilwoman Kasler explained that Mr. Coyle's question has been discussed among Council members and they intend to bring it up at the committee meetings. Councilman Lirnpert said the carryover that occurred in 2002 is now being spent in 2003. The discussion will be to put the carryover in funds or avoid problems in 2004. Patricia Deis, 26893 Sweetbriaz ^ Why has Mayor's Ball been cancelled? The perception in the community is it cannot be held this year due to the fact that last year it was one price and this year it may be another. Mayor Musial said it was decided to cancel the Mayor's Ball this year until results from the Ohio Ethics Commission are in. It is scheduled to be revisited in May or June. 13