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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-29-18 Council Workshop SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS:  The City of Arlington strives to provide accessible meetings for people with disabilities. Please contact the  ADA coordinator at (360) 403‐3441 or 711 (TDD only) prior to the meeting date if special accommodations are required.    CALL TO ORDER  Mayor Barb Tolbert    PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE    ROLL CALL  Mayor Barb Tolbert – Kristin   APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA  Mayor Pro Tem Marilyn Oertle    INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS    WORKSHOP ITEMS – NO FINAL ACTION WILL BE TAKEN  1. Police Chief employment agreement renewal       ATTACHMENT A      Staff Presentation:  Paul Ellis      Council Liaison:  Marilyn Oertle    2. Community & Economic Development Department staffing   ATTACHMENT B       Staff Presentation:  Paul Ellis        Council Liaison:  Debora Nelson    3. Resolution and Interlocal Agreement (ILA) to participate in  ATTACHMENT C      wildland fire deployments      Staff Presentation:  Dave Kraski        Council Liaison:  Jesica Stickles     4. April 2018 Financial Report             ATTACHMENT D      Staff Presentation:  Sheri Amundson                      5. Miscellaneous council items    PUBLIC COMMENT  For members of the public who wish to speak to the Council. Please limit your remarks  to three minutes.    COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS    Arlington City Council Workshop                                                       Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at 7:00 pm          City Council Chambers – 110 E 3rd Street SPECIAL ACCOMMODATIONS: The City of Arlington strives to provide accessible meetings for people with disabilities. Please contact the  ADA coordinator at (360) 403‐3441 or 711 (TDD only) prior to the meeting date if special accommodations are required.  EXECUTIVE SESSION    RECONVENE    ADJOURNMENT  Mayor Barb Tolbert  City of Arlington Council Agenda Bill Item: WS #1 Attachment A COUNCIL MEETING DATE: May 29, 2018 SUBJECT: Police Chief Employment Agreement Renewal ATTACHMENTS: Police Chief Employment Agreement DEPARTMENT OF ORIGIN Administration; Paul Ellis EXPENDITURES REQUESTED: Budgeted BUDGET CATEGORY: Police BUDGETED AMOUNT: LEGAL REVIEW: Pending final review by the City Attorney DESCRIPTION: Council is requested to approve the employment agreement renewal with Jonathan Ventura to serve as Police Chief in accordance with AMC 2.32.030. HISTORY: The Police Chief is a contract position appointed by the Mayor and subject to confirmation by the City Council. ALTERNATIVES None RECOMMENDED MOTION: Workshop; discussion only. At the June 4, 2018 Council meeting, the recommended motion will be “I move to approve the employment agreement for Jonathan Ventura to serve as Police Chief.” 1 Employment Contract   CITY OF ARLINGTON EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT THIS EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”), is made and entered into this 1st day of June, 2018, by and between JONATHAN VENTURA (“Employee”) and the CITY OF ARLINGTON (“Employer”). In consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, Employee and Employer acknowledge and agree as follows: I. Employment and Term of Employment. Effective as of the date hereof Employee shall faithfully and competently and to the best of his abilities, serve Employer as Police Chief, subject to the general supervision and direction City Administrator, and he shall devote his working time to the duties and responsibilities as set forth in Arlington Municipal Code Chapter 2.32. This employment agreement shall remain in effect until terminated by either party. II. Compensation; Base Salary; Adjustment to Base Salary. As compensation of Employee’s services under this Agreement, Employer shall pay and Employee shall accept a base salary, per the City Council approved salary schedule and in the salary range of Police Chief and subject to market adjustments of such kind and nature as are offered to all City management employees. Any additional compensation will follow all policies as set out in the Employer’s Employment Policies and Procedures. III. Benefits. During the term of the Employee’s employment pursuant to this Agreement, Employer shall provide Employee with employment benefits of such kind and nature as are offered to all City management employees and described in Employer’s Employment Policies and Procedures, as the same now exists or may from time to time hereafter be amended. Employer shall provide Employee with the following benefits: a. Vacation and Holidays. Employee shall accrue vacation hours at a rate of 18 hours per month during the term of this Agreement (27 days per year). The maximum vacation of balance of 320 hours may be carried over from year to year, as described in the Employer’s Employment Policies and Procedures. Employee shall be authorized holiday leave as provided to other full-time employees through the Employer’s Employment Policies and Procedures. b. Sick Leave. Employee shall accrue sick leave at the rate of eight (8) hours per calendar month of employment as provided in the Employer’s Employment Policies and Procedures. c. Insurance Benefits. Employer shall provide Employee with insurance benefits consistent with those provided to all other management employees and pursuant to the Employer’s Employment Policies and Procedures. 