Agricultural Business Zone

Recently the Washington City Council and Planning Commission approved the creation of an "agricultural business zone". This discussion and idea has been developing for some time. The request to create this zone was presented to the city by Sherrie Reeder, representing Staheli Farms. The purpose of this zone is to allow farmers to develop and use their lands beyond traditional agricultural uses. Allowing farmers to develop business options for their land, beyond the normal uses, gives them additional economic incentives to keep these farms functioning and maintains the open spaces found in our community. Some additional uses of the farms in our community have included: petting farms, sports parks, youth conferences, concerts, farm camps, and holiday events. We are excited about this new concept in our community and the benefits it will bring.

Annual Budget Report

Throughout the course of a year, Washington City produces a lot of reports and studies that could almost be overwhelming to one interested in an overall understanding of how the city is doing. For those individuals in our community who have an interest in knowing how the city is doing financially, the goals of departments, strategic plans, construction plans for this year and into the future and how we are performing, I would like to refer you to our *Annual Budget Report*. This award-winning report is a "one stop" location to get a good feel of what we do in the city and how we are doing it. It is written with you-the citizens-in mind and I think you will find it understandable and a good communication tool. It is lengthy because it encompasses many other independently printed reports. If you have a chance to look through this document and have some suggestions please let us know.

These City Financial documents can be found at washingtoncity.org/finance

-Roger Carter, City Manager.

Quarterly Investment Report Presented to Council

At the September 26th Council meeting, the Washington City Council reviewed the quarterly investment report from the City Treasurer's office. In early 2012 the Washington City Council approved an investment policy and directed the Treasurer to invest city funds in public investment tools that ensured safety, allowed for liquidity and maximized the investment return on these funds. The Treasurer reported a gain on investment of over $200,000 in interest earnings this year compared to what would have been an investment pool yield of $70,000. These funds are primarily located in U.S. Treasury
Securities.