[{"_1":2,"_111":-5,"_112":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87,99],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6189049,"mediaKeyId","5058780-8188853a1ea241113dbf77f1457f53f6","parentId",5058780,"title","Councilors hear questions on water-plant flood protection; berm material reused to cap demolition landfill","audioSeconds",237,"startMs",4302000,"endMs",4539000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5058780-8188853a1ea241113dbf77f1457f53f6&start=4302&end=4539","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5058780-8188853a1ea241113dbf77f1457f53f6/thumbnail_4302000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6189049/International-Falls-City/Koochiching/Minnesota/Councilors-hear-questions-on-water-plant-flood-protection-berm-material-reused-to-cap-demolition-landfill","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6189049-cb1847bcd90c51a1c3d9447c1ff89c7c/orig.mp4?Expires=1770450717&Signature=QqrlEQH2vvbPnf-a~z7INioYB1IJ~nO8~BsCil5Bb6KjouCKepjvewJWaZ9Yps-RraGMyBEejlsWTRcTSXWX6v55U56lLMJ7wTMIf7N6Iys0rlhwo80OlpHv5HMw8B9uvbUtrQjcrJUB9KuZYrsnkdo4HTUmVRKtL~fUPtdx4TfzKjqQriiqTs9KPkK40spgLQzJ2B0k-SgzjgLDFBfsUIniJObw4Ygw7nb5AATxjNEkKEyu09ph6reot5zdYFOdf6tdKG2alPl6xmdW3WOnDA~I2QuTiIUzZ9JDAx-g4QIirwz20zHmUPXGIFnS1qjagksmEOguyPO4hwIVbTaMJQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","City Council of International Falls, MN","date","2025-06-24T18:44:07Z","article","City public-commenters and councilors raised questions Monday about flood protection at the city water treatment plant and whether clay used for an emergency berm had been removed and repurposed.

Resident Joe Canter asked whether clay and dirt that had been used around the water-treatment plant — and in previous flood responses — were removed and whether their reuse could leave the plant vulnerable during future floods: “Are we gonna be protected or city water gonna be protected or not?” he asked.

Public Works Director Ted Broca (responding at council request) said the berm placed around the plant in 2022 was temporary and constructed under an emergency arrangement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; because the berm was not engineered as a permanent structure, it had to be removed after the flood event and carried no warranty from federal authorities. Broca said the clay used to construct the berm was excavated “within 2 miles of the water plant” and placed at the city demolition landfill to cap that site rather than being left in place around the plant.

Broca said the city is working on mechanical controls and rehabilitation at the treatment plant — including addressing a raw-water intake gate that cannot currently be shut — and that the city is seeking funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a more permanent berm. He cautioned that obtaining Army Corps funding for a new engineered berm could take as long as 10 years.

Mayor and council members said they want to ensure the plant is protected and asked staff to pursue funding options and report back to the council. No new construction contract or immediate funding decision was made at the meeting.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Special City Council Meeting for June 23, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Councilors and residents discussed protection of the city water-treatment plant after public questions about whether clay used for a temporary berm was removed and reused elsewhere.","taxTitle","International Falls City, Koochiching, Minnesota","taxId",71436,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6189054,"Residents press council on ambulance deficit, LGA reliance and county cooperation",723,3025000,3748000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5058780-8188853a1ea241113dbf77f1457f53f6&start=3025&end=3748","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5058780-8188853a1ea241113dbf77f1457f53f6/thumbnail_3025000.jpg","/articles/6189054/International-Falls-City/Koochiching/Minnesota/Residents-press-council-on-ambulance-deficit-LGA-reliance-and-county-cooperation","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6189054-a7e8d49a3e70691766df035e1042213e/orig.mp4?Expires=1770450717&Signature=mOOb~GE0TyNcNqHwYkDEDeIJ98e~mewCq1zRSKZQGYf~6ltP85-ctULOdqUQHe6yV2eWzovttcWjN3SNQaTKPdZBRtc2wxBBs1TlmsWRICPBGDM-MXdSQeHWOtdbZl36B0U4lh6H-n8lq9gMbznnW-AV7urkbPfPz-nv9gESpimy54pQsAjb3CXyxf-LaKUI8HNEoBqDnNmKByiEey-Rd~3osiMo9iIB1yVDoUwQIsfD~NEFfDlJXC-rbkLx2HFdCEXqy2BBdBCbZnSDZmTYfPDEYkRDL8xhQc8wraWyRf583qfzL1nZugKevnN~RroPGpVWuyFnbCDJl6u0Rta5EA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Several residents on Monday urged the International Falls City Council to address the ambulance fund’s growing deficit and to pursue structural funding changes, saying the city has long relied on state Local Government Aid (LGA) and needs new revenue strategies.