2 Employment Contract   d. Retirement. Employer shall make reasonable and customary contributions on the Employee’s behalf to the Law Enforcement Officers’ and Fire Fighters’ Retirement System (LEOFF) Plan 2. e. Professional Memberships. Employer shall pay the professional dues and subscriptions necessary for Employee’s continued participation in national, regional, state, and local professional associations and organizations necessary and desirable for his continued professional growth and advancement, and for the good of Employer. Expenses incurred shall be subject to limitations established by the Employer’s annual budget. f. Professional Conferences. Employer shall pay the conference tuition, travel, food, lodging and incidental expenses of Employee for professional and official travel, meetings and occasions relating to Employer business as approved according to Employer’s policies. Expenses incurred shall be subject to limitations established by the Employer’s annual budget. g. Civic organizations. Employer shall pay the annual dues and expenses of Employee for membership in such area civic organizations as Employee may choose to join. Expenses incurred shall be subject to limitations established by the Employer’s annual budget. h. Equipment. Employee shall be issued a police department vehicle for his use in performing his duties under the term of this Agreement, including, without limitation, a take-home car. Employee shall also be issued all necessary and required personal protective equipment for performance of his duties under the terms of this Agreement. I. The employee is eligible to participate in the Tuition Reimbursement Program to complete professional development as approved by the City Administrator, subject to the provisions in the Employer’s Employment Policies and Procedures. IV. Termination of Employment. Employee’s employment may be terminated before the expiration of the term of this Agreement only as follows: a. Employee’s employment pursuant to this Agreement shall terminate automatically upon the death of the Employee. Promptly thereafter, Employer shall pay the Employee’s estate Employee’s base salary at the then current rate through the date of death, plus a lump sum cash payment in an amount equal to Employee’s accrued but unused vacation time and one-third of his accrued sick leave, up to a maximum of 240 hours, all as provided in the Employer’s Employment Policies and Procedures. b. Employee may terminate his employment pursuant to this Agreement upon no less than thirty (30) days prior written notice to the Employer, which notice 3 Employment Contract   requirement may be waived in whole or in part by the Mayor with the consent of the Council in their sole discretion. Promptly following the effective date of Employee’s termination of his employment pursuant to this section Employer shall pay to Employee his base salary through the effective date of termination, at the then current rate, plus a lump sum cash payment in an amount equal to Employee’s accrued unused vacation time and one-third of his accrued sick leave, up to a maximum of 240 hours, all as provided in the Employer’s Employment Policies and Procedures. c. Employee’s employment pursuant to his Agreement may be terminated at any time in the sole and exclusive discretion of Employer for any reason or for no reason. Such termination shall only become effective upon thirty (30) days notice given to Employee, and the following provisions: 1. If such termination is not for cause, as that term is defined herein, then Employee shall receive his base salary to the effective date of his termination, plus a lump sum cash payment in an amount equal to the sum of Employee’s accrued, unused vacation time and one-third of unused sick leave, up to a maximum of 240 hours, all as provided in Employer’s Employment Policies and Procedures. Employee shall further receive severance pay in the amount of four months of the Employee’s salary. All severance pay shall be paid monthly unless otherwise agreed by both parties and is subject to usual and customary withholding. 2. If such termination is for cause, as that term is defined herein, the Employer shall within thirty (30) days after the effective date of termination of Employee’s employment pursuant to this subsection pay to Employee his base salary through the date of termination, plus lump sum cash payment in an amount equivalent to his accrued but unused vacation time. “Cause” shall be limited to the following: i. Material breach of this Agreement or misconduct by Employee. A determination of “cause” as described in this section shall be within the province of the Employer; provided, however, unless and until Employee has been given written notice from the Mayor of the particular breach, duties, instructions, policies or directives he has failed to follow, or the particular respect in which his conduct has been found wanting or unacceptable and given a reasonable opportunity to correct his actions (if correctable), Employee may not be terminated for