5.3 ERMUSR 08-09-2022______________________________________________________________________________
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UTILITIES COMMISSION MEETING
TO:
ERMU Commission
FROM:
Melissa Karpinski – Finance Manager
MEETING DATE:
August 9, 2022
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER:
5.3
SUBJECT:
2023 Annual Business Plan: Travel & Training; Dues, Subscriptions, and Fees Budget
ACTION REQUESTED:
None
DISCUSSION:
The 2023 budgeting process has begun. Per the 2022 Governance Agenda the budgeting
process schedule is as follows:
August Meeting: Travel & Training
Dues & Subscriptions - Fees
September Meeting: 20 Year Capital Projections
Capital Projections
Conservation Improvement Program
October Meeting: Projected Purchased Power Costs
Projected Sales Revenues
Projected Expenses
November Meeting: Completed Budget with Rate Analysis
December Meeting: Adopt Budget with Rate changes (if any)
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The Travel & Training budget has a 13% increase over the prior year. The increase is mainly due
to additional leadership training, additional American Public Power Association (APPA) training,
additional training for the new General Manager, and some additional training for the new
attorney. Some of the proposed key items are as follows:
• Additional leadership training in all departments that was identified as a need in our
Organizational Effectiveness Survey: $20,000 (distributed among all departments) as
well as strategic planning and management training: $20,000.
• Minnesota Municipal Utilities Association Stepping into Leadership (replacing 1st Line
Supervision): $14,110.
• Additional APPA training: $7,000.
• Participation at the APPA rodeo for one team: $5,000.
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• Additional American Water Works Association and Minnesota Rural Water Association
training for new General Manager: $4,300.
• APPA Legal & Regulatory Conference for new attorney: $3,350.
• Commercial Driving School for new inventory assistant: $3,000.
• The Utility Equipment Expo in Kentucky: $3,000.
The Dues & Subscriptions - Fees budget has a 2% increase over the prior year. During the next
couple of months there will be additional amounts identified for Advanced Metering
Infrastructure and a customer service chat feature on our website. The customer service survey
has been added to the budget for 2023 for $6,000 and will be in the second year of data
collection. All other increases are immaterial in nature.
ATTACHMENTS:
• Proposed 2023 Travel & Training Budget
• Proposed 2023 Dues & Subscriptions - Fees Budget
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