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Lindstrom City Council met May 15. All members were present.

The meeting began with an audit report from Tyler See  of Abdo and Associates.  

See noted the audit was a clean audit with zero non-compliances.  He did ask that all journal entries be reviewed by staff all year long.

In the general fund balance at the end of 2023 the city’s balance was at 37.5 percent. The city has a fund balance of 40 percent as a policy. The council passed a resolution a few years ago to drop it from 45 to 40 percent.  

City finance officer Kay Mattson noted that last year’s balance was 33 percent, so the balance is improving and eventually she would like to see it at 45 percent again.

In the general fund comparison to actual budget, the revenue came in $230,000 over budget due to interest earnings. See noted expenditures came in $115,000 over budget due to general government and fire costs.

General fund balance ended at $1.2 million.

In special revenues fund balance, See noted there is still about $180,000 in ARPA funds as well as $215,000 in the public safety fund.

The city saw an increase of $13,000 in on-sale liquor sales and $8,000 in off-sale liquor sales net revenues.

In property tax rate, Lindstrom went down six percent and remains lower than most Class 4 cities with similar populations in the state.

See noted that Lindstrom’s current expenditures are lower than most Class 4 cities.  

See said he views Lindstrom as a health city audit-wise. 

The council then authorized transfers for capital buildings into one fund.  Funds to be transferred are $77,151 from the public works building, $13,784 from the Chamber building, $26,455 from City Hall, $33,756 from the community center, $179,730 from the muni, and $94,000 from the liquor store.  Total of combined funds come to $424,948.  The combination allows the city to pull from a single fund if repairs are needed on any building instead of picking which fund to take out of. 

The council then approved the transfer of the Ambassador Float to the Karl Oskar Ambassador Committee.  The city has maintained and stored the float for years and the committee recently formed its own 501c3.  The committee will be responsible for upkeep and storage of the float.

The council then had a lengthy conversation about public safety dollars and their allocation.  City administrator Dan Undem was asked by the council last month to see if Chisago City would raise their allocation to the Lakes Area Police Department to align on a  per capita number. Undem told the council he spoke with Chisago City administrator John Pechman and was told Chisago City would meet Lindstrom’s one time public safety allocation to the police department dollar for dollar.  Currently the proposed allocation from Lindstrom to the police department is $115,301.  Council member Dave Waldoch pointed out that Chisago City has a larger population and thus should pay more into the fund.  Waldoch figured that would equal another $16,000 or so allocated from Chisago City.  

The monies will be used for hiring bonuses and employee retention for the police department.  The council decided to table the topic again and ask Undem to try to renegotiate with Chisago City.

Council then approved the listing of a city owned lot on Oak Street. Undem told the council realtor Wardell Haywood with Keller Williams Realty is his reccommendation as an agent for listing the property. Undem said the value Haywood came up with is $125,000 for the lot.  Undem assured the council they would have a final say prior to selling and each buyer would have to submit their plans prior to purchasing the lot.  

Council unanimously approved the appointment of Charlie Durenburger to the planning commission. 

The council then got updated on the Park Street parking lot from city engineer Brian Bachmeier. Bachmeier said all surveys are completed and the focus is now on the design work such as utility and drainage.  

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