Finance
East Grand Forks debates filling city finance position, open since last year
EAST GRAND FORKS – The East Grand Forks City Council on Tuesday discussed filling an open accounting position and its associated budgetary impacts.
Finance Director Karla Anderson said not having the position filled has caused extra tasks to be put onto other members of city administration, causing work to be rushed.
“It’s been wearing on staff,” Anderson told the council during a Tuesday evening council work session meeting with city staff. “Tasks haven’t been completed as timely as in the past (and) they have been done in a hurry. A few things have been caught by the auditors, nothing big, and that’s just because things have been done in a hurry because we don’t have enough staff to cover it.”
Anderson continued: “We have been accruing overtime. Staff doesn’t feel like they can even take a day off, so I am really hoping we can fill this position now.”
The council will more formally consider the opening at next week’s regular meeting, but on Tuesday discussed the budgetary implications of
filling vacant positions.
The city had a
projected deficit in the 2024 budget
of $176,064 and is likely needing to dip into its reserve fund for the
third fiscal year in a row.
This position has been open since last April and in 2024’s budget, it is budgeted to be filled after July 1. The position’s cost to the city would be between $45,000 and $90,000 annually, depending on final salary and compensation agreements.
The council last week approved the hiring
for a vacant position in the Parks and Recreation Department and increased salary compensation for the council and mayor. That position was budgeted for the entirety of 2024 and the salary increase doesn’t go into effect until next year. Council member Brian Larson asked what will need to be cut to cover the salary costs moving forward.
“Show me what you’re going to cut so we can pay this person for 12 months,” Larson said. “My argument isn’t that the position isn’t vital — how can we afford it? What are going to remove from the budget so this person can be employed 12 months of the year next year?”
Anderson responded by saying that the budget process for next year hasn’t started yet and council members likely will need to have a conversation about what services they’re willing to cut.
“I get that. I’m disappointed this conversation didn’t come up when we talked about the parks position,” Anderson said. “It’s not budgeted for next year. That’s how we have to look at every position in the city: ‘OK, we’re in the budget for now’ but if we’re really looking at a budget, nobody’s in the budget for 2025 because we haven’t started it.”
City Administrator Reid Huttunen said that to cover this position may require a cut somewhere else.
“Mr. Larson, I understand what you’re asking and I’m doing a lot of thinking here in how we can present that back to you,” Huttunen said. “One answer (to the budgeting of the position) is a reduction of staff in another department to make those dollars and cents work. I hate to make anything of these decisions in a vacuum.”
Huttunen said city leaders don’t have many of the potential staffing costs for next year, like insurance rates. Huttunen expects a 5% to 6% increase in total compensation costs, but the cost of health insurance could drastically affect that percentage.
Council member Clarence Vetter said the city shouldn’t fill the positions until it has completed the next budget.
“We’ve got other open positions now that we shouldn’t be filling until our budget is worked out. How are going to pay for them?” Vetter said. “That’s just sound business practice moving forward.”
The city won’t pass a preliminary budget until September. Its final budget for 2025 won’t be passed until December.
If the council approves hiring for the position, the process could take some time, especially given how short-staffed the administration is at the moment.
“Even if we give the go-ahead to fill this position, which I think we should fill, it’s still going to take until July to fill it,” council member Ben Pokrzywinski said. “I hear you on staff morale is not great. When you’ve got a position that’s typically always been filled and you ask other people to pick up the slack and work overtime, that’s not great for the department.”
In other news, the council:
- Received a presentation from North Star Neighbors about bringing its Community Land Trust to East Grand Forks. Part of the Northwest Minnesota Foundation, North Star Neighbors seeks to make home ownership more accessible and affordable to those who may not be able to afford it otherwise.
- Discussed licensing the city’s logo and marketing material to allow it for commercial use. Likely, the city will form a licensing policy of some sort to control the use of its image, as many schools do.
Voigt covers city government in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks.
Finance
Everton: Premier League club offered loan to complete new stadium
777 Partners agreed to buy current owner Farhad Moshiri’s 94% stake in September, but there is increasing question marks over the takeover following concerning developments around the Miami-based firm.
On Tuesday, Moshiri extended the sales and purchase agreement until the end of this month, giving 777 more time to try to complete the deal.
One of the conditions imposed by the Premier League for 777 to be given the green light is to fund about £100m for the completion of the club’s new stadium.
Costs for the project have spiralled from an initial £500m to more than £800m, which was disclosed in Premier League documents relating to the club’s appeal over their 10-point deduction for breaching financial rules.
GDA Luma describes itself as providing “capital solutions” to companies facing “complex financial and operational challenges”.
Earlier this month, 777 held discussions with the firm to see whether debt financing could be offered.
Finance
Aadhar Housing Finance share price jumps 8% after flat debut. Buy, sell or hold?