Alan Cruz, who identified himself as a resident of Mesa, Arizona and a native of International Falls, warned the council about overreliance on state aid. “If it stops immediately, you have a a 30% shortfall,” Cruz said, referring to the city’s dependence on LGA. He urged pursuit of taxing options to make ambulance funding sustainable and questioned why the city had not secured a special taxing district to recover costs from the broader county area.

Councilors and the mayor acknowledged ongoing concern. The council discussed repeated, unsuccessful efforts to persuade neighboring jurisdictions and the county to form or contribute to a joint taxing arrangement. One council member said, “We will have 2 and a half million dollars of ambulance debt by the end of 20 26,” highlighting the scale of the problem as presented in the city’s financial materials.

Councilor Holden and others said the city had spent many meetings pushing for county assistance and that talks with some county officials had been unsuccessful; they described repeated outreach without county agreement to join a taxing district. Council members said the ambulance service has been subsidized by the city for years and that municipal levy dollars may be required to shore up the fund if other solutions are not secured.

The city’s auditor earlier in the meeting had flagged the ambulance fund’s interfund borrowing as a notable audit issue: the fund’s deficit and borrowing from the general fund create risk to the general-fund reserve if the ambulance receivable cannot be repaid.

No formal action was taken at the meeting to create a new taxing district or to adopt a levy for the ambulance fund. Council members directed staff to continue exploring options and to report back with proposals.","During public comment and council discussion, residents urged the city to use Local Government Aid and pursue taxing-district options to address a growing ambulance fund deficit; councilors said past attempts to form a county taxing district met resistance and that the city currently bears substantial ambulance costs.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6189059,"Council accepts city audit; auditor flags interfund borrowing, internal-control items",2262,582000,2844000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5058780-8188853a1ea241113dbf77f1457f53f6&start=582&end=2844","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5058780-8188853a1ea241113dbf77f1457f53f6/thumbnail_582000.jpg","/articles/6189059/International-Falls-City/Koochiching/Minnesota/Council-accepts-city-audit-auditor-flags-interfund-borrowing-internal-control-items","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6189059-2e4e99d2394472f681b44b8b6280b824/orig.mp4?Expires=1770450717&Signature=YtyLB6WVabgaX87ks21BTLGHuDVjww4NgcQOasWYiNFg8FtgujTTpnubRruyIUTgOk3nqPq5inAVtYBGcr6huDS4NjNpcWOWisX8pw7AkMVVYKgHvIccUrpl~x-JfkNhe92RD-zO~m1AglM7hTq2rdap1jd4X3pKyQS8Vp0e~SpgxrjjsEGZ509x5g3AaE0MYfPcXhC3aUPVQlEc3c6~caO6xjrCfaKkYl6Ssfe2~F7XRrzRsF4kxAusgmf3r3Pwxb3AGuUTTmPlrDtZmji5dYMj1ZVXLmt4Hjsmp0yIFitTBjLa5k2AdMJdETLYmZ8Seux0MGibDGnNPjaFTEkXpw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The International Falls City Council on Monday accepted the city’s 2024 financial audit after an online presentation by Ryan Schmidt of Schleiner, Wenner and Co., who said the firm issued an unmodified — or clean — opinion.

“We gave you this year is what's called an unmodified opinion that is a clean opinion,” Schmidt said during his presentation. He told the council the audit went smoothly and commended city staff for their responsiveness.

Schmidt described several recurring internal-control observations common in municipalities the size of International Falls, including audit-year adjustments (cash-to-accrual conversions), lack of segregation of duties in small accounting departments, and the external preparation of the financial statements by the auditing firm. He also flagged interfund borrowings as a notable issue, citing the ambulance fund’s growing deficit and its borrowing from the general fund.

On the ambulance fund, Schmidt said the fund’s deficit increased by about $267,000 in 2024, leaving a fund-balance deficit of roughly $1,300,000 and about $1,600,000 in cash borrowed from the general fund at year-end. Schmidt cautioned that if the receivable from the ambulance fund were judged uncollectible, the city’s unassigned general-fund ratio would fall materially below its policy target.

The audit also reviewed statutory compliance checklists for Minnesota and reported no compliance exceptions.

Councilor Kaler moved to approve the 2024 audit as presented; Councilor Wagner seconded. The council voted unanimously to accept the audit. Council members and the mayor expressed that the audit’s clean opinion should temper ongoing public insinuations about misappropriation of funds.

Schmidt recommended the council and staff consider the ambulance fund’s long-term plan for repayment and noted options the city may pursue to manage interfund borrowing. No formal corrective action or ordinance was adopted at the meeting; the approval accepted the audit report and invited staff and council to pursue corrective budgeting or policy measures as appropriate.

