 The City of Bemidji received an overall good report on its review of the city's 2016 audit. Our Josh Peterson was there and shows us where the city of Bemidji is looking at as areas of opportunity. The city of Bemidji's financial state is said to be strong according to the city finance director who presented detailed findings from a city audit of 2016. The report shows a breakdown of expenditures and how much the city spends on its services such as public safety. Public safety budget represents 52 percent of our budget and our state aid is only 32 percent of what we receive so public safety is our largest expenditure. While the report was primarily good, areas of opportunity were presented to the council. Three areas of concern deal with the groundwater well issues at the Bemidji regional airport, the city's compliance with the total maximum daily load of storm water to surrounding bodies of water, and the regional amenities such as the parks and the Samford center where the recommendation to seek a 1 percent hospitality tax was made. Support for alternative revenue, we talked about hospitality tax, sales tax has been thrown out there as a possibility but that certainly has significant limitations but that would probably be my highest priority. The overall audit also focused on the city of Bemidji's expenses and its significant increase over the prior year. According to the audit last year, the city's expenditures grew by nearly $1 million, mainly because of the construction of fire station number two. Despite the areas of opportunity, city council members echoed overall support for the findings in the report. In Bemidji, Josh Peterson, Lakeland News. And if you'd like to have a closer look at the city of Bemidji's financial audit, we have posted the link on our website at lbtv.org. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.