Colfax has unassigned fund balance of $420,000
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The Village of Colfax currently has an unassigned fund balance of $420,020.
Lynn Niggemann, administrator-clerk-treasurer, told the Colfax Village Board at the May 28 meeting that she had received the numbers from the auditors for the unassigned fund balance, the assigned fund balance and the restricted fund balance.
The unassigned fund balance is like a savings account, and the village board can use money from that fund to cover emergency repairs, for example, that are not included in the current year’s budget.
The assigned fund balance, which is $611,514.93, is money that has already been designated for a specific purpose, such as capital improvements or debt service payments.
The restricted fund balance contains money that can only be used for the stated purpose.
The village’s restricted fund includes money for solid waste and recycling, the elevator fund, money for perpetual care at the cemetery, Community Development Block Grant funds, Tax Increment Finance District Funds (TIF) and the softball certificate of deposit, Niggemann said.
The softball CD is money that came from the sale of the White Tail Golf Course, which was developed by Colfax Sports and Recreation Inc. The golf course was developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s with funds from the Farmers Home Administration.
Colfax Sports and Recreation Inc. included local business owners and other interested individuals.
The golf course was sold to Lyle and Janet Pelke in 1984, and the money that remained after expenses were paid was put into a certificate of deposit and turned over to the village, with the requirement that the original CD remain as a restricted fund.
Interest earned by the CD is paid out annually to youth softball associations in Colfax, Elk Mound, Menomonie and Eau Claire.
Capital improvements
This year’s budget included $130,000 for capital improvements, which includes $3,000 for village hall capital improvement projects (a door), $5,500 toward the police squad replacement fund, $12,500 for street equipment, $1,000 for the library, and $63,045 for street improvements, Niggemann aid.
The total unassigned fund balance is $550,000, but with the $130,000 subtracted for capital improvement projects, the total unassigned fund balance is $420,000, she said.
Ideally, the unassigned fund balance should stay around $500,000, Niggemann said.
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommends that municipalities keep between 25 and 33 percent of the general fund expenditures in the unassigned fund balance.
The question for the village board is whether trustees want to keep what was budgeted for capital improvements and then leave the unassigned fund balance “as is,” Niggemann said.
Various board members answered in the affirmative.
Because of the expenditures on Dunn Street for the TIF district, the restricted fund balance is currently a negative number, Niggemann said.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved the fund balances of a negative $200,015 for the restricted fund; $611,514.93 for the assigned/designated fund balance; and $420,020 for the unassigned fund balance.
Voting in favor were Village President Jeff Prince and Village Trustees Clint Best, Margaret Burcham, Carey David, Anne Jenson and Jen Rud.
Village Trustee Gary Stene was absent from the meeting.
Wrong property
Niggemann reported to the village board she had received a call from someone who was concerned that neighbors had built a fence encroaching on the next door neighbor’s property.
The fence was built on property belonging to 605 Pine Street, which had been David Felland’s house, she said.
In addition to a nice-looking fence, equally nice-looking garden boxes had been built. The encroachment was 20 to 25 feet past the property line, Niggemann said.
The lot size must be verified, and Niggemann said she had asked the property owners for a copy of the deed to the property.
The property owner also built borders around trees on the south side of the property that are over the sidewalk, she said.
Rand Bates, director of public works, noted that if the tree borders were over the sidewalk, they would be in the village’s right-of-way and that they cannot be located in the right-of-way.
Niggemann said the last time she had checked, most of the fence had been taken down.
If the property owners do not bring in a copy of the deed to the property, a deed can be requested from the Dunn County Register of Deeds, she said.
End loader
The steering on the village’s John Deer end loader was “making a funny noise,” Bates told the village board.
The end loader is now at McCoy Construction & Forestry for repair that will include replacing the steering cylinder pins and bushings and resealing both cylinders, he said.
The quote from McCoy, in the amount of $4,735.66, indicates that technicians would not be able to determine if the machine will require line boring or if the cylinders will require rod repairs until the end loader has been disassembled.
If the work on the end loader ends up being more than was initially thought, the cost will be more, but the end loader must be fixed, Bates said.
“It’s cheaper than buying a new one!” said Carey Davis, village trustee.
The end loader is a 2001 model, Bates said.
Currently, the village has contracted with the Town of Colfax to handle various tasks at the solid waste and recycling site. The village’s end loader could be down or five or six weeks, he said.
The end loader “must be fixed, no matter what,” Bates said.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved the quote from McCoy of $4,736.66 with a maximum of $10,000, if needed to make additional repairs.
Carrie Johnson, who has been hired to replace Niggemann, noted that if the cost of the repair was more than $10,000, the village board could always hold a special meeting or a Zoom meeting to approve additional repair costs.
Sidewalk reimbursement
Two years ago, Colfax resident Ellen Anderson received a quote from Nellessen Concrete to replace the sidewalk at her property on Railroad Avenue.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic, contractors have been backed up on work, but now Anderson’s sidewalk has finally been replaced.
The total cost for the sidewalk was $4,585, and the village has a policy of paying 40 percent for repairing or replacing sidewalks, Niggemann said, adding that the village board had approved the quote previously and had included the amount for the 40 percent reimbursement in the village’s budget.
Out of the total amount for the work, $850 was for backfilling the sidewalk with top soil, but top soil and backfilling is not really part of the sidewalk repair, Bates noted.
Anne Jensen, village trustee, asked what the village’s ordinance says about reimbursing for sidewalks, whether it states only for concrete or for everything associated with the project.
What is the procedure for doing a street project? Niggemann asked.
A street project is not comparing apples to apples, because during a street project, everything is taken out, including the sidewalk, and it is all replaced. The street projects are dug up to the edge of the right-of-way because that is where sewer and water is stubbed in. The street project cannot be finished without the finish work on the sidewalk, Bates said.
One might expect that the finish work would be put into the total price, he said, adding that it is similar to hiring a trucking company, and then the company adds a fuel surcharge.
“Then people get upset,” Bates said.
The village board eventually decided to not include the $850 for backfilling the sidewalk in the calculation for the 40 percent reimbursement.
Forty percent of $850 is $340.
The Colfax Village Board approved reimbursing Anderson $1,498 on a vote of four “yes” to two “no.”
Voting in favor of the motion were Prince, Best, Burcham and Jenson.
Village trustees Rud and Davis voted against the motion.
Other business
In other business, the Colfax Village Board:
• Re-approved weekly Wednesday use for Bible study at Tower Park requested by Jason Haugley, Believer’s City Church, with a waiver of the fee for use of the park. The event is free and open to the public. Gary Stene, village trustee, had asked for a reconsideration of the request based on concerns of separation of church and state. Niggemann said that last year, she had talked with the village’s attorney, who did not have any concerns about approving the use for Tower Park. The village typically waives the fee for non-profit use of village facilities, she said.
• Approved a temporary Class “B”/“Class B” retailer’s license for June 13 to June 17 for Russell-Toycen Post 131 for the Colfax Free Fair.
• Approved a “platinum” level donation of $300 to support the Colfax Free Fair. In the past, the village has donated Port-a-potties for the fair.
• Approved purchasing four loads of regular lime for the softball fields at $330 per load, for a total of $1,320. The infield is low at Tom Prince Memorial Park and needs to be built up, Bates said.
