Thursday, October 04, 2012

An anonymous blog comment was offered which merits its own separate UPDATED post. City of Ramsey MONEY spent on Landform, over time, total and detail being the question. One and a quarter million bucks, and still counting, as of Sept. 30, 2012 ...


Original [text-free] photo credit
Tammy Sakry, ABC newspapers,
this March 2011 report.

Here is the text of the anonymous comment offered re this Crabgrass post:

What is your source for the $1.18m that the city has paid landform? Where is this available to the public?

The earlier $1,182,510.35 figure was attained per a July 2012 public data disclosure request to the city clerk (designated person for data request responses - this link, try it you'll like it).

Diana Lund, Ramsey's CFO, routed me a spreadsheet response, current as of end of July, 2012. As noted earlier on Crabgrass, that spreadsheet (provided me in pdf format) was posted to the web for access, review, and downloading; here.

Prior to the anonymous comment to the earlier Crabgrass item, I became curious on how time passes and cash flows, and with a triggering event, I sent this Sept. 30, data request:

TWO QUESTIONS - Could you give a quick confirmation or explanation on an accounting question + an update??

1- After the county LWV forum last Tuesday I spoke with Matt Look. Matt told me I had to realize all the consulting cost was not just Landform, but Bray did a lot on clearing title.

My understanding is that Bray would invoice his client directly, that being the city and not Landform, and that his invoices would be a separate account, as was noted in HRA budget agenda presentations - legal services a separate line item from professional services.

Directly - Diana, the spreadsheet you sent me was all on one account line item, see attached, or seemed to be. I presume Bray was separate.

Yes or no? That's it. A real nutshell question.

2- Finally, if not overly burdensome, could you send an updated spreadsheet, as of end of September?

In publishing it would only be fair to Darren and the city to use best available data.

I attained an updated spreadsheet from Ramsey CFO Lund, via an Oct. 1 cover email clarifying that the earlier data was for Landform's account only, and did not include other city money spent for legal services or any other related to Town Center expense, same for the update:

The costs that I had sent you were from our financial system and were for Landform billings only. Bray, Goodrich, etc. bill the city directly for their services. The report I sent you, which is attached and updated thru Sept 30, as requested, reflects all items attributed to vendor #111501 which is Landform.

That updated pdf doc - in spreadsheet form as with the July item - is now also posted online.

Click here to view or download the "Darren Dollars" spreadsheet current as of end of September, this year.

Again, and for comparison, click here, for the "Darren Dollars" pdf/spreadsheet from the City, from earlier in July, when it "bottom lined" at $1.18 million.

Time passes. Cash flows. Do the subtraction and count the days, and get a dollars per day number, one that speaks for itself.

[NOTE: If any reader has difficulty accessing or downloading either online item, please submit a comment including an email address and I can email the data.]