cause. Employee’s failure or refusal to carry out, implement, or adhere to unlawful policies, directives, duties, or instructions which are not reasonably capable of being performed generally, or specifically by him, shall under no circumstances constitute cause. ii. Unreasonable neglect or refusal to perform the duties and responsibilities assigned to Employee, or failure to provide an acceptable 4 Employment Contract   quality of professional service. “Acceptable quality of professional service” means a quality that would be generally acceptable in the law enforcement community in a Washington city of size comparable to Arlington. Further, performance conforming to LESA standards for certification of a law enforcement agency shall be presumed to be “acceptable”. Unless and until Employee has been given written notice from the Mayor of the particular breach, duties, instructions, policies or directives he has failed to follow, or the particular respect in which his conduct has been found wanting or unacceptable and given a reasonable opportunity to correct his actions (if correctable), Employee may not be terminated for cause. Employee’s failure or refusal to carry out, implement, or adhere to unlawful policies, directives, duties, or instructions which are not reasonably capable of being performed generally, or specifically by him, shall under no circumstances constitute cause. iii. An arrest for a criminal offense, the filing of a complaint, information or indictment alleging a crime, or a conviction of any crime. “Arrest” does not include a mere Terry stop, traffic stop, field identification and release, or being held in an alleged domestic violence incident if the incident is dismissed by a court within 10 days. Cause as defined in subparagraph 2(iii) shall be grounds for immediate termination and Employee shall not be entitled to notice. d. Immediately upon the effective date of termination of employee, Employee shall cease to perform any activities on behalf of, and will cease to hold himself out as representing Employer, and will forfeit and return all Employer issued equipment and other Employer owned property assigned to, or in the possession of the Employee. V. Provisions of General Applicability a. Performance Evaluations. The City Administrator shall conduct a performance review, at least annually, and not later than December 31 of any year. b. Amendment. No amendment or modification of this Agreement shall become effective unless authorized by the City Council and made in writing and signed by both Employer and Employee. c. Integration. Except for documents expressly referred to within this contract, which are hereby incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein, this document expresses the complete agreement between Employer and Employee, and they have not entered into any other agreements, either oral or written. d. Severability. To the extent any provision of this Agreement shall be found invalid or unenforceable, it shall be considered deleted here from, and the remainder of 5 Employment Contract   such provision and of this Agreement shall be unaffected and shall continue in full force and effect. e. Notice. All notices required or permitted to the given hereunder shall be in writing and shall be given to the parties addressed as follows: To Employee: Jonathan Ventura To Employer: Mayor Barbara Tolbert City of Arlington, Washington Or at such other address as a party may be noticed direct. Notices shall be deemed given only upon personal service on the party or upon confirmation of receipt by US Mail, certified mail, return receipt requested. CITY OF ARLINGTON Employee __________________________ ______________________________ Barbara Tolbert, Mayor Jonathan Ventura Approved as to form: ____________________________ Steven J. Peiffle City Attorney City of Arlington Council Agenda Bill Item: WS #2 Attachment B COUNCIL MEETING DATE: May 29, 2018 SUBJECT: Community & Economic Development Department Staffing ATTACHMENTS: Staffing Request; Employee/Permit Comparison; Gant Chart; CED Organization Chart DEPARTMENT OF ORIGIN Community & Economic Development (CED) EXPENDITURES REQUESTED: $4,129/month plus benefits BUDGET CATEGORY: Community & Economic Development BUDGETED AMOUNT: LEGAL REVIEW: Pending final approval by the City Attorney DESCRIPTION: Council is being asked to approve a newly created position ‐ Permit Technician II. This position is for the advancement of the existing Permit Technician I positions, and the team members who have received advanced certifications or education and want to advance their careers within the organization. The position will be made available to all three disciplines; Planning/Land Use, Civil/Project Management and Building/Plan Review. This position request has no impact on the current budget, and the wage represents a new July 1, 2018 figure. HISTORY: As depicted in the attached Gant Chart, CED has been significantly understaffed since 2013. CED currently has only 5 employees in the busiest growth climate that Arlington has historically undergone. As shown in the attached employee comparison, in 2007 there were 13 plus employees in the department processing 526 permits for the year. In 2017, CED processed 942 permits with 5 full‐time employees and generated revenues just shy of $1.2 million. Permit activity through the first four months of 2018 indicates that we will surpass all previous permit intake and revenue levels. The creation of this new position will allow CED to advance the two existing Permit Technicians into roles that will enhance their skill levels and provide a higher degree of participation and responsibility. Advancing current team members to the Permit Technician II position will allow CED to immediately hire a Permit Technician I position, thus helping with the employee deficit in the department. ALTERNATIVES: Remand to staff for further information. RECOMMENDED MOTION: Workshop; discussion only. At the June 4, 2018 council meeting, the recommended motion will be, “I move to approve adding an additional employee to Community & Economic Development Department.” 2018 Staffing Request and Justification This request will address three elements of staffing within the Community and Economic Development Department. Workload, Function and Funding. The first staffing item is from a sheer workload increase / staffing decrease position. Since 2007 to current 2018 levels, as depicted in the chart below, it is clearly shown that the workload for CED has increased by 79%, while staffing levels have decreased by 55%. This burden of workload has been absorbed by staff over the last ten years, but not without a cost, as has been supported by comments made by recent employee departures (Karns, Rusko) at their exit interviews. From these comments alone, it is apparent that there is enough strain on current staffing levels that individuals felt it necessary to seek employment elsewhere. CED is currently contracting for additional staffing for the Building Official, Building Inspection and Senior Planner positions just to remain operational, this is acceptable on an interim basis, but is not a long term solution for the department to function correctly or remain efficient. The second item to address are adequate staffing levels to cover the essentials such as sick leave, vacation and adequate training opportunities for staff. With all staff members being responsible for multiple job functions/responsibilities it creates a very lean and efficient workgroup, this is an efficient model, but to a detriment. Because everyone is so dependent on one another if someone is out sick, on vacation, or at training, that individuals primary job function needs to be completed by another staff member or not completed at all which in turn has a domino effect on the department, leading to inefficiencies and consequences to process. This lean work model only functions successfully with realistic staffing to workload ratios. The third item is the yearly revenue that the CED department generates. As depicted in the attached chart there is a clearly defined divergence between the increase in revenues and the level of staffing within the department. Although the increase in revenues has a direct correlation with the economy and market conditions, CED has positioned itself and operates in a manner that provides efficiencies and opportunities that have garnered the interests of investors from non‐local sources, something that Arlington has not been proficient at in the past. This success has, of course, led to additional workload for the department which in turn requires investment in resources for the department to meet the demands placed upon it. These required resources should logically be funded from the revenues the CED department generates as a reinvestment in the department. Revenue generated in the CED department has increased by 97 % between 2007 and 2017, 2018 has already shown to be well on its way to exceed all previous years of revenue generated by Building, Civil and Land Use permitting. This of course is only possible with adequate staffing for the department. CED does not plan to replace the Building Official at this time and will continue to utilize consultant services for the BO, Plan Review and Inspector. Assuming that we expend $40,000.00 for those contracted services, we still have $50,000.00 budgeted that can be used to fund an FTE, therefore there would no impact to the current budget. The CED department proposes the following staffing increase which not only helps to address the current disproportionate staffing to workload levels, but would also address staff coverage issues related to sick, vacation and training leaves. The requested position is for a Permit Technician II whose primary job function would be to perform the current planning tasks of the Planning Division (land use permits, reports, file management, etc.) under the supervision of the Senior Planner, allowing the Senior Planner to focus on higher priority current planning and long‐range planning issues and not the time consuming administrative tasks such as the permitting process. The secondary job functions of this position would be to assist in the day to day functions and provide coverage of the other Permit Technicians as required. This additional staff member would provide for the time to allow others to pursue training opportunities in the advancement of their careers, creating a more valuable employee and aligning with the succession planning of both the department and the City. This of course is only one step in addressing the looming