Staff presented a substantially revised finance manual and internal control framework and asked commissioners for recommendations to finalize the draft for council. The manual consolidates procurement, reserve, and reporting policies, clarifies segregation of duties and approval thresholds, and proposes an annual review cadence. Staff said auditors will review key policies such as procurement thresholds and reserves in their regular audit work.

During the manual discussion staff revealed the city has about $1.7 million in overdue water bills. According to staff, approximately $900,000 of that total is active accounts with unpaid balances from one to five years; another portion reflects inactive accounts that will be hard to collect. Commissioners and staff discussed options including payment plans, outreach and low-income assistance, collection agencies, write-offs in line with accounting practice, and stronger certificate-of-insurance and indemnification requirements to avoid contractor-driven costs.

Staff said the manual will be further redlined and returned to the commission for final comment in January, and that they will incorporate lessons learned from COVID-era policy changes (for example, temporary waivers) to ensure the city's policies match legal and accounting standards.