New Search
starting the construction. <br /> In addition to the specific projects, there is a GJN set up for expenses related to seed collection <br /> and cleaning. Seed is collected by hand and then processed and dried for planting in the fall. This <br /> is a capital expense since it directly relates to the cost of doing the initial construction. This is a <br /> significant cost associated with generating bank credits. <br /> Operating budget expenses are more general than capital expenses and cover items that are not <br /> specific to one project, such as vehicle rentals for summer staff, or professional service contracts <br /> for wetland monitoring. <br /> The history of the mitigation bank operating budget is rather interesting. In the early days, bank <br /> expenses were covered using stormwater fund appropriations and then an accounting procedure <br /> was done at the end of the fiscal year to "journal entry" expenditures from stormwater fund to the <br /> mitigation bank fund. <br /> <br /> Beginning in FY00, a detailed budget was constructed in an attempt to do better financial <br /> planning and accountability for the fund. This resulted in an approval of the funding through a <br /> supplemental budget (SB) process near the end of the fiscal year. The FY01 budget was <br /> developed using the FY00 as a model and it too was approved using a supplemental budget <br /> procedure (SB-1 for FY01). The FY02 budget was constructed at the same time the City <br /> developed all of the regular budgets in the fall of 2000. It was still treated as a supplemental <br /> budget item because of the limited history behind the fund. Keeping it as a supplemental allowed <br /> the budget committee and City Council a special opportunity to learn about the fund and make <br /> changes as necessary. The bank FY03 budget has recently been developed and is going through <br /> <br /> the budget process as a one-time Service Level Change Memorandum (SLCM). This paper seeks <br /> to provide an analysis of the stability of the fund and consider converting the fund to a standard, <br /> baseline operating budget in the future. The following section includes a financial model that <br /> <br /> includes the amounts of the operating expenses for the history of the bank. <br /> The mitigation bank keeps an official "ledger" of credits and sales activity. This ledger is a means <br /> of tracking the balance of available credits and the kinds of credits. The MOA allowed two types <br /> of credits to be sold during the first six years of the bank operation in order to generate start-up <br /> revenue. One type of credit is the advanced sale credit which is a credit that has not yet been <br /> earned by doing restoration in the field. The other type is a certified credit which means that the <br /> restoration or enhancement work in the field has already been. completed. <br /> The processes outlined in the MOA for developing advanced sale credits expired in 2001. The <br /> process allowed the City to develop a plan for a mitigation site, submit the plan for regulatory <br /> approval to the MBRT, and then immediately make 30% of the credits associated with the plan <br /> available for sale. Beginning in 2002, new credits will need to be certified prior to sale. <br /> Section 4: Seven-Year projection model <br /> <br />