Municipal Finance Services

Fiscal Consulting

Whether you’re crafting an annual budget, developing a long-term funding plan for capital improvements or completing a utility rate study, Ehlers collaborates with you to build practical financial “roadmaps” that provide clear ways to reach short-term goals and realize your long-term vision.

Fiscal Consulting provided by Ehlers & Associates.

Financial Management Planning

Achieving the vision for your community requires a long-term plan that helps leaders make decisions today with an eye on the future. Ehlers’ Financial Management Plans, developed through a collaborative process with staff and elected officials, provide you with actionable recommendations and objective information, such as a:

  • Ten-year budget
  • Capital improvement plan
  • Funding strategy
  • Comparison of the various results of possible financial decisions
  • Framework to review future capital projects

Debt Management Planning

A Debt Management Plan reviews your outstanding tax-supported debt to help ensure the appropriate amount is being levied annually for debt service. When improvement bonds are issued with special assessments as a repayment source, the assessments aren’t always received,  when then requires the debt levy to be adjusted. A Debt Management Plan will:

  • Review outstanding assessments
  • Provide updated debt levies
  • Identify opportunities to avoid arbitrage or reduce future levies

TIF Management

Properly administering Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts in Minnesota can be a challenge with the State’s rules and reporting requirements. Trust Ehlers to create a TIF Management Plan that:

  • Reviews all your existing TIF Districts
  • Verifies Districts are in compliance
  • Provides strategies to remedy non-compliant Districts
  • Identify opportunities for using TIF from existing districts in new ways to accomplish your housing and development goals

Utility Rate Studies

Ehlers’ Utility Rate Studies assess the financial health of utility funds and help set an equitable rate structure that provides for the utility’s future. Through our comprehensive process, we:

  • Gather & analyze applicable financial data
  • Complete cost of service studies
  • Analyze current rate structures & complete rate study modeling
  • Coordinate and complete PSC applications (Wisconsin only)
  • Prepare long-term cash flow analyses
  • Identify adequate fund reserve amounts & financing needs

Support for Finance Staff

Whether it’s assisting with annual reporting requirements or calculating tax rates and fiscal disparities, Ehlers regularly assists cities and counties with financial administration.

Activities we assist with in Minnesota include:

  • Budget reports for the Office of the State Auditor
  • Outstanding Indebtedness Reports
  • TIF Administration for authorities, cities and counties
  • Account reconciliation and audit preparation

In Wisconsin, we regularly help with:

  • Levy limit worksheets
  • Expenditure Restraint worksheets
  • Mil rate computation
  • Tax Incremental District Increment worksheet calculation

Ready to learn more?