issue of succession planning, but is a positive step in doing so. In closing I would like to point out that the experience in trying to find qualified personnel to replace vacant positions has not been a positive one. With the organization chart attached, you will see that each discipline, Planning, Building and Civil all have Permit Technicians that, when adequately trained to do so, could advance into a position to fulfill the functions of a vacant position and be more easily backfilled by an entry level Permit Technician instead of trying to solicit experienced candidates which may or not be readily available. Thank you for your time and consideration regarding this request for an additional staff member. Marc Hayes 2007 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Land Use Permits 67 63 60 73 98 109 Civil Permits 129 147 122 120 175 315 Building Permits 330 271 282 320 392 518 Total Permits 526 481 464 513 665 942 2007 Employees Title 2017 Employees Title Sonya Blacker Permit Tech Launa Peterson  Permit Tech Brenda Fecht Permit Tech Kristin Foster Permit Tech Amy Rusko ‐ 1/4 Permit Tech Vicki Admin Specialist Laura Brown Eng. Permit Tech Marc Hayes Code Enforcement (Vacant) Code Enforcement Yvonne Page Sr. Planner Kristi Remle Sr. Planner Nate Hudson Assoc. Planner (Vacant) Assoc. Planner Dave Anderson Building Official (Vacant) Building Official Scott Black Building Inspector Kevin Olander Comination Inspector Kerry Wentz Building Inspector Kelli Hale ‐ 1/2 Sr. Engineer Nova Heaton Development Services Mgr. Brad Collins Director Marc Hayes Director Tim Cross ‐ 1/2 PW Inspector 13.25 employees 5 employees I added Kelli because she did all the development reviews for civil I added Tim because he did all the development insepctions for civil Amy Rusko started as a Permit Technician on September of 2007                              2017 has seen a 55% decrease in employees since 2007 2017 has seen a 79% increase in permits over 2007 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 700,000 800,000 900,000 1,000,000 1,100,000 1,200,000 1,300,000 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 FU L L T I M E E M P L O Y E E S RE V E N U E YEAR REVENUE FTE Community & Economic Development Consultant Services for Economic Dev. Contract Marketing Strategies Regional Planning/ Comp Plan Contract Service Permit Tech II Proposed Position Associate Planner Vacant Recruiting Plans Examiner/ Combination Inspector Kevin Olander Permit Tech I Kristin Foster Building Official Vacant Contract Services Permit Tech II LaunaPeterson Development Services Manager Nova Heaton Code Compliance Officer Vacant Recruiting CED Director Marc Hayes City of Arlington Council Agenda Bill Item: WS #3 Attachment C COUNCIL MEETING DATE: May 29, 2018 SUBJECT: Resolution and Interlocal Agreement (ILA) to participate in wildland fire deployments ATTACHMENTS: Draft Resolution Interlocal Agreement DEPARTMENT OF ORIGIN Fire EXPENDITURES REQUESTED: None BUDGET CATEGORY: N/A BUDGETED AMOUNT: N/A LEGAL REVIEW: Pending final review by City Attorney DESCRIPTION: Council is asked to consider approval of a resolution and interlocal agreement that permits Arlington Fire to participate in the Snohomish County Fire Chiefs Association Fire Coordinating Group (SCFCAFCG), which was organized and structured in part to train and certify wildfire firefighting. Washington State Department of Natural Resources has historically maintained responsibility of training certification and compliance regarding wildland firefighting for personnel statewide. They have made a policy change and through interlocal agreements with individual counties, empowered them to oversee the programs. In Snohomish County, that agency is the Snohomish County Fire Chiefs Association. The attached resolution and interlocal agreement authorizes participation in the group. HISTORY: Snohomish County Fire Chiefs Association (SCFCA), has entered into an interlocal agreement with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to administer fire department members’ incident qualifications for wildland firefighting. SCFCA is acting as the official training group for those agencies within Snohomish County. ALTERNATIVES: Take no action which would prevent participating in wildland deployments. RECOMMENDED MOTION: Workshop; discussion only. At the June 4, 2018 council meeting, the recommended motion will be, “I move to approve the proposed Resolution and Interlocal Agreement with the Snohomish County Fire Chiefs Association for Wildland fire training and certification, and authorize the Mayor to sign.” RESOLUTION NO. 2018‐xxx  RESOLUTION NO. 2018‐xxx      A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF ARLINGTON,  WASHINGTON AGREEING TO JOIN THE  SNOHOMISH COUNTY FIRE CHIEFS ASSOCIATION INCIDENT QUALIFICATION SYSTEM RELATING  TO NWCG INCIDENT QUALIFICATION SYSTEM (IQS).      