Fund Transfers & Property Improvements on Council Agenda

With the year winding down, the city will ask its governing body to approve a slew of inter-fund transfers and appropriations at tonight's Mentor City Council Meeting.

The fiscal revisions on tonight's agenda include:

• A $300,000 transfer from the general fund to the general obligation bond retirement fund to help with debt service payments.

• According to a memo from Finance Director David W. Malinowski to City Manager Kenneth J. Filipiak, $543,500 in advances will also be requested. The bulk of it, $460,000, will go toward the Phase II fund of the Market Street/Bellflower project. A $10,000 temporary cash advance to the special assessment bond retirement fund would also help cover debt service payments. The advances would be returned with the receipt of tax revenue this year or next.

• Malinowski would make $760,500 in increased appropriations for the Economic Development portion of the general fund; $115,637 for Engineering; and $162,844 in fund realignment between Public Works and Engineering related to sidewalk replacement.

An ordinance authorizing the infrastructure improvement of a few properties to be a "public purpose" is also on the agenda. Because the city believes the commercial improvements would produce jobs and more income revenue, a public purpose would make these properties exempt from taxation.

However, the owners would need to pay semiannual service payments for the same amount as the real property taxes would have been. Under this agreement, the school district and library district would receive a portion of the service payments to compensate for revenue those entities have not realized.

The properties in question include Great Lakes Mall, Cleveland Clinic and Biolife.
The infrastructure improvements include work on the roads around the properties, including Diamond Centre Drive, Heisley Road, Center Street and Tyler Boulevard. Costs related to sanitary sewer systems, water distribution lines, architecture, inspection and more are also included in the definition of "infrastructure improvements."

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at city hall.