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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 07/05/2017 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 083, 2017, APPROPRAgenda Item 19 Item # 19 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY July 5, 2017 City Council STAFF Mike Beckstead, Chief Financial Officer SeonAh Kendall, Economic Policy & Project Manager SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 083, 2017, Appropriating and Transferring Prior Year Reserves in the General Fund and Appropriating Prior Year Reserves in the Light and Power Fund for Broadband Strategic Support Services. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, adopted on First Reading on June 6, 2017 by a vote of 6-1 (nays: Summers) appropriates $160k of one-time funding for consulting support for the City’s Broadband efforts, per the current work scope. The effort to develop a more detailed Municipal Retail fiber internet service model will run in parallel with staff efforts to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to explore a third party alterative. As the work scope describes, consultants will work with City staff to develop details around how to launch a Municipal Retail fiber internet service. Those plans will enable the City, upon approval by Fort Collins voters authorizing the City to move forward, to immediately begin the effort, issue RFPs to support the design and construction, and begin internal processes for call centers, billing, marketing, sales, etc. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, June 6, 2017 (w/o attachments) (PDF) 2. Ordinance No. 083, 2017 (PDF) Agenda Item 22 Item # 22 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY June 6, 2017 City Council STAFF Mike Beckstead, Chief Financial Officer Seonah Kendall, Economic Policy & Project Manager SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 083, 2017, Appropriating and Transferring Prior Year Reserves in the General Fund and Appropriating Prior Year Reserves in the Light and Power Fund for Broadband Strategic Support Services. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY At the May 9, 2017, Council Work Session discussion concerning the City’s Broadband efforts, staff highlighted the need to dedicate resources to support further development and details associated with a Municipal Retail model. Staff is requesting $160k of one-time funding to be appropriated for consulting support per the current work scope. The effort to develop a more detailed Municipal Retail fiber internet service model will run in parallel with staff efforts to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) to explore a third party alterative. As the work scope describes, consultants will work with City staff to develop details around how to launch a Municipal Retail fiber internet service. Those plans will enable the City, upon approval by Fort Collins voters authorizing the City to move forward, to immediately begin the effort, issue RFPs to support the design and construction, and begin internal processes for call centers, billing, marketing, sales, etc. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION Staff is evaluating consulting opportunities and working to have resources working by late June in support of a Municipal Retail broadband service model. While voter approval is required to begin service under this model, staff and consultants will be developing a launch plan consistent with the items on the attached Work Scope document that will allow the City to move into implementation mode shortly after the November election. Without this advanced work, several months of implementation planning will be required prior to moving into implementation. Costs are estimated based on billing rates for two consultants and travel expenses for one consultant. The current re-appropriated budget remaining to support broadband is approximately $70k. This appropriation requests an additional $160K to support planning efforts through the end of the year. Project deliverables are also outlined in the work scope. CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS This one-time funding of $160k will be split equally with $80k coming from General Fund reserves and the other $80k coming from Light and Power Fund reserves. ATTACHMENT 1 Agenda Item 22 Item # 22 Page 2 ATTACHMENTS 1. Municipal Retail Model Resource Work Scope (PDF) 2. Powerpoint presentation (PDF) -1- ORDINANCE NO. 083, 2017 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS APPROPRIATING PRIOR YEAR RESERVES IN THE GENERAL FUND AND APPROPRIATING PRIOR YEAR RESERVES IN THE LIGHT AND POWER FUND FOR BROADBAND STRATEGIC SUPPORT SERVICES WHEREAS, at the May 9, 2017 City Council Work Session discussion concerning the City’s Broadband efforts, staff highlighted the need to dedicate resources to support further development and detailed plans associated with a Municipal Retail Broadband model; and WHEREAS, in pursuit of that plan development, staff is requesting an appropriation of one-time funding of $160,000, which will be split equally with $80,000 coming from General Fund reserves and $80,000 coming from Light and Power Fund reserves; and WHEREAS, costs estimates are based on billing rates for two consultants and travel expenses for one consultant; and WHEREAS, in addition to this appropriation request, there are $70,000 in currently available budget appropriations for strategic broadband support; and WHEREAS, staff and consultants will be developing a launch plan that will allow the City to move into implementation mode shortly after the November 2017 election, with the understanding that voter approval is a prerequisite to launching this effort; and WHEREAS, without this advanced work, several months of implementation planning will be required after the election before the City may begin service implementation; and WHEREAS, this Ordinance appropriates Electric Utility enterprise funds and Council finds that evaluating broadband service delivery plans by the City’s Electric Utility serves utility purposes and benefits ratepayers consistent with Article XII, Section 6 of the City Charter, including but not limited to advancing potential expansion of the Electric Utility to deliver coordinated telecommunication and electric services in furtherance of current City strategic objectives and outcomes; and WHEREAS, Article V, Section 9 of the City Charter permits the City Council to appropriate by ordinance at any time during the fiscal year such funds for expenditure as may be available from reserves accumulated in prior years, notwithstanding that such reserves were not previously appropriated; and WHEREAS, City staff have determined that the appropriations as described herein are available and previously unappropriated in the General Fund and the Light and Power Fund. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: -2- Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That there is hereby appropriated from prior year reserves in the General Fund the sum of EIGHTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($80,000) for Broadband Strategic Support. Section 3. That there is hereby appropriated from prior year reserves in the Light and Power Fund the sum of EIGHTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($80,000) for Broadband Strategic Support. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 6th day of June, A.D. 2017, and to be presented for final passage on the 5th day of July, A.D. 2017. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on this 5th day of July, A.D. 2017. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _____________________________ City Clerk