Last Updated: September 8, 2011
A financial report detailing the budget impact of a merged Cottage Grove will be delivered to the Merger Study Committee on October 6.
Representatives from Baker Tilly, the financial firm drafting the report, are expected to be at the September 26 Merger Study Committee meeting to update the report’s progress prior to its delivery. Baker Tilly representatives will also be present at the October 6 joint board meeting to review the report and answer questions.
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Merger Study Committee Co-chairperson and Village President Diane Wiedenbeck said Baker Tilly asked that a steering committee be formed to review the report. This group she said will likely include her, Committee Co-chairperson and Town Chairman Kris Hampton, and Town and Village clerks Kim Banigan and Deb Winter, respectively. Town Treasurer Debbie Simonson and incoming Village Administrator Matt Giese may also be part of this committee.
Hampton asked Town of Verona Chairman David Combs, who was at the August 22 meeting to share his merger experience, what he thought of Baker Tilly’s merger consulting services which the Veronas used during their 2008 merger attempt. Combs said they were generally pleased saying that Baker Tilly had their and the city’s audits so they were familiar with their records.
“The numbers they provided were extremely important. As government officials I think you got to know those costs and they will lay that out.” Combs said the public presentation Baker Tilly coordinated was too complicated for attendees to understand, adding that they spent a lot of time once the report was out explaining the issues to citizens.
Wiedenbeck’s mention that Baker Tilly would let the Committee know if the fees for work on Cottage Grove’s report would exceed the agreed $5,000 was met with questioning remarks. “Wasn’t the engagement letter not to exceed,” asked Committee member and Village Trustee Micah Zielke. Wiedenbeck confirmed Zielke’s recollection saying that it did say that, and Hampton said they already told the financial firm that they would pay no money for the report beyond the agreed $5,000.
A request by Zielke of Committee co-chairpersons Wiedenbeck and Hampton to determine whether the report would include information on debt service went unanswered at the meeting. In a follow-up interview, Wiedenbeck said that including debt service data to the report would cost more than the $5,000 agreed on so it would not be included in the report. What they will pull from the existing data, she said would give them a good idea of what is possible through consolidation.
The Merger Study Committee’s next meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on September 12 at the Village Hall and the Committee encourages the public to attend and take part in this discussion.