Key figures from the audit presentation included: general-fund revenues exceeded budget by about $665,000 and expenditures exceeded budget by about $1.3 million (some of that difference related to GAAP lease accounting). The city’s unassigned fund-balance ratio was reported slightly above the council’s 50% policy when calculated against budgeted expenditures but fell to the low 40s when measured using actual expenditures, and would drop further under a worst-case write-off of the ambulance receivable.","Auditor Ryan Schmidt presented the 2024 financial audit, reporting an unmodified (clean) opinion but noting common internal-control observations and a flagged issue for interfund borrowings tied to the ambulance fund; the council unanimously approved the audit.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6189064,"International Falls council awards Stenberg addition and Ninth Street reconstruction, shifts funds to cover overrun",212,72000,284000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5058780-8188853a1ea241113dbf77f1457f53f6&start=72&end=284","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5058780-8188853a1ea241113dbf77f1457f53f6/thumbnail_72000.jpg","/articles/6189064/International-Falls-City/Koochiching/Minnesota/International-Falls-council-awards-Stenberg-addition-and-Ninth-Street-reconstruction-shifts-funds-to-cover-overrun","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6189064-c58886b6553dd62228612f8989f2ab52/orig.mp4?Expires=1770450717&Signature=i1FqgZRP180hFP00idZQolE44R3eY2jcF2xliGwVcd9WeXiB833tzUJ~WCPpPWDUKAIsA2KrPI~Ty1Ygswr4gGtuntZZQ3EfZ3txHbn3jtGTcH454Yo5DnPJJ74AFmJUiBPSvpjo3u-tD-G5b4xIa864K4nD3COpeb1g45rpdC-iVijsTWQooes5NL6q9hhYWdZ9BLpl07yH383jn5yhGY-DiiPp0L2a3--bF-3cok4a-tDcWZ3rDsgAmvIHCb4IXjhukiDx4Kd-Apj1BNsTP4lUSYBDk6s6AUWsLVpqsXTGRIZo5zuQ8JaPnDBLwRRNkhYjrpmO24htb3CYx0Cbfw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The International Falls City Council on Monday unanimously approved awarding two construction contracts and agreed to shift previously budgeted sales-tax dollars to cover a cost overrun on one project.

City Engineer Jason Fisher told the council the low bid for the Stenberg addition and the library and city-hall parking lot came in well above the engineer’s estimate: “We did, have a bid opening today for the, Stenberg addition and the library and city hall parking lot. We only had 1 bidder, and he was over the engineer's estimate. The the bid was for $11,340,098 and 75¢,” Fisher said. He recommended the council award the work and cover the shortfall using savings from another project.

The council discussed using savings from a separate public-works contract to offset the Stenberg overage. Fisher said the Ninth Street reconstruction — a project that includes road work, a bike trail and replacement of some lead service lines — came in significantly under budget, and the city can apply some of the sales-tax dollars budgeted for that job to the Stenberg project.

“The Ninth Street project ... the low bidder was 6,993,368.45,” Fisher said, adding that the city had received a $1,500,000 state grant for the bike-trail portion and that the Ninth Street bid was below the engineer’s introduced estimate of $8,926,380.

Councilor Buller moved to award the Stenberg contract; Councilor Holden seconded. The council voted unanimously to approve the award. Later, after discussion of Ninth Street and its bundled lead-service-line work, Councilor Buller moved to proceed with Ninth Street; Councilor Wagner seconded, and that motion also carried unanimously.

The council recorded no amendments to either award at the meeting. Fisher and council members described the financing as a reallocation of previously budgeted sales-tax dollars between capital projects rather than new borrowing; they said total spending across the two projects will be roughly in line with earlier city estimates after the shift.

The awards came during a special meeting the council opened at 5:31 p.m. The city did not take further action on related capital spending at this session.

Details: the Stenberg parking-lot and addition low bid was $11,340,098.75; the Ninth Street low bid was $6,993,368.45; Ninth Street included lead-service-line replacements and a $1,500,000 state grant for the bike-trail portion.

The council’s vote concluded the agenda items; staff said they will proceed with contract execution and scheduling for summer construction.","City council unanimously approved awards for the Stenberg addition and library/city-hall parking lot and for Ninth Street reconstruction and associated lead-service-line work, and agreed to shift budgeted sales-tax dollars between projects to cover a higher-than-estimated Stenberg bid.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Councilors hear questions on water-plant flood protection; berm material reused to cap demolition landfill

Residents press council on ambulance deficit, LGA reliance and county cooperation

Council accepts city audit; auditor flags interfund borrowing, internal-control items

International Falls council awards Stenberg addition and Ninth Street reconstruction, shifts funds to cover overrun