City Services

In 2007 The Isanti City Council initiated an important reform, one of many. This reform was to initiate the process of consultant review in an orderly process. These include City Engineer, City Attorney, Financial consultant, banking services, bond consultant and so on. We would take these major consultants and go out for a RFP, request for proposal, from the industry. Speaking for myself, I did not like the idea that you simply continue with a current firm until they make a major mistake. Going out for RFPs makes sure we always have the best possible service at a competitive price. This year it was city engineering services and next year it will be City Attorney services. Last night we also finalized our review of City banking services.

MFRA has been the City Engineer for many years and has done good work. There were a number of difficult issues however that needed to be addressed, again speaking for myself my greatest concern rest with communication. Communication with Citizens and taxpayers, businesses and the Council needed to be dramatically improved. I will not go through the list of specifics but time and again the same type of problem would occur. The Council and I have constantly stressed the need for city government to improve communication. The City has worked hard on this front with great improvements to the City website, the Isantian Newsletter and hopefully soon we will have audio and then video available online and through cable access. We expect the same commitment from our service providers.

When I ran for Council in 2004 and Mayor in 2006, I stressed the need for a more responsive government. This means a government that listens and responds with speed and respect. This does not mean everyone will get the answers they want but it does mean that our Citizens and taxpayers will be treated with respect and dignity. I am always amazed that some seemed to be constantly surprised when we follow through on a stated goal.

Isanti received many excellent proposals and we interviewed four prospective engineering firms, MFRA was one of the four. The Council chooses Wenck on a 4-1 vote. This was an incredibly difficult decision for the Council. Any of the four would have served the City well. I can only speak to my decision which was based on the written proposals and the interviews. Wenck’s written presentation spoke to Isanti’s needs and goals better than any of the four. Their interview was good and the approach they will take to providing service to Isanti will continue moving us forward. I did state last night that the promise of service is our expectation. If Wenck does not fulfill our expectations I would not hesitate to fire them.

The banking service RFP brought proposals from all our local banks and credit unions. Landmark has been Isanti’s bank for generations. Landmark came forward with an aggressive proposal for services that made the most financial sense for our taxpayers. The Council voted to approve Landmark’s proposal 5-0 and to continue our banking relationship. Landmark has always served Isanti well and in the rare situations that do arise they respond immediately.

It was a tough night for the Council but a good night for the City.