Bemidji City Council Looks At Areas Of Opportunity

The City of Bemidji’s financial state is said to be strong according to the city finance director who presented detailed findings from a city audit of 2016. The report shows is a break down of expenditures and how much the city spends on its services such as public safety.

While the report given was primarily good, areas of opportunity were presented to the council. Three areas of concern deal with the ground water well issues at the Bemidji Regional Airport and the city’s compliance with the total maximum daily load of stormwater to surrounding bodies of water, and regional amenities such as parks and the Sanford Center where the recommendation to seek a one percent hospitality tax was made.

The overall audit also focused on the City of Bemidji’s expenses and its significant increase over the prior year.

According to the audit, last year the city’s expenditures grew by nearing one million dollars mainly because of the construction of fire station number two.

Despite the areas of opportunity, city council members echoed overall support for the findings in the report.

If you would like to have a closer look at the City of Bemidji’s financial audit, please follow this link: http://www.ci.bemidji.mn.us