Aadhar Housing Finance, a unique retail-oriented home finance company, stands out with its specialization in low-income housing. Today, its shares had a flat listing on the Indian exchanges. Aadhar Housing Finance shares were listed on BSE at ₹314.30 per share mark while the stock listed on NSE at ₹315 apiece, which was almost at par with the upper price band of ₹315 per equity share of the Aadhar Housing Finance IPO. However, the newly listed stock witnessed strong buying post-listing and touched intraday high of ₹341.95 apiece on BSE and NSE. Stock market experts believe that the newly listed stock is a good portfolio stock, and positional investors can hold the stock for the long term.
Aadhar Housing Finance share price outlook
Discussing the listing of Aadhar Housing Finance shares, Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP — Research at Mehta Equities, expressed, “Despite the subdued market conditions, Aadhar Housing Finance’s listing was slightly below street expectations. The company’s focus on the rapidly growing low-income housing segment, which is projected to be the fastest sub-segment within the housing finance industry, has garnered a decent subscription demand. With its reasonable valuations, it presents a promising long-term investment opportunity for conservative investors.”
Also Read: TBO Tek share price dips after bumper debut. Should you buy in this correction?
With a positive outlook for the affordable low-income housing segment, driven by government initiatives such as housing for all and infrastructure status for affordable housing, Aadhar Housing Finance is well-positioned for growth. Its reasonably priced ask valuations compared to industry peers, growing Gross AUM and Net Worth, stable average ticket size of loans, and increasing penetration into tier 4 and tier 5 towns all indicate sound financial health and potential for further expansion. Given the long-term optimistic sector outlook, we recommend allotting investors to “HOLD” for a long-term perspective,” a Mehta Equities expert said.
Reiterating the company’s specialization in low-income housing, Amit Goel, Co-Founder & Chief Global Strategist at Pace 360, stated, “Aadhar Home Finance Ltd. is a retail-oriented home finance company that excels in serving the low-income housing market. It caters to economically weaker consumers with middle-to-low incomes who require small-ticket mortgage loans. Offering a range of mortgage-related loan products, such as loans for acquiring and constructing commercial real estate, home remodelling and extension loans, and loans for purchasing and constructing residential real estate, the company is well-positioned for future growth. We advise investors to consider this potential and hold their investments for medium to long-term rewards.”
“On the financial front, Aadhar Housing Finance reported the second-highest return on equity in FY23 at 15.9%. As we advance, we expect operational performance to improve, led by the dominant low-income housing segment, low cost of borrowing, and higher return ratio among peers. We thus advise investors who have received allotment to hold shares from a medium to long-term perspective,” said Shreyansh Shah, Research Analyst at StoxBox.
Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
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Published: 15 May 2024, 11:53 AM IST
Finance
Long-Time Finance Prof Named Interim Dean At Stanford GSB
The dean’s office at Stanford Graduate School of Business is moving from economics to finance. As Jonathan Levin, an econ prof and GSB dean since 2016, prepares to move up to the university presidency in August, the B-school has named an interim successor: long-time finance professor Peter Demarzo.
Demarzo, Stanford’s John G. McDonald professor of finance who has taught at the B-school altogether for more than a quarter century, assumes the deanship August 1 and will keep it until a permanent successor to Levin is named.
“Peter will provide important continuity for the school during this transition, and we are grateful to him for being willing to accept this responsibility,” Stanford Provost Jenny Martinez says in a news release.
DEMARZO TEACHES CORPORATE FINANCE & FINANCIAL MODELING
Demarzo earned his Ph.D. and a master’s in operations research from Stanford in the 1980s. He taught at the school for two years in the 1990s, then returned for good in 2000. He teaches MBA and Ph.D. courses in corporate finance and financial modeling; he also founded and serves as faculty co-director of the Stanford LEAD Online Business Program.
Before joining Stanford, Demarzo was on the faculty of UC-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and Northwestern’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management; he was also a national fellow at the Hoover Institution.
Demarzo’s research is in the areas of corporate finance, asset securitization, financial contracting, and regulation. According to his online bio, “He is co-author of Corporate Finance and Fundamentals of Corporate Finance” and “has served as president of the Western Finance Association and the American Finance Association. He is a fellow of the Econometric Society and the American Finance Association, and a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research.”
LEVIN LOOKS ‘TO STANFORD’S FUTURE’
Stanford on April 4 announced that Levin, dean of its business school since 2016, will become president of the university on Aug. 1.
Named Dean of the Year by Poets&Quants in 2022 for his success in bringing stability to a school that had been wracked by scandal, Levin’s more important achievements include putting Stanford in the lead of all business schools on diversity and inclusion, making the GSB the first major institution to publish an annual report on its diversity progress.
“As I look to Stanford’s future, I’m excited to strengthen our commitment to academic excellence and freedom; to foster the principles of openness, curiosity, and mutual respect; and to lead our faculty and students as they advance knowledge and seek to contribute in meaningful ways to the world,” the 51-year-old Levin said in a statement in April.
DON’T MISS STANFORD NAMES BUSINESS SCHOOL DEAN JONATHAN LEVIN ITS PRESIDENT and A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A STANFORD MBA STUDENT
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