The Crookston City Council met Monday in the council chambers at City Hall and got an update on the 2023 audit.
2023 AUDIT REPORT
Jon Roscoe, CPA from Miller McDonald, gave a presentation regarding the City of Crookston 2023 Audit. Jon said he identified some areas of concern. “The bank reconciliation is a process of comparing the draw balance to the bank balance,” McDonald said. “Typically, that is done monthly, and that procedure wasn’t completed for a few months, and then later, it was caught up, and they were all done at one time.”
Overall, Roscoe said that changes are being made and that turnover at the city, especially in finance, has been an issue, and he believes being well-staffed will make all the difference. We asked the City Administrator, Jeff Shoobridge, about his feelings about the 2023 Audit presentation. “Generally speaking, it went as expected; we knew we had a few items we needed to review,” says Shoobridge. “That was 2023; moving into 2024, we have Clifton Larson, an accounting consultant who has been working with us to improve our processes.”
CONSENT AGENDA
The consent agenda for the meeting was approved. It included the approval of the City Council Minutes from October 14, 2024, a resolution to approve City of Crookston Bills and Disbursements for $285,207.19, and a resolution calling for a public hearing regarding the proposed 2024 Assessments.
CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT APPROVED
First on the regular agenda was a resolution regarding a conditional use permit at 0 College Ave so owners Darrel & Diane LaCoursiere can use their property for outdoor storage of vehicles or material. This item had been to Planning and Zoning last week and was unanimously approved by the council.
CASH FARM LEASE APPROVED
A Cash Farm Lease for the Lagoon Property for 2024-2027 was approved. The Lagoon Cash Farm Lease agreement between the City of Crookston and Edward Helgeson expires on October 31, 2024, and upon advertising, the City of Crookston received two bids. The highest bidder was Ryan Richman, who had a bid of $6,000.00 per farm season. The land being leased is approximately 89 tillable acres, and the lease would be effective for three farm seasons. The council unanimously approved the Cash Farm Lease with Ryan Richman.
The council took some time to discuss the Non-Profit Organization’s requests. We will have who requested what and how much they received coming up tomorrow.
The council then went into a closed session to discuss LELS Labor Negotiations. After the Closed session, a summary was given, in which Jeff Shoobridge said negotiations were headed in the right direction and should be finished soon.
