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8.4. SR 07-15-2013 Elk - Request for Action River TO ITEM NUMBER Mayor and City Council 8.4 AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY General Business July 15, 2013 Suzanne Fischer, COD Director ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By Maintenance Facility Open House Tim Simon, Finance Director REVIEWED BY Cal Portner, City Administrator ACTION REQUESTED Approve by motion expenditures for the Public Works and Parks Maintenance Open House event. BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION The City Council approved July 31 as `Public Works and Parks Maintenance Day'at the July 1, 2013, meeting. To recognize this declaration, an Open House is planned to showcase the new facility to the public and personally meet the staff behind the scenes. The event will take place from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on July 31, 2013. Refreshments,youth handouts, and miscellaneous items are planned in addition to various information stations throughout the facility. Residents will have the opportunity to reflect on the value they receive for their investments in public works and parks maintenance through the maintenance and physical infrastructure necessary to support their daily needs as well the numerous services and programs provided. The quality and effectiveness of public facilities, as well as their planning, design, and construction are dependent on the efforts and skills of public servants. The new facility is a $10 million community investment. Employees take great pride in their work and their new surroundings and they wish to share it with the public through this event. During the 2013 budget planning process last year, the facility was still in design stages and an open house-type program was not anticipated and therefore not budgeted. The city's Public Purpose Expenditure Policy includes a provision (Meetings: Food/Meals/Refreshments,item e) for such a city expenditure. Staff requests Council approval of up to $2,000 for light appetizers and refreshments for the event utilizing the Council Contingency line item. FINANCIAL IMPACT For 2013, $50,000 was budgeted in Council Contingency for expenditures not anticipated or changes in revenue. The Council has previously approved $24,000 from this line item and has unencumbered funds for this expense. ATTACHMENTS ■ Public Purchase Policy UREI Public Purchase Expenditures 4.1 .2013 Pursuant to the statutes and laws of the State of Minnesota which regulate the expenditure of public funds for public purposes, the Ella River City Council believes it is necessary and appropriate to provide assistance and guidance to the officials, employees, and representatives of Ell-,River to aid in the determination of when public funds may be spent for a public purpose. To provide that assistance and guidance, the Ell-,River City Council adopted these public purpose guidelines for the establishment of operating policies and procedures and the appropriate expenditures of public funds. Based on these guidelines, the City Council authorizes the City Administrator, elected officials and appointed department heads to establish administrative policies and procedures that are consistent with these guidelines and the adopted City policies which implement these guidelines. De anition: A public purpose expenditure is one which relates to the purpose for which the City of Elk River exi is and the duties and responsibilities of Elk River, its elected and appointed ofcials, employees, and other representatives. Public Purpose Guidelines 1. Training and development programs for Elk River employees serve a public purpose when those training and development programs are directly related to the performance of the employees'job-related duties and are directly related to the programs/services for which the city is responsible. 2. Payment of employee work-related expenses,including travel,lodging and meal expenses, serves a public purpose when those expenses are necessarily incurred by Elk River employees in connection with their actual work assignments or official duties and those expenses are directly related to the performance of the governmental functions for which Elk River has responsibility. 3. Appropriate safety and health programs for Elk River employees serve a public purpose because they result in healthier and more productive employees and reduce certain costs to the city and the taxpayers of Elk River,including various costs associated with workers compensation and disability benefit claims,insurance premiums, and lost time from employee absences. 4. Public expenditures for appropriate Ell-,River employee and volunteer recognition programs serve a public purpose because formally recognizing employees and volunteers who make significant contributions and demonstrate their commitment during the performance of their duties results in higher morale and productivity among all Elk River employees and volunteers, and therefore helps the city to fulfill its responsibilities efficiently and more cost effectively. 5. Public expenditures for food and refreshments associated with official Ell-,River functions serve a public purpose when the provision of food or refreshments is an integral part of an official Elk River function and the provision of food or refreshment is necessary to ensure meaningful participation by the participants. 6. Public expenditures for appropriate community and customer outreach and similar activities serve a public purpose when those expenditures are necessary for Elk River to ensure the efficient operation of its programs/services, promote the availability and use of city resources, and promote coordinated, cooperative planning activities among and between the public and the private sectors. Specific Programs and Expenditures Every City of Elk River expenditure must be valid based upon the public purpose for which it is expended. These line-items are approved annually by the City Council as a part of the overall budget approval process which includes a public hearing on the proposed budget. The following items are deemed to meet the Council definition of public purpose expenditures. Meetings: Food/Meals/Refreshments The City Council recognizes that situations in which city business needs to be discussed can and do occur during meal hours (i.e. luncheon meetings). In addition, there are public and employee meetings and events in which reasonable refreshments may add to the success of the meeting and/or event and create a more productive workforce. Meals are allowed at training or meetings only when they are part of a meeting or training involving official city business and when it is the only practical time to meet. The following items are deemed to meet the Council's definition of public purpose expenditures in regards to food/meals/refreshments. a. Allowed at city meetings and events that have the purpose of discussing city issues. These meetings would normally have a pre-planned agenda and would involve predominately non- city employees. b. Allowed when they are part of the structured agenda for an offsite conference,workshop, seminar, training session, or meeting in which the City Administrator or a department director has authorized the employee to attend for training and development purposes. This does not include routine staff meetings. C. Allowed when they are part of a breakfast/lunch/dinner meeting for official city business when it is the only practical time to meet and when it involves non-city employee participants (i.e. business developers or business representatives). Payment for fees relating to a special event, such as a Chamber of Commerce event,may also be allowed when approved by the City Administrator and when attendance is deemed to meet the public purpose guidelines for community or customer outreach and marketing of the city. d. Allowed during non-routine, official meetings of the City Council, council committees, advisory boards/commissions, and taskforces. e. Allowed where employees or volunteers are participating in a City Council sponsored or authorized special event or in an outside event as an official representative of the city. f. Allowed for department sponsored meetings, conferences or workshops where the majority of invited participants are not city employees. g. Cookies and coffee allowed for city employees'monthly safety meetings sponsored by the Safety Committee. h. Annual safety training lunch where lunch is provided at a minimal cost while safety training is being held. i. A dinner meal to be allowed for staff during performance of election related duties on Election Day. j. Coffee is provided by the city for employees and guests at city buildings. k. Light refreshments may be provided for employees that separate employment after 10 years of service.