Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Tech fund created by city council

From: [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2003 00:31:06 -0500

Tech fund created by city council
By Sarah Bingaman Schwartz
Sun Newspapers
(Created 12/4/03 10:35:00 AM)

The Brooklyn Center City Council passed a resolution on Monday, Nov. 24, to
create a technology fund within the city budget.

The fund would be used to hold money earmarked for technology purchases, such as
grant money. Unspent general fund money from the 2003 fiscal year budget would
likely go into the fund to pay for the city’s fiber optics project.
City Manager Michael McCauley said in a memo to the council that another project
for the technology fund might be replacing police radios to comply with 800 MHz
standards.

McCauley added that money could be accumulated in the fund to help pay for large
single expenses, like server replacement.
“Instead of planning and saving for three years, [right now] we have to budget
for the whole server in one year,” he said. “If we have this fund, instead of
$20,000 in one year, we can save $5,000 for four years. We could take technology
we know is going to be replaced in three or four years and fund it out like
depreciation.”

According to McCauley, another benefit would be that money wouldn’t have to be
spent if an equipment replacement wasn’t necessary.

Under the current system, he said, if money is budgeted for printer replacement,
the printers have to be replaced if they need it or not, to use the money.

Councilmember Kathleen Carmody wasn’t sure that creating another fund would
really simplify anything since grant money is always designated for one use
anyway.

McCauley said that the technology fund would allow an appropriation to be put
into the fund instead of being split among all the city departments.

“We would have a fund for buying computers, servers, printers,” McCauley said.
“If we don’t have to buy those things, it isn’t hurting any particular budget.”

He also told the council that they would still have to approve major
expenditures from the account.
The fund would allow an easy system of seeing how much money is readily
available for something like the fiber optic project, McCauley added.

“We’d have monies to look at and see if we can do the fiber optics project and
not tap the capital projects fund,” he said.
In the past few years, technology replacements for the city have gone by the
wayside for more important things. McCauley said he hopes the technology fund
could help to gradually update more outdated equipment.

Councilmember Diane Niesen agreed with McCauley that the keeping up with
technology improvements is necessary.
“In some respects, it seems like technology has become its own niche,” she said.
“If you have a fund, that helps you to think about things being kept current.
“

Niesen also liked the idea of spreading large expenditures out over more than
one budget cycle.
“I’d rather see things levelly hit the budget than a lot in one year.”

http://www.mnsun.com/archive.asp?display=story2&year=2003&storyID=125156

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