Council approves small budget transfer, submits 2016 health insurance budget and adopts bond-exemption ordinance

The Superior City Council on Dec. 1 approved a set of financial and code items introduced by the finance director and city staff. Finance Director Vito requested an internal transfer of $5,000 from the finance department budget to the human resources budget to pay for temporary help to complete a digital scanning project; councilors approved the transfer by voice vote. Vito also submitted the 2016 health insurance budget to the council; the submission was approved by voice vote with no roll-call recorded. Separately, the council passed an ordinance amending the city code (budget systems) to add a section described in the meeting as an “exemption from bond requirement under Wisconsin statutes.” The finance director explained the ordinance was offered after receiving a letter from the county presenting two options to guarantee tax distributions — either purchase a bond or adopt the ordinance — and that the ordinance avoids the cost of purchasing an additional bond. Discussion: Finance Director Vito and the council clarified that the county collects taxes that pass through the city’s bank account and that the ordinance is intended to provide a record the city will remit those funds; Vito said the city likely already had bond coverage and that the ordinance was effectively a no-cost option compared with buying a bond. The transcript does not specify the ordinance section number nor the specific Wisconsin statute citation. Next steps: The ordinance takes effect as adopted; departments will implement the approved budget transfer and proceed with the scanning project. The transcript does not include detailed budget line items or long-term fiscal impacts.