WHEREAS, public safety depends on having an incident qualification system; and    WHEREAS, the Snohomish County Fire Chiefs Association (SCFCA), has entered into an  interlocal agreement with the Washington State Department of Natural Resources to  administer its fire district/department members incident qualifications as it relates to IQS  qualifications; and    WHEREAS, SCFCA is acting as the official training group for those agencies within  Snohomish County that choose to track their own IQS incident qualifications; and    WHEREAS, the SCFCA has established a inter agency incident qualification review  committee to evaluate those members seeking fire line qualification advancement above the  Single Resource Boss (SRB) level; and    WHEREAS, independent industry expert analysis by multiple agency representatives at  the Strike Team Leader Level or greater fully vet any and all requests for an upgrade in fire line  rating; and    WHEREAS, based on applicable training courses, evaluations, fire line experience, and  task book sign offs recommend or deny a candidates requests for in upgrade in fire line rating;  and    WHEREAS, each participating agency administers their own fire line qualification system  utilizing the NWCG PMS 310‐1Incident Qualification Guide from the NWCG Wild Land  Firefighter II, up to NWCG Wildland Firefighter 1; and      NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Arlington, Washington do hereby resolve as  follows:    The City of Arlington agrees to use the interlocal agreement that is established between  the Washington State Department of Natural Resources and the Snohomish County Fire Chiefs  Association pertaining to the incident qualification system and a joint intergovernmental review  committee.      APPROVED by the Mayor and City Council of the City of Arlington this 4th day of June, 2018.    RESOLUTION NO. 2018‐xxx              CITY OF ARLINGTON                 ____________________________________              Barbara Tolbert, Mayor    ATTEST:      _________________________________  Kristin Banfield, City Clerk        APPROVED AS TO FORM:      __________________________________  Steven J. Peiffle, City Attorney    City of Arlington Council Agenda Bill Item: WS #4 Attachment D COUNCIL MEETING DATE: May 29, 2018 SUBJECT: April 2018 Financial Report ATTACHMENTS: Financial Reports – Narrative General Fund Operating Statement Revenue Charts Other Fund Operating Statements DEPARTMENT OF ORIGIN Finance; Kristin Garcia – Finance Director 360‐403‐3431 EXPENDITURES REQUESTED: 0 BUDGET CATEGORY: N/A BUDGETED AMOUNT: N/A LEGAL REVIEW: Pending final review by City Attorney DESCRIPTION: Attached is the April 2018 financial report. HISTORY: ALTERNATIVES: RECOMMENDED MOTION: Workshop; discussion only. 1    2018 April Financial Report – Kristin Garcia, Finance Director  GENERAL FUND   The general fund’s ending fund balance as of April 30, 2018 was $2,948,686.    Retail sales tax revenue to date is $1,508,053.  Year to date we’ve collected $216,302 or 16% more  than last year.  As we begin to develop the 2019/2020 budget, we’ll be monitoring the trend closely  and evaluating economic factors.  Based current trends, I expect that we’ll be able to increase our  2019/2020 projections over what we budgeted for 2018.    OTHER FUNDS  Social Services Fund – Officer Thomas has been doing outreach and utilizing the city’s social services  fund, making connections with many individuals.  As of April 30, $603 has been spent for meals, a  backpack and emergency shelter.  EMS Fund – required an additional loan for the month of April.  The total outstanding balance on  the loan, including 2017, is $498,195.74.  With the May EMS levy receipts, the intent is to repay the  2017 outstanding loan, plus all accrued interest to date.  OTHER INFORMATION  Passports  2018  Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  June  July  Aug  Sept  Oct  Nov  Dec  Applications  Processed  112  120  103  119                    Investments  As of April 30, 2018, the city’s investment portfolio (excluding cash held in the checking account)  was $33.5 million.  Investments are held in the following;  $26.2 million in a variety of agency/treasury bonds with staggered maturity dates, $2.6 million in  the LGIP, $1.8 million in an interest bearing savings account, $1.1 million in a certificate of deposit  and $1.8 million in municipal bonds.  A question came up during our last council workshop regarding investment in the LGIP and making  sure the city is diversifying its investments.  Staff considers a range of options when making  investment decisions including, but not limited to; cash flow needs, interest rates, the type of  investment instrument, and general economic conditions.  It’s our basic goal to make sure we’re  maximizing interest income, diversifying investments to manage risk and to meet cash flow needs.  2    Bond Rating  Standard and Poors (S&P) Global Ratings recently raised its long‐term rating on the City's 2014  limited‐tax general obligation (LTGO) bonds from "A+" to "AA‐" with a stable outlook. The upgraded  rating reflects S&P's view of the city's strong local economy, the City's strong management with  good financial policies, strong budgetary flexibility with a healthy cash reserve, and very strong  liquidity.  The stable outlook from S&P reflects their opinion that the city will maintain cash reserves  at 15%.  If reserves fall below $500,000 (or to a level S&P doesn’t consider “strong”) or the economy  starts to deteriorate, the bond rating could be downgraded.  Higher bond ratings benefit our citizens and businesses over the long‐term, with the potential for  lower interest rates if the city decides to borrow